I mean, I don't think you can lay this at Obama's feet -- it's been a LONG TIME COMING, I'm sure!
"Support fading for Japan’s top party; Rural voters likely to oust leadership" by Martin Fackler, New York Times | August 6, 2009
MATSUYAMA, Japan - At a recent wedding, a construction company executive even hit a local Liberal Democratic politician over the head with a beer bottle after arguing over whether to support the party.
--more--"
Yikes! Japanese politics is rough!
"Japan’s voters revolt against dominant party" by Eric Talmadge, Associated Press | August 23, 2009
Getting any hints, America?
TOKYO - As Keiko Saito and her husband approach retirement, they worry whether their pensions are safe. The economy seems chronically incapable of recapturing its glory days.
For decades, 58-year-old Saito supported the Liberal Democrats....
*****************
“Voters used to seek stability and were afraid of a leadership change,’’ said Koichi Nakano, a political science professor at Tokyo’s Sophia University. “But they have realized this country won’t get anywhere if they don’t get rid of the Liberal Democrats....
:-)
Is this AmeriKa or Japan (Massachusetts)?
Japan’s self-image as Asia’s miracle has been shaken deeply by the rise of China. People here use the phrase “Japan passing’’ to express the feeling that the country has lost international relevance.
“People used to believe that things would be the same no matter who won because they came from the same party,’’ said Takao Toshikawa, an independent political analyst. “But now voters think that they can make a difference.’’
Go get 'em!!!! I wish 'em all the luck!
--more--"
"Japan could see leadership shake-up; Ruling party may be ousted after long sway" by Eric Talmadge, Associated Press | August 30, 2009
TOKYO - .... The vote is widely seen as a barometer of two related issues - voter frustrations over the ailing economy, which is in one of its worst slumps since World War II, and a loss of confidence in the Liberal Democrats’ ability to tackle tough problems such as the rising national debt and rapidly aging population.
But even with severe challenges pressing the nation, many analysts said the vote may not be about the issues so much as voters’ desire for something new.
Hello, brother Japanese (blog editor bows politely).
They also note that although the Democrats promise to change Japan’s approach on the economy and make Tokyo’s diplomacy less US-centric, their founders are both defectors from the Liberal Democrats and are not likely to present too radical a departure from Japan’s current path....
Oh, I thought I saw a red flag and stand-up to U.S. militarism there.
--more--"
"Japanese voters give opposition a landslide victory; Vote topples island nation’s postwar order" by Martin Fackler, New York Times | August 31, 2009
TOKYO - Japan’s voters cast out the Liberal Democratic Party for only the second time in postwar history yesterday, handing a landslide victory to a party that campaigned on a promise to reverse a generation-long economic decline and redefine Tokyo’s relationship with Washington.
Uh-oh.
This MUST HAVE BEEN BREWING for a LONG TIME, America!
Many Japanese saw the vote as the final blow to the island nation’s postwar order, which has been slowly unraveling since the economy collapsed in the early 1990s. In the powerful lower house, the opposition Democrats virtually swapped places with the governing Liberal Democratic Party....
Ooooh, that's like Dems and Repugs and the crap political fooleys we are fed as the machine of empire and looting rolls along. Okay.
Same s*** change, different country!
“This has been a revolutionary election,’’ said Yukio Hatoyama, the party leader and presumptive new prime minister. “The people have shown the courage to take politics into their own hands.’’
Hatoyama, who is expected to assemble a government in two to three weeks, has spoken of the end of American-dominated globalization and the need to reorient Japan toward Asia.
Ooooooh, that is BAD!!!!!! No WONDER we need ANOTHER WORLD WAR!
Man, this is shaping up to be like Europe and USrael against.... EVERYBODY ELSE, huh?
Can WE CALL a HALT to this MADNESS RIGHT NOW before things REALLY GET OUT of HAND?!!!!!!!! I don't like the odds - and the alternative (think mushroom clouds in Iran, say) ugh!
His party’s campaign manifesto calls for an “equal partnership’’ with the United States and a “reconsidering’’ of the 50,000-strong American military presence here.
So WHO LOST JAPAN -- asks the HISTORY BOOKS, George?
One change on the horizon may be the renegotiation of a deal with Washington to relocate the US Marine Corps’ Futenma airfield on the island of Okinawa. Many island residents want to evict the base altogether.
You know, I THOUGHT WE ONLY STAYED if ASKED!!!!
If they WANT US to LEAVE, why ain't we leaving?!!!!
The Democrats, who opposed the American-led war in Iraq, have also said they may end the Japanese navy’s refueling of American and allied warships in the Indian Ocean.
That is for the BROADER, OVERALL PLAN that is IN PLACE!
The Japanese are GETTING COLD FEET on the WWIII?
The White House issued a statement yesterday saying it was “confident that the strong US-Japan alliance and the close partnership between our two countries will continue to flourish’’ under the new government.... a more assertive one and less willing to automatically follow Washington’s lead.
“This is what happens when you have a government in Japan that must be responsive to public opinion,’’ said Daniel Sneider, a researcher on East Asia at Stanford University.
What is it with these Asian, folks, America?!!
First the Chinese and their worries about the population and harmony, and now the Japanese responding to public opinion?
How come YOUR GOVERNMENT is the ONLY ONE that DOESN'T LISTEN TO YOU, America?
We WANT OUT of the WARS and yet we are JUST GETTING in DEEPER!! WTF?
At the same time, the Democrats want to improve relations with Asian countries, including on the touchy issue of history.
Yeah, that IS a TOUCHY SUBJECT everywhere, isn't it?
Analysts say the party seeks to reverse Japan’s growing isolation in the region under decades of right-wing Liberal Democratic rule.
What? OUR FRIENDS ISOLATED like ISRAEL? You're kidding! So Japan's politics are also a crap fooley just like ours American.
Such changes will probably not come quickly....
That's all I needed to hear; yeah, you got "change."
Analysts saw the vote less as an embrace of the Democrats than a resounding rejection of the incumbents.
GET 'ER DONE, 'murka, EVERY LAST ONE of 'em!!!!!!!
The conservative Liberal Democrats, who with their precursors have held or shared power for 62 of the last 63 years, led Japan from bombed-out rubble to economic miracle, while keeping it firmly in Washington’s camp.
But not so firm now.
--more--"
TOKYO - Japan’s next prime minister began forming a government yesterday as investors worried that the untested Democratic Party would overspend in a bid to revive the economy or would ruffle ties with Tokyo’s closest ally, Washington....
That is NEVER a GOOD SIGN for a GOVERNMENT!
It is CALLED CAPITAL FLIGHT and it is a THREAT, a sign of PUNISHMENT to come if you DO NOT HUE the GLOBALIST LINE (more on that below)!!!
Voters gave his Democratic Party of Japan, DPJ, a mandate for change.....
Tokyo’s contributions to US military operations abroad as well as the status of American bases in Japan could cause friction under the Democrats, although the party has stressed continuity in ties with Washington.
Well, the CAPITAL FLIGHT MESSAGE must have gotten to 'em, huh?
Hatoyama himself raised eyebrows this month in an essay that railed at the “unrestrained market fundamentalism’’ of US-led globalization.
Now they WANT THEIR MONEY BACK!
He has sought to play down those comments since the election win, saying yesterday that he was not anti-American.
Translation: HE HEARD YOU!
--more--"
TOKYO - Japan’s incoming leader said yesterday that he told President Obama that the two countries’ security alliance is the “foundation’’ of his nation’s foreign relations, an apparent attempt to ease concerns his new government may try to distance itself from Washington.
Yukio Hatoyama, whose party won a resounding victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, and Obama spoke by telephone for about 12 minutes, Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan said on its website. “The Japan-US alliance is the foundation,’’ Hatoyama said he told Obama, adding that he “wants to build constructive, forward-looking Japan-US relations.’’
They threaten the Japanese with attack?
******************
Obama mentioned cooperation on economic recovery, combating climate change, denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, antiterrorism, and building peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we ALL KNOW about his GLOBALIST AGENDA!
Hatoyama, a Stanford University PhD and grandson of a prime minister, has called for Japan and the United States to pursue a more equitable relationship and said Tokyo should strengthen ties with its Asian neighbors. That has raised concerns that a rift could develop between the allies....
Well, if we are taking on China and Russia we sure are going to need the Japanese, aren't we? No time to be wishy-washy!
--more--"
"Victors in Japan line up a coalition" by Eric Talmadge, Associated Press | September 10, 2009
TOKYO - Japan’s next ruling party agreed yesterday to form a coalition with two smaller parties, one of which wants to move a US Marine base off of Okinawa and review an agreement that stations 50,000 American forces in the country....
Oh, I'M LIKING THIS! I'll BET the BAD PUB STARTS SOON, as well as the foreign capital withdrawn!
Of course, if they are getting closer to Asia it is to JAPAN'S BENEFIT, isn't it?
Time to GET OFF the U.S.S. TITANIC!!!
Hatoyama’s party will align with the Social Democratic Party and the People’s New Party to replace the outgoing Liberal Democrats, a pro-business and staunchly pro-US party that had governed the country for more than 50 years.
Oh, yeah, this is GEORGE BUSH'S LOSS!!!!
A likely first test of Japan’s new path will be the fate of a US airfield on the southern island of Okinawa, home to about 18,000 US Marines. As part of a broad realignment of US troops in Asia, Washington and the outgoing Liberal Democrats agreed years ago to close the airfield in the crowded city of Futenma and find a new location for it elsewhere on the island. That plan would also move 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to the US territory of Guam by 2014. The rest would remain.
It is a start.
Washington says the deal cannot be renegotiated....
WHY NOT? Only UNION CONTRACTS and INTERNATIONAL TREATIES are for that, huh?
Yeah, when it comes to BANKSTER BONUSES and BASES of EMPIRE, it's nope, no negotiation!
--more--"
Okay, here come the hit pieces.
"Japan kills mentally ill inmates, report says" by Associated Press | September 11, 2009
TOKYO - Japan executes mentally ill prisoners, some of whom are driven insane by harsh treatment while on death row, according to a report issued yesterday by Amnesty International.
Prisoners given the death penalty are kept in solitary confinement, sometimes for decades....
Well, that WOULD BE UNDER the LDP, wouldn't it?
It ONLY APPEARS NOW after ALL the YEARS I've been reading papers?
And we are decades behind with our Gitmos and Bagrams, 'eh?
Japan, along with the United States, is one of the few industrialized countries that has capital punishment.
Yeah, but we never seem to use it on the right people.
The practice has long been criticized by rights groups and the main Japanese bar association, but there is little public outcry or indication the government will stop its executions, which are done by hanging.
Oh, rope, blade, just as good, right?!
For the record, I OPPOSE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT for a variety of reasons. Can't give back a mistake, and the TAKING of LIFE is for GOD to DECIDE, not the STATE or me!!!!
LOCK 'EM UP! WORK CAMP 'EM!!!!!!
Executing mentally ill prisoners would put Japan in violation of UN standards for individuals facing the death penalty....
Yeah, WHERE is the HUBBUB!??
Oh, yeah, Japan is NOT ISLAMIC or MUSLIM!
--more--"I would expect to see more articles expressing concern of Japanese inhumanity -- unless they turn that antiwar attitude around!!!
Btw, other than the fleeting reference to history, NO ONE REMEMBERS the JAPANESE HOLOCAUST of the CHINESE (you-know-who --rhymes with-- is responsible, readers)!!
That is ONE REASON (think Boxer rebellion when the colonialists of the day foisted an opium epidemic on them) the Chinese are SO "SENSITIVE!"
And YOU WOULD BE, too!!!!
