This week, the DPJ’s good fortune–in the form of the hilariously politically inept Prime Minister Mori Yoshihiro–turns to disaster, as he is replaced by the charismatic Koizumi Junichiro. Facing a revived LDP, the DPJ will turn to one of the most singular (and divisive) figures in modern Japanese politics: Ozawa Ichiro.
Sources
Funabayashi, Yoichi, and Koichi Nakano, eds. The Democratic Party of Japan in Power: Challenges and Failures. Translated by Kate Dunlop.
Carlson, Matthew M and Steven R. Reed. Political Corruption and Scandals in Japan.
This fascinating bit of NY Times coverage of the 2000 general election. I find the quotes from the voters at the end particularly prescient in terms of describing the pre-Koizumi reality of Japanese politics.
Images
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