Anyone here an expert on JAPANESE politics? PM to dissolve parliament

[ShaneGR]

Basically, the Japanese Prime Minister has desolved the entire lower house of parliament in an attempt, possibly, to stop debate on a bill supportive of US anti-terrorism military operations. Anyone on DU know a lot about Japan. What does this mean? What has been going on over there?

http://msnbc.com/news/972049.asp?0cv=CB10

(snip)
Sept. 26 — Riding a wave of popularity after his re-election as leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will dissolve the lower house of Parliament and call new elections, the Kyodo news agency reported Friday.
KOIZUMI, who completed an extensive shake-up of his Cabinet only three days ago, was expected to announce later in the day at an extraordinary session of the Diet, or parliament, that he would dissolve the House of Representatives on Oct. 10 and call a general election for Nov. 9 to bolster his campaign for regulatory and financial reforms, Kyodo said.
The reforms have been strongly opposed by business leaders, and the Nikkei stock exchange opened down 85 points Friday, or nearly 1 percent.
The House had called the special session to consider a bill pushed by Koizumi to extend a controversial law authorizing Japan’s participation in U.S.-led antiterrorism operations. The session had been planned for 36 days, but the election schedule will likely leave lawmakers with only two weeks to debate the measure.


Looks kind of like an orchestra conductor.

[Boom_cha]

1. Koizumi was just reelected president of the LDP

over the weekend. The election was a major hurdle for him (the anti-reformers were trying to defeat him). Now that he's won, he's proceeding with his agenda (mainly economic reforms). That's why he dissolved the Diet. I doubt that the anti-terrorism law had much if anything to do with the decision.

[ShaneGR]

2. Is it normal to dissolve the Diet?

How often does it happen?

[Boom_cha]

5. It happens every once in a while

Not all that often as far as I know, but it's not all that unusual either. I'd say it happens at most every couple years on average. It happens more often in politically tumultuous times and less often in stable times.

[Art_from_Ark]

3. As someone who is in Japan

I find it hard to figure out just what these guys are up to. On the one hand, I don't know who the anti-reformers are, since it was very difficult to distinguish one LDP faction leader from another. However, they all agreed that Article 9 (the anti-war part of the Japanese Constitution) should be changed to "make Japan's stance about military matters clearer" (whatever that means! I think it's pretty clear already). I also found it interesting that just a couple of weeks before the LDP election, the government accounced that the long recession was finally over! Yay!

[charlie]

6. Reformers, anti-reformers

It's show and spectacle, you can't divine who's what from the news. Politics is still primarily a backroom affair in Japan. Almost all prime ministers for at least a decade have been hailed as "reformers", none of them really were.

[Art_from_Ark]

8. You are right

True reformers, like Kaifu and Murayama (the only non-LDP prime minister in 45+ years) tend to be pushed out before their time.

[charlie]

10. Yeah

The supposed fracturing of the LDP juggernaut in the mid-nineties didn't last long, did it? The only thing I remember about Murayama's uneventful tenure was his remarkable eyebrows.

Meanwhile, the problem of the bad Tokyo Bubble (and Yakuza) loans are still festering in the banks, the govt still regularly introduces sops to road, bridge, and tunnel contractors as pump primers for the economy, local agriculture is still heavily protected, etc, etc. Same as it ever was.

[Art_from_Ark]

4. Here's an article from the Japan Times that is a kind of introduction

to Japan's faction-based system:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?eo20030923kn.htm

[Art_from_Ark]

7. As far as dissolving the Diet (Parliament) goes,

it's done by nearly every prime minister who is either in hot water, or feels he has a good chance to win the subsequent election. Here's an old article talking about former PM Mori dissolving the Diet:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20000602a1.htm

[bpilgrim]

9. Opposition Parties Submit No-Confidence Motion Against Mori 'divine nation

Four Japanese opposition parties Wednesday submitted a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's cabinet, charging that Mori's controversial remark that Japan is a 'DIVINE NATION' centering on the emperor violated the country's constitution.

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the Japanese Communist Party (JCP), the Liberal Party (LP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) filed the motion to the House of Representatives shortly after a nonbinding censure resolution against Mori was rejected in the House of Councilors.

"The comment is a clear breach and denial of the constitution," the no-confidence motion said, adding that Mori "utterly lacks" the qualities of a prime minister.

"The Mori cabinet should swiftly resign en masse before the dissolution of the lower house and the general election," said the motion.

more...
http://fpeng.peopledaily.com.cn/200006/01/eng20000601_42024.html

the LDP scare me almost as much as the neo-cons...

:hi:

peace

[charlie]

11. On the other hand...

Koizumi's Foreign Secretary Tanaka was the first (and so far, only) dignitary to publicly call Bush an "asshole". In English no less. The LDP may be rightwing thugs, but it appears they know assholery when they see it.

[bpilgrim]

12. true i was very suprised when i read that even from her...

and she said it in the of cradle of liberty to boot, my home town, philly... very kewl :bounce:

just goes to show that women got more 'spine' then men ;->

:hi:

(on edit: she was also quickly replaced)

peace

[Art_from_Ark]

19. Yeah, Ms. Tanaka was quickly replaced

And the opposition's main critic of Koizumi, Kiyomi Tsujino, was ousted from the Diet because of a "scandal" that was not of her making.

And now Koizumi is on the tube going on about how he is going to privatize such things as the Japan Highway Public Corporation (higher road tolls, here we come!)

[bpilgrim]

14. looks like he is doing this to push through BUSH's bill to change the

CONSTITUTION and send troops into combat, especially without a U.N. Security Council Mandate as the article indicates.

he will get his wish even if the voters have other things in mind i presume.

:hi:

peace

[charlie]

16. It's touch and go

He might get his way -- the elections have more than a whiff of turn-of-the-century American style politicking to them. That is, the guys (LDPers) who have been good at handing out the swag to their constituents (and I mean here-and-now gifts, not some promise to fund a new civic center) can usually count on a dependable voting bloc. But, this business of active entanglement in foreign wars is a hotbutton issue, something the average Japanese is mightily averse to. Koizumi fever has greatly waned since he took office, I think it's going to be a nailbiter to see if he can pull this off.

[Art_from_Ark]

20. Didncha know? The government said the recession is over!

A couple of weeks before the LDP elections. Koizumi's ratings are shooting back up! The perfect time to call a general election!

And that big lump under the rug called "entanglement in foreign wars"? Just ignore it!

Hey, did we mention the recession is over?

[jeter]

13. To "dissolve" parliament means you are calling an election

Then the "debate" in question will be put to the people.

[jeter]

15. "dissolving" parliament isn't a bad thing

Any parliamentary government dissolves when an election is called. It happens very frequently.

a) a vote of non-confidence by opposition
b) when the term is up
c) when a major issue is up and the parliament is deadlocked

[Cottonball]

17. same beuracracy

I don't know much about their political structure, but I see that their politicians and scientists act in the way. Its their way or the highway. Last week a japanese scientist predicted an earthquake was going to happen the following week. It did! Check out this site. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/quake_prediction_030915.html
Is no one open to new ideas in this world? Nobody listens until its too late. Look at our own situation.

[newyawker99]

18. Hi Cottonball!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Art_from_Ark]

21. Well, that earthquake prediction was only off by a week

and 500 miles!