Category Archives: Japanese Politics

Two years into his administration — which means two years since his coalition won a landslide number of Diet seats and two years before the House of Representatives has to come up for grabs again — Prime Minister Abe decided … Continue reading →

Really odd speech by PM Abe this evening announcing that he will not be raising the consumption tax to 10%, that he wants to take this discretionary authority (to raise or not raise the tax depending upon how the economy … Continue reading →

PM Abe says he wants to call the current session of the Diet — wants this session to go down in history as — the local revitalization session. In saying this, he wants us to believe two things. First that … Continue reading →

As others have noted, Abe’s recent statements crediting wartime policy for today’s peace and prosperity are wildly off the mark. As a result of the administration’s rhetoric, which has not been limited to Abe, many have labeled the Abe administration … Continue reading →

Kitaoka Shin’ichi, the 座長代理 (acting chair) of the 14-member安全保障の法的基盤の再構築に関する懇談会 (Advisory Panel on Reconstruction of the Legal Basis for Security — their translation) that Abe created out of thin air last February to give him some back-up in the push for … Continue reading →

The Abe administration is pushing for what it calls “collective self-defense.” For years, the legal people have said that this collective self-defense is not allowed under the Constitution. Indeed, this has been one of the major reasons cited for needing … Continue reading →