Japan’s been going thur prime ministers like water ever Koizumi left office in 2005. Seems like they get a new one every year since then. I can’t keep track anymore. (it was kinda cool that one of them was known as “Honest” Abe though)
I never know, exactly, what “right” means. You never know what radicals want to change things to (could be less government, usually more), or what conservatives want to conserve (could be liberty; could be authority). I propose a new political spectrum: anarchists on one side and statists on the other. Who’s with me?
conservative my @$$
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/22/asia/japan.php
Taro Aso, an outspoken conservative who has advocated a return to old-style government spending to stimulate Japan’s economy, was chosen Monday by the governing Liberal Democratic Party to become the nation’s next prime minister....
To critics, Aso is a throwback to the party’s big-spending ways who threatens to reverse a decade of reforms that shrank government and partially freed Japan’s economy.
Most Japanese Prime Ministers have held little actual power to change things, domestically, in Japan. They may campaign during elections on popular issues, but most government policy is set by the long-serving bureaucrats led by their long serving heads of the various national agencies and departments. Their ability to protect their turf and their policy prescriptions, with tons of clout with Japanese members of Parliament, make U.S. bureaucrats look like infants at the game.
The only big changes I expect to see from Aso is in how he presents Japan to foreigners and how foreigners, especially in Asia, behave toward Japan - because image, saving face, is more important in Asia than actual substantial change. Domestically, in Japan, don’t look for much change at all.
Great News! Japan just pumped in 20 billion to help shore up Morgan Stanley. The Japanese know if we go down, they go down too!
Does anybody know what a 'hawk' means in this context?
honey and vinegar. I'm guessing he's a leftist....