Japan's PM resigns

Japan's PM resigns

news.bbc.co.uk

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced he is resigning after less than a year in office.

Mr Abe had faced growing calls to go since his Liberal Democrats lost the upper house, but had held out, saying he wanted to push through reforms.

Visibly distressed, he told a packed news conference that Japan needed a new leader to "fight against terrorism".

(visit the link for the full news article)

Busy day already. I really do not know what to even say, first the story from Russia and now we have Japan. Any thoughts?

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well, the Prime Minister of Japan has been hit by a string of scandals, lost the second chamber in the recent elections and his party lost faith in him.

And, the parliament won't support increasing the mandate of troops in Afghanistan.

I don't blame him for resigning. He was a weak Prime Minister.

I agree the PM's political problems are very well documented and he went on record saying he would resign if the troop increase was not approved. This news did not comer as a shock to anyone, but I do find the timing of this very interesting.

Originally posted by infinite
Well, the Prime Minister of Japan has been hit by a string of scandals, lost the second chamber in the recent elections and his party lost faith in him.

And, the parliament won't support increasing the mandate of troops in Afghanistan.

I don't blame him for resigning. He was a weak Prime Minister.

Japan doesn`t have troops in Afghanistan. I`d also hazard that his party has not lost faith in him - the public has. It`s not a question of being weak, it`s that his particular tack and the actions of about a dozen of his (and Koizumi`s) ministers have left his party quite unpopular at the moment.

The issue is the refueling misson in the Indian Ocean - since the withdrawl from Iraq, this has been the main contribution to the "War on Terror". The public does not support it, and the opposition was calling for it to be cut off.

Abe could see the writing on the wall, so he threatened to resign if the mission was voted down. It made for an easy exit.

My question is: who is next? Aso worries me... and unfortunately he`s one of the only guys left at this point.

Already posted here:

www.abovepolitics.com...

Originally posted by section8citizen
I agree the PM's political problems are very well documented and he went on record saying he would resign if the troop increase was not approved. This news did not comer as a shock to anyone, but I do find the timing of this very interesting.

The timing is a little odd - Abe was elected on September 11, 2006, and tendered his resignation on September 12, 2007. There`s a fair amount that can be read into that - refering to the duration as opposed to the date of the 2006 elections.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is actually a conservative party (centre-right), with very strong historic ties to both the USA and far right groups within Japan. I do so wish they`d lose the "Liberal Democratic" bit of the name, seeing as they`re conservative and won`t let me vote until I naturalize.

A few years back, it came out that the CIA was backing both the far right here in Japan and legit right groups like the LDP from the `50s well into the `70s... thanks, guys. I think of you whenever I see those pretty black vans with the loudspeakers on the roof screaming about deporting the filthy foreign devils and keeping japan pure...

Here`s a link on that: www.jpri.org...

Hopefully this all means that we`ll be seeing an election soon, and it will swing away from the right. If Taro Aso steps to the plate after Abe though... things will get interesting.

Is this the "elvis" guy, if so good riddens what a joke!

Originally posted by mel1962
Is this the "elvis" guy, if so good riddens what a joke!

You`re thinking of Koizumi, who bowed out over a year ago.

Do try to keep up....

All I can really say is that it's about friggin' time that Abe bowed out.

When the LDP lost the recent upper house elections and he refused to step down, there was pretty much a collective, "Huh? WTF?" throughout the entire country. I personally don't think that there's any conspiracy going on about his resignation though...just a crooked politician who's continuing to do everything half-arsed like he normally does.

As well, I'm glad the dude's outta there, with the whole, "Let's relive the great times of the 1930's prewar Greater East Asian Prosperity Sphere with a renewed patriotic Japan!" Puhleez.

Also, as far as Koizumi goes, at least the guy had an iota of personality. I'd take Jun-chan over Shinzo any day o' the week. And Aso? Wow...let's just hope & pray that he & his nationalistic fervor doesn't get elected by the LDP.

HH

p.s. Vox...you in Hokkaido, too? U2U me sometime!

reply to post by HokkaidoHillbilly


Cool! Someone else got lost and wound up in Hokkaido!

Asahi is saying that Abe is in the hospital... the plot thickens.

Unfortunately, I caught a look at a few chat shows today, and it seemed that they were all pegging Aso to be the replacement - although they`re all dreaming of getting Koizumi back.

It`s mind-boggling sometimes. People like him simply because he`s otaku...