Though I typically don’t have the time to cover late-breaking events as they happen here, I feel that being an avid follower of the political situation (and Japan’s news in general) I should comment at least briefly on this morning’s whopper.
As the always-superb Mr. Cucek at Shisaku has already done a comprehensive (and timely) job of covering things, I’ll only give the briefest of summaries. According to the papers I read (just the Nikkei and Asahi evening editions), Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio has declared his intention to step down. In order to essentially rid the party of the untrustworthy image it has developed quite effectively over the past 8 months, he has also asked Democratic Part of Japan Secretary-General Ozawa Ichiro to resign, and I believe that resignation is also now official.
Interestingly, the one additional person whose leave of office Hatoyama openly sought was that of Lower House member Kobayashi Chiyomi, who was embroiled in scandals surrounding illegal funding activities, in much the same way Ozawa was, though on an entirely different scale in terms of public perception I’m sure. This request is in my mind a bit bizarre, but he couldn’t have picked a better time to do it, I guess.
I think this turn of events could be wonderful for the DPJ. Since late 2009 as public opinion polls plummeted, Japan’s political horizon found itself without a party receiving a viable amount of support. There was no way a DPJ with Hatoyama was going to move anywhere but down in the coming Upper House election. In removing himself, and Ozawa, Hatoyama has essentially changed the entire face of the party when it comes to the average onlooker. Thus essentially, the DPJ is reborn as the (all things considered) fresh face, and while I don’t expect public opinion polls to rise soon, if the new leader (expected to be Kan Naoto) selection process and the following plethora of tasks are handled smoothly, I think the DPJ will be seen in a fairly neutral, if not even good light by the population at large. Compare that to the infinitely negative public opinion which lasted up until this morning.
In addition – the photos of Ozawa and Hatoyama in the papers today were just hilarious. In some the two of them look like they’re about to lock lips, in others Hatoyama’s head looks like Kermit the frog, and others Ozawa is jutting out his chin and looking downward… I guess that isn’t unusual though.
The biggest irritant in all of this for me was the dismissal of Fukushima Mizuho from her position as Minister of Consumer Affairs. She was a well-spoken, tough lady who was doing a fine job. I understand the need to maintain a level of order among the ruling party on its key issues (ie. the Futenma base-moving hullabaloo), but if Hatoyama was going to jump ship anyways, all I can say about her removal is a heartfelt もったいない.