All eyes are watching the upcoming election for president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, which will determine the country’s next Prime Minister. Will it be Trade Minister Banri Kaieda, Agriculture Minister Michiko Kano, or perhaps or Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda? Personally my money is on former Land, Infrastructure and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara, the “Tony Blair of Japan” (you’ll be hearing that phrase a lot in the foreign media I predict), who made a name for himself by publicly canceling an expensive dam project. He had the good fortune of being forced to resign his post when it came to light that he’d accepted political donations from a “foreigner” (really a zainichi Korean, born and raised in Japan), which meant that he was not a part of the current government during the disasters of March and the debacles that followed. Of course, a lot of Japanese voters would probably prefer Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, who was the face of the government in the aftermath of the disasters, and who enjoys widespread support now. While the candidates make public their various political positions, they must also work to win the support of former PM Yukio Hatohama and his co-Kingmaker Seiji Ozawa (no relation to that Ozawa), who control the largest wing of their party.
Time to elect a new Prime Minister. Thank God there’s no election this time.
