Japanese Politics

[Yu Ominae]

I'm not really sure since the Emperor doesn't have much power. NHK is suggesting that the powers that be will deliberate. I suspect that this could be the Household Agency.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Japan palace denies reports of Emperor's wish to abdicate

Tokyo (July 14, Thu): Japan's Emperor Akihito has no plans to step down, the imperial household has insisted, denying reports that the 82-year-old wants to abdicate.

Citing palace sources, public broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday that the Emperor wants to pass the throne to his son.

Any such abdication — the first in 200 years — would be a huge shock to Japan, which regards the revered royal family as a symbol of stability and continuity.

Observers say NHK and Kyodo News, which also carried a similar report, would have been extremely careful in committing themselves to such an explosive story.

The observers say the agencies would have relied on strong sources.

But the Imperial Household Agency, the government body that runs royal affairs, offered a categorical denial.

Vice-Grand Steward Shinichiro Yamamoto told reporters late on Wednesday that the story is "absolutely not true".

CHANNEL NEWSASIA

[KiraYamatoFan]

Monarchs have stepped down in the last few years, so let him go. Where is the bloody problem?

Some people in the IHA are just... SMH.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Yu Ominae

I'm not really sure since the Emperor doesn't have much power. NHK is suggesting that the powers that be will deliberate. I suspect that this could be the Household Agency.

You don't need to have much power to give up your position.

As for the recent update that the Palace is denying it?

I say I believe the media had evidence that there are plans, but that they were not ready to announce it. So of course they would deny it. You are right that there is currently rules that needed breaking, so it could just be that he is being kept on against his will.

[Marcus H.]

NHK pushed through with the news, and also stated that there are no plans by the government for any legislative amendments to aid with procedures involving the abdication process.

[Ithekro]

Shouldn't be all that hard. Emperor hold an elaborate ceremony. Hand over reigns of power to his chosen successor. There is a statement of consent. The new Emperor is given a run through of the rights and responsibilities. Someone comes up with a new formal title for the Emperor's era. Former Emperor goes on vacation.

Job done.

[Brother Coa]

"Japan Reverts to Fascism."

"This week, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partners won a two-thirds majority in the legislature’s upper house, to go along with their two-thirds majority in the lower house. A two-thirds majority is required in each house to begin the process of amending Japan’s constitution. And amending the constitution is one of the central planks in the LDP’s platform. The constitution was imposed on Japan by the United States after the Second World War; it has never been amended. Why should it be amended now? As Bloomberg reports, the LDP has pointed out that “several of the current constitutional provisions are based on the Western European theory of natural human rights; such provisions therefore [need] to be changed.”"

Really interesting year if nothing else...

Also this: "According to the Credit Suisse Military Strength Index, Japan currently has the fourth-strongest military in the world, behind only the U.S., Russia, and China."

I pretty much doubt this, 4'th adn 5'th place should belong to India and Great Britain. Japan can be 8'th or 9'th but not 4'th.

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by Brother Coa

Also this: "According to the Credit Suisse Military Strength Index, Japan currently has the fourth-strongest military in the world, behind only the U.S., Russia, and China."

I pretty much doubt this, 4'th adn 5'th place should belong to India and Great Britain. Japan can be 8'th or 9'th but not 4'th.

I know that Japan have invested loads of money in their military forces in recent years, but to say they are the 4th strongest military is pushing quite a lot. I would at least put Great Britain, France, India, and Germany ahead of Japan.

I wonder what are the criteria that were used by Credit Suisse Military Strength Index to reach that conclusion.

[aldw]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

You can solve that easily, by showing that their perception of core culture is barely three generations old. The desire to keep everything the same had always been a lie, because it requires that you believe something that your grandparents invented was something that was installed by the founding fathers. Talk about founding fathers, case in point how many Americans who borderline worship the founders, know nothing about them. And assume that the Founders are exactly like themselves.

(Almost like how religious fanatics think their god is an exact mirror copy of themselves in every way.)

There always remains a element of continuity in a culture even as it changes over time, a living example being an oral tradition that is passed down the generations despite changing environments and conditions (language in particular being a major aspect of information cohesion). It would be a logical fallacy to treat core culture as a sui generis thing simply because the people in the present didn't live through the circumstances of the past.

In addition, the perception of value in a culture is as much influenced by economic elements as much as the social elements, after all people will reminisce about things that were considered 'better days' in terms of prosperity and order (especially if the present is negative in those things), and will try to find ways to reclaim them. Direct emulation of past successful behaviours does not guarantee future positive outcomes (as the old business saying goes), but it is nonetheless an iterative process of elimination to achieve or exceed success relative to previous ones.

[Ithekro]

Japan's navy is growing, but its offensive capabilities are lacking. The Royal Navy is in a slump between carriers, but should be fine once the new Queen Elizabeth-class ships are fully operational.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Brother Coa

"Japan Reverts to Fascism."

"This week, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partners won a two-thirds majority in the legislature’s upper house, to go along with their two-thirds majority in the lower house. A two-thirds majority is required in each house to begin the process of amending Japan’s constitution. And amending the constitution is one of the central planks in the LDP’s platform. The constitution was imposed on Japan by the United States after the Second World War; it has never been amended. Why should it be amended now? As Bloomberg reports, the LDP has pointed out that “several of the current constitutional provisions are based on the Western European theory of natural human rights; such provisions therefore [need] to be changed.”"

.

Can you smell the clickbait title? If anything, I would suggest reading that quote from a comment that may shed light on the sentiments of Japanese citizens.

now that you understand how similar life in Japan is to life in America, minus the unique nuances of the Japanese people. Imagine being an American in an America without Nuclear Weapons, in a world where Canada is North Korea, run by an inbred Lunatic and Cuba is Communist China. If such a scenario were reality, and China/Cuba was unilaterally claiming ownership of the water on our Atlantic coast line, as well as the airways over the Gulf of Mexico, as it built artificial Military Islands off the coast of California … Do think it would be possible for American Politicians to seize some of our liberty in exchange for taking actions they claim will protect us?

[aldw]

Originally Posted by Sheba

Can you smell the clickbait title? If anything, I would suggest reading that quote from a comment that may shed light on the sentiments of Japanese citizens.

That's a poor analogy both on the strategic and economic aspects let alone the historical and political ones, but then again the average joe on the street doesn't really understand the myriad factors involved in international and national disputes. It's what enables guys like Erdogan to rise in the first place.

[SeijiSensei]

The Politics of Akihito's Announcement

The extraordinary nature of the gesture raises the question, “Why now?” In part, no doubt, the timing is a sign that Emperor Akihito, as he nears the end of his life, is growing concerned about the future of the imperial system.

One cannot help suspecting that the emperor’s desire to abdicate is connected to the determination of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government to rewrite the Constitution — especially since one of its proposed changes would redefine the role of the emperor, changing it from a purely symbolic post back to head of state, as under the Meiji Constitution of 1890. The practical implications of that change are unclear, but it would be a symbolic repudiation of postwar ideals.

The author suggests that Akihito put the constitutional issue of abdication on the table to push back consideration of other changes proposed by Abe, particularly the renunciation of the "peace" clause. If true, old Akihito seems like a pretty canny political operative.

[Ithekro]

Emperor Akihito has continued to do damage control from the reign of his father, Emperor Hirohito.

[SeijiSensei]

Democratic Party of Japan set to name woman as leader

Among democracies in the developed world, Japan has one of the worst records of putting women in positions of political power.

Yet if, as widely predicted, Renho Murata, a member of the upper house of Parliament, prevails in a leadership contest on Thursday and becomes the first woman to lead the opposition Democratic Party, she will be the third woman to assume a high-profile political post in Japan in less than two months.

In July, Tokyo elected its first female governor, Yuriko Koike, and last month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed Japan’s second female defense minister, Tomomi Inada. (Ms. Koike was the first.) Both are members of Mr. Abe’s conservative party, the Liberal Democrats.

A victory by Ms. Murata, 48, a former model and television news announcer who has served in Parliament for more than a decade, would hardly usher in an era of female dominance. Women still represent less than 15 percent of all seats in Parliament, and Mr. Abe was forced to concede last year that his government would not achieve its goal of placing women in 30 percent of management roles by 2020.

[KiraYamatoFan]

Some people say Tomomi Inada will lead the LDP by the time Abe steps down into retirement. Should the next electoral campaign feature Tomomi Inada and Renho Murata, I'm sure that would be quite something to watch. It's not everyday that 2 major parties in an Asian country would be led by female candidates in a federal election.

[MrTerrorist]

Japan just approved a record $43.6 billion Military Budget to counter China and North Korea.

[Draco Spirit]

Hardly surprising considering China recent fondness for territorial expansion.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

Japan just approved a record $43.6 billion Military Budget to counter China and North Korea.

Originally Posted by Draco Spirit

Hardly surprising considering China recent fondness for territorial expansion.

Just to pt it in perspective, for a long time in modern Japan's history, the military spending was capped at 1% of the national GDP.

Japan's GDP for 2015 was 4123.26 billion USD. Thus the "classic" budget would have been 41.23 billion dollars.

Thus, this budget was 2.37 billion above the classic norm. Or less than 6% extra.



In 2015, China spent 2% of its GDP on the military. USA spent 5.6% of its GDP.

Japan wanting to spend 1.06% of its GDP on its military instead of 1%, is newsworthy HOW?

[KiraYamatoFan]

Like Vallen mentioned, the title is just sensationalizing the whole thing here. If Japan were to spend the same percentage of its own GDP for the military as China does, then it would be something more worth talking about.