As you may have seen in news-flashes on your local new source, the DPJ has pulled in a momentous victory in Japan’s Lower House elections held just yesterday. In fact it has taken a clear majority with 308 seats, 319 if you include prospective coalition partners such as the Social Democratic Party, People’s New Party and New Party Nippon. The LDP on the other hand has seen its coalition majority with the New Komeito dwindle from a staggering 331 pre-election to a humble 140 post. The two ousted parties received 119 and 21 seats respectively, down from 300 and 31 in the 2005 election.
DPJ party leade…
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As expected, the Democratic Party of Japan won big. Here’s some interesting analysis:
Financial Times
New Republic
Interesting blog post from Observing Japan. Key quote :
Hatoyama Yukio and the other DPJ leaders plan to move quickly in preparing the party to take power, and the Japanese people will be watching to see what the party does with its new majority. The party has about a year until it will have to go before the public again, in the 2010 House of Councillors election — and the clock will be ticking.…
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Election-day is all but upon us in the Land of the Rising Sun but before we get all philosophical about a new era dawning with the forecast change of government, it’s time to take a look at the nuts and bolts of this ballot. This isn’t junior high school and we aren’t running a popularity contest, though some may beg to differ on the latter, so what exactly are the Japanese public faced with in terms of policy and political promises? From the bold to the serious and on to the far-fetched, we take a peek inside the various manifestos flying around.
First on our list, and at the hearts of many a Japanese vote…
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Karl-Theodor M. N. J. J. P. F. J. S. Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg – a problem the Social Democrats have to increasingly address. Remarkable beside his name and self-confidence of course is the fact that he topped chancellor Merkel in the national popularity scale – something no one else has managed.
For quite some time, the Christian Democrats were searching for a counterpart to Peer Steinbrück, the social democratic Minister of Finance. Steinbrück is regarded as competent and resolute, using clear and articulate language – sometimes the language of the street. Christian Democratic par…
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Times of economic depression or instability (I will leave it to your discretion to choose a word you feel comfortable with) typically drive constituent interest in who their political representatives are and what precisely they are doing to help ”me” out of said economic situation. Another trend often attributed to difficult economic times is a look to change, a change of government to be precise. Both of these trends can be seen in the Japanese Archipelago this summer.
Looking at overall voter interest in the upcoming general election we are greeted with some intriguing figures (you̵…
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