Comments on: Open Thread: Election Results

By: Kaoru Ikeda

Kaoru Ikeda — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 14:23:43 +0000

Hello. My name is Kaoru.
I read your blog, and I really enjoyed them.
By the way, I’m thinking to make a homepage. You may wonder what kind of homepage, or you may don’t care about it. But please just keep reading.
The homepage will be …　①All people around the world who want to go to Japan will
see.
②Very famous, special, original one
③Very funny and interesting one
To be ③very funny and interesting one, Japan should be introduce in a real. The real
Japan is shown by only foreigners, it means by you!!
So I want you, who have interest in Japan, have lived in Japan or living in Japan, to
write a blog, which you experienced in Japan.
So I really really entreat you, to help me. What I want you to do is just write whatever
you want about Japan.
If you are kind enough to help me or you have interest about it, please give me an
E-mail: mailto:k_ikeda19821127@hotmail.co.jp
Thank you for kindness and hoping to see your E-mail.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Kaoru Ikeda

By: Owen

Owen — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 23:25:05 +0000

I really just have some questions about this as I’m rather ignorant about Japanese politics. The principal one is: what are Koizumi’s reasons for wanting to privatise the Postal Savings system? My initial guesses would be:
a) He’s a fully paid-up neo-liberal ideologue and believes that the private sector is better no matter what
b) This is some way of gaining the upper hand in some sort of intra-ruling class conflict, ie the postal savings system represents a vested interest that Koizumi wants to crush
c) He (or rather his economic advisors) really believe that privatisation is the best option for the Japanese economy
Or perhaps some combination of the above.
Sorry to pre-empt any answers like this, but I just wanted to throw out a few ideas.
My other question would be, if postal privatisation is quite unpopular (which I believe is the case), why did the Japanese people vote Koizumi back in?

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 10:58:07 +0000

Thanks for that summary of the benefits of the old postal savings system. I know I’ve been relying on the post office ATMs while I’ve been in Japan these past six weeks, since a lot of combini don’t give equal access to accounts overseas. (Self-interest at work!)

My first comment on the recent election is that it provided me a great opportunity for language-learning that kept listening and reading skills in synch. The constant repetition of restricted sets of visual and oral clues with each new set of results (enough to keep me watching) gave me time to look stuff up in my handy-dandy new Canon WordTank: 当選の当、確実の確、圧勝、plus a lot of surnames and placenames that I’m always a little shaky on.

Two more points: (1) Koizumi seems to be creating the equivalent of Blair’s New Labor or Clinton’s DLC (which is where I feel most comfortable on the political spectrum). Can we call the current LDP the New Tories? (Please, not Neocons!) (2) The DJP really got wiped out in Greater Kanto. I’m right now in Ashikaga, on the border of Tochigi and Gunma, where all but one out of maybe 18 wards went for the LDP. You can see the economic growth (industrial parks, tract housing, strip malls, big box retailers, lots of cars and parking) all around the edges of the Kanto plain.