Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii (L) stands next to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama before a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo January 5, 2010. Japan's aged finance minister offered to quit on Tuesday after weeks of exhausting debate over the budget, media said, a fresh blow for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as he wrestles with a stubbornly frail economy and huge public debt.
Ever since his DPJ stormed to a landslide victory last summer, the government has stumbled from one predicament to another.
On the diplomatic front, the DPJ has strained relations with the US, due to its dithering over a bilateral agreement to relocate US marines from the Futenma Airbase in Okinawa to a more remote site.
The agreement, which was made under the previous government, is unpopular in Okinawa itself and Mr Hatoyama faces staunch opposition to the bilateral agreement from the DPJ’s coalition partner, the Socialists.
Mr Hatoyama has postponed a decision on the issue until May, raising the ire of the US – which has insisted that there is no alternative to the current plan – and making him look indecisive at home.
Meanwhile, the DPJ has been battling two political funding scandals that have tarnished its image and threaten to bring down one or both of its top leaders.
Mr Hatoyama himself is under pressure over revelations that political donations registered under the names of a large number of individuals were actually from his wealthy mother.
Ichiro Ozawa, DPJ secretary-general, is also under a cloud due to alleged political donations to his party from a construction company which he claims he knew nothing about.
While these scandals have led to double-digit declines in Mr Hatoyama’s popularity, the DPJ and its leader also face public disillusionment due to their poor handling of Japan’s economic woes and other matters.
The Japanese economy has been battered by a strong yen, which has hit exports, and persistent deflation.
The DPJ’s initial failure to come up with an economic growth strategy – the government only unveiled a growth plan late last month – and the record Y92,300bn ($1,009bn, €700bn, £630bn) budget for 2010, have given it a reputation for lacking economic expertise and being fiscally irresponsible.
But perhaps almost as damaging to its image has been growing signs that it is Ichiro Ozawa, DPJ secretary-general, who is calling the shots rather than Mr Hatoyama.
Mr Ozawa, who has long been known as the “shadow shogun,” is credited with having masterminded the DPJ’s landslide victory in Lower House elections last summer.
Until he was forced to resign as head of the DPJ due to the fundraising scandal that still haunts him, Mr Ozawa was said to rule the party with an iron hand.
Although Mr Ozawa’s primary role as secretary-general is to ensure the DPJ wins a majority in Upper House elections this summer, he has been seen on several occasions to impose his views on the prime minister, to the anger of many ministers, including Mr Fujii.
The two senior politicians, who were once close, have clashed over the budget and other matters recently and this time Mr Fujii just had enough, he said.
The crucial question is whether Mr Hatoyama appoints Yoshihiko Noda, deputy finance minister and Mr Fujii’s protégé, when the latter steps down.
Mr Ozawa is known to dislike Mr Noda.
“If Hatoyama does not appoint Mr Noda, that will be a clear indication that the government is being ruled by Ozawa,” Mr Toshikawa says.
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
DTN News: Japan TODAY January 06, 2010 ~ Fresh Setback For Battered DPJ
DTN News: Japan TODAY January 06, 2010 ~ Fresh Setback For Battered DPJ
*Source: DTN News / Int'l News By Michiyo Nakamoto
(NSI News Source Info) TOKYO, Japan - January 06, 2010: The Democratic Party of Japan faces its severest test just four months on from making history and winning the reins of power.
The decision by Hirohisa Fujii, the finance minister to quit is the latest in a string of setbacks that have undermined the government of Yukio Hatoyama. Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii (L) stands next to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama before a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo January 5, 2010. Japan's aged finance minister offered to quit on Tuesday after weeks of exhausting debate over the budget, media said, a fresh blow for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as he wrestles with a stubbornly frail economy and huge public debt.
Ever since his DPJ stormed to a landslide victory last summer, the government has stumbled from one predicament to another.
On the diplomatic front, the DPJ has strained relations with the US, due to its dithering over a bilateral agreement to relocate US marines from the Futenma Airbase in Okinawa to a more remote site.
The agreement, which was made under the previous government, is unpopular in Okinawa itself and Mr Hatoyama faces staunch opposition to the bilateral agreement from the DPJ’s coalition partner, the Socialists.
Mr Hatoyama has postponed a decision on the issue until May, raising the ire of the US – which has insisted that there is no alternative to the current plan – and making him look indecisive at home.
Meanwhile, the DPJ has been battling two political funding scandals that have tarnished its image and threaten to bring down one or both of its top leaders.
Mr Hatoyama himself is under pressure over revelations that political donations registered under the names of a large number of individuals were actually from his wealthy mother.
Ichiro Ozawa, DPJ secretary-general, is also under a cloud due to alleged political donations to his party from a construction company which he claims he knew nothing about.
While these scandals have led to double-digit declines in Mr Hatoyama’s popularity, the DPJ and its leader also face public disillusionment due to their poor handling of Japan’s economic woes and other matters.
The Japanese economy has been battered by a strong yen, which has hit exports, and persistent deflation.
The DPJ’s initial failure to come up with an economic growth strategy – the government only unveiled a growth plan late last month – and the record Y92,300bn ($1,009bn, €700bn, £630bn) budget for 2010, have given it a reputation for lacking economic expertise and being fiscally irresponsible.
But perhaps almost as damaging to its image has been growing signs that it is Ichiro Ozawa, DPJ secretary-general, who is calling the shots rather than Mr Hatoyama.
Mr Ozawa, who has long been known as the “shadow shogun,” is credited with having masterminded the DPJ’s landslide victory in Lower House elections last summer.
Until he was forced to resign as head of the DPJ due to the fundraising scandal that still haunts him, Mr Ozawa was said to rule the party with an iron hand.
Although Mr Ozawa’s primary role as secretary-general is to ensure the DPJ wins a majority in Upper House elections this summer, he has been seen on several occasions to impose his views on the prime minister, to the anger of many ministers, including Mr Fujii.
The two senior politicians, who were once close, have clashed over the budget and other matters recently and this time Mr Fujii just had enough, he said.
The crucial question is whether Mr Hatoyama appoints Yoshihiko Noda, deputy finance minister and Mr Fujii’s protégé, when the latter steps down.
Mr Ozawa is known to dislike Mr Noda.
“If Hatoyama does not appoint Mr Noda, that will be a clear indication that the government is being ruled by Ozawa,” Mr Toshikawa says.
Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii (L) stands next to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama before a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo January 5, 2010. Japan's aged finance minister offered to quit on Tuesday after weeks of exhausting debate over the budget, media said, a fresh blow for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as he wrestles with a stubbornly frail economy and huge public debt.
Ever since his DPJ stormed to a landslide victory last summer, the government has stumbled from one predicament to another.
On the diplomatic front, the DPJ has strained relations with the US, due to its dithering over a bilateral agreement to relocate US marines from the Futenma Airbase in Okinawa to a more remote site.
The agreement, which was made under the previous government, is unpopular in Okinawa itself and Mr Hatoyama faces staunch opposition to the bilateral agreement from the DPJ’s coalition partner, the Socialists.
Mr Hatoyama has postponed a decision on the issue until May, raising the ire of the US – which has insisted that there is no alternative to the current plan – and making him look indecisive at home.
Meanwhile, the DPJ has been battling two political funding scandals that have tarnished its image and threaten to bring down one or both of its top leaders.
Mr Hatoyama himself is under pressure over revelations that political donations registered under the names of a large number of individuals were actually from his wealthy mother.
Ichiro Ozawa, DPJ secretary-general, is also under a cloud due to alleged political donations to his party from a construction company which he claims he knew nothing about.
While these scandals have led to double-digit declines in Mr Hatoyama’s popularity, the DPJ and its leader also face public disillusionment due to their poor handling of Japan’s economic woes and other matters.
The Japanese economy has been battered by a strong yen, which has hit exports, and persistent deflation.
The DPJ’s initial failure to come up with an economic growth strategy – the government only unveiled a growth plan late last month – and the record Y92,300bn ($1,009bn, €700bn, £630bn) budget for 2010, have given it a reputation for lacking economic expertise and being fiscally irresponsible.
But perhaps almost as damaging to its image has been growing signs that it is Ichiro Ozawa, DPJ secretary-general, who is calling the shots rather than Mr Hatoyama.
Mr Ozawa, who has long been known as the “shadow shogun,” is credited with having masterminded the DPJ’s landslide victory in Lower House elections last summer.
Until he was forced to resign as head of the DPJ due to the fundraising scandal that still haunts him, Mr Ozawa was said to rule the party with an iron hand.
Although Mr Ozawa’s primary role as secretary-general is to ensure the DPJ wins a majority in Upper House elections this summer, he has been seen on several occasions to impose his views on the prime minister, to the anger of many ministers, including Mr Fujii.
The two senior politicians, who were once close, have clashed over the budget and other matters recently and this time Mr Fujii just had enough, he said.
The crucial question is whether Mr Hatoyama appoints Yoshihiko Noda, deputy finance minister and Mr Fujii’s protégé, when the latter steps down.
Mr Ozawa is known to dislike Mr Noda.
“If Hatoyama does not appoint Mr Noda, that will be a clear indication that the government is being ruled by Ozawa,” Mr Toshikawa says.
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