What can the Yakuza explain anyway?

Having read and enjoyed Jacob Adelstein's Tokyo Vice , it was with considerable interest that I read his article "The La…

Hatoyama stays above the fray, but his government resists Kamei

In his first two weeks as prime minister, Hatoyama Yukio ought to have learned an important lesson about governing: if you do not…

An important week for the Hatoyama government

Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio has returned to Japan after what appears to have been a successful introduction to the world in Ne…

Containing Kamei

While Okada Katsuya was securing his position as the undisputed leader in foreign policy making, Kamei Shizuka has made immediat…

The Hatoyama government fills more positions and gets to work

On Friday the Hatoyama cabinet met and continued its work of reforming Japan's policymaking system. The cabinet decided to c…

Hatoyama delivers an impressive cabinet

The votes are being counted in the House of Representatives, after which the House of Councillors will vote for the new prime min…

The Hatoyama system takes shape

The coalition with the SDPJ and the PNP cemented, the DPJ is getting to work filling in the rest of the cabinet. One question is …

Assembling the new coalition government

The DPJ has been in intense negotiations with the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ) and the People's New Party (PNP) to…