Japanese Politics Thread

[Baltenstein]

Shinzo Abe was truly one of the greatest leaders Japan has ever had, especially given the problems of the present day.

Hopefully whoever succeeds him, will continue to protect Japan from immigration which would prove bad and will get the full revision to Article 9 that he wanted. A ton of progress has been made already to bring Japan's military to glory again in terms of their equipment. The Howa Type 20 is a welcome replacement for their 1989 rifle. They can finally mount accessories to rails like the Colt M4 series.

Your lack of understanding of Japan's current economic situation shows strong through.

Anyone who's been to Japan in the past decade can tell you that their immigration system has effectively stifled significant economic growth and their aging population is showing through.

I was there in December and I can tell you that you don't see kids. Those very few parents that you see are easily in their forties or late thirties. The country is on the verge of total demographic collapse within the next two generations.

OTOH, aren't lack of space and overprized real estate also a major problem in Japan? Wouldn't a potential population decrease also have benefits in that regard?

[Major-Tom]

Japan needs immigration, anybody could tell you that. With such a declining population hampering an already horrid economy, a better set of economic stimulus coupled with looser immigration laws should be their first order of business unless they would like to continue going down the most boring economic death spiral of all time.

I know you don't like immigrants much, but they can help a severely warped job market (see JAPAN).

Japan doesn't need any non-Japanese immigration. It is of utmost importance that Japan be preserved on a cultural and ethnic level. The people are at the heart of every nation that exists. If the character of the population is lost, so too is the nation. Hence, it is better in my eyes for Japan's economy to shrink than to allow for its population to drastically change.

I don't know what I expected.

[Celritannia]

While I wish him well for his medical treatment, I am glad he is stepping down.

Sure, he may have done a few good things, but Japan is pretty much in a state of stagnation and needs policies that actually help the people.

[Novus America]

Your lack of understanding of Japan's current economic situation shows strong through.

Anyone who's been to Japan in the past decade can tell you that their immigration system has effectively stifled significant economic growth and their aging population is showing through.

I was there in December and I can tell you that you don't see kids. Those very few parents that you see are easily in their forties or late thirties. The country is on the verge of total demographic collapse within the next two generations.

OTOH, aren't lack of space and overprized real estate also a major problem in Japan? Wouldn't a potential population decrease also have benefits in that regard?

Well the issue is not lack of land as much as distribution. As the population overall has fallen, more people have moved into the Tokyo area. Although Japan’s population is falling fast, Tokyo continues to grow in population.

Something like the US with Silicon Valley, we have plenty of land, but people have been moving to outrageously expensive places the cannot afford.
Although here this is reversing, with LA, NYC et all seeing serious population drops, this has no happened in Japan.

To solve the housing problem in Japan means dropping the population of the Tokyo area, not Japan overall.

[Duvniask]

Shinzo Abe was truly one of the greatest leaders Japan has ever had, especially given the problems of the present day.

Hopefully whoever succeeds him, will continue to protect Japan from immigration which would prove bad and will get the full revision to Article 9 that he wanted. A ton of progress has been made already to bring Japan's military to glory again in terms of their equipment. The Howa Type 20 is a welcome replacement for their 1989 rifle. They can finally mount accessories to rails like the Colt M4 series.

Japan needs immigration, anybody could tell you that. With such a declining population hampering an already horrid economy, a better set of economic stimulus coupled with looser immigration laws should be their first order of business unless they would like to continue going down the most boring economic death spiral of all time.

I know you don't like immigrants much, but they can help a severely warped job market (see JAPAN).

Shinzo Abe was truly one of the greatest leaders Japan has ever had, especially given the problems of the present day.

Hopefully whoever succeeds him, will continue to protect Japan from immigration which would prove bad and will get the full revision to Article 9 that he wanted. A ton of progress has been made already to bring Japan's military to glory again in terms of their equipment. The Howa Type 20 is a welcome replacement for their 1989 rifle. They can finally mount accessories to rails like the Colt M4 series.

Your lack of understanding of Japan's current economic situation shows strong through.

Anyone who's been to Japan in the past decade can tell you that their immigration system has effectively stifled significant economic growth and their aging population is showing through.

I was there in December and I can tell you that you don't see kids. Those very few parents that you see are easily in their forties or late thirties. The country is on the verge of total demographic collapse within the next two generations.

As a response to both of you, it should be noted that immigrants may be able to balance out discrepancies in the job market and improve economic performance, but they cannot realistically reverse trends of population aging. Fertility is generally a more important determinant of population structure, and that is the general consensus in the literature of demography.

Japan doesn't need any non-Japanese immigration. It is of utmost importance that Japan be preserved on a cultural and ethnic level. The people are at the heart of every nation that exists. If the character of the population is lost, so too is nation. Hence, it is better in my eyes for Japan's economy to shrink than to allow for its population to drastically change.

Except Japan is already an extremely culturally diverse nation and that the idea of cultural and ethnic homogeneity is only a perception.

Don't believe me? Ask the Koreans, the Ainu, the Bonin Islanders, the Ryukyu Islanders, the Chinese, the Brazilians, etc. Further evidence can be seen in the total cultural divergence from Tokyo to the rural parts of the country.

Japan is not a monolith. Stop using it to idealize non-existent ethno-states.

I think you're overstating the degree of differentiation, in part because you're conceiving of the matter as a case of either-or. I don't think someone like Saiwania rejects the idea that there are ethnic minorities in Japan. These are in many cases, however, very much subsumed and blended into the vast majority who are Yamato (or Wa-jin). Of the 800,000 or so Koreans who live in Japan, 400,000 of them are Zainichi Koreans whose Korean roots trace back to Japanese colonial rule over the Korean peninsula and are at this point largely indistinguishable from ordinary Japanese in anything but records. The Brazilians are also largely people of Japanese descent (nikkeijin), as Brazil is the country in the world with the single largest diaspora of Japanese people.

As for cultural fractionalization, well, Japan generally ranks at the bottom on indicies of this feature, so while it may not be a "monolith" in an absolute sense (who seriously thinks any country anywhere is such?), it is very much monolithic in a comparative sense. Distinctions between city and town, urban and rural, have always existed. But to suggest that this is somehow equivalent to the diversity observable in other countries would seem to indicate that international migration hasn't significantly increased cultural diversity in these places - that seems to be a strange proposition. Either Japan is on the low end of cultural diversity, or all countries are at the high end (to the extent that these countries feature an array of both urban and rural areas).

I should add that the above might not have been what you were saying per se, but in that case you're kind of talking past each other, because everyone acknowledges that there are regional variations and urban-rural divides in countries of such size.

[Conservative Republic Of Huang]

Article 9 is already dead, after the LDP shit all over it by passing their tortured interpretation of it through the Diet. His Abenomics has also failed to rouse the Japanese economy from its perennial stupor (his structural reforms have fallen completely flat). He is associated with the ultranationalist group Nippon Kaigi, and he also denies Japanese war crimes, actively led an organization supporting revising Japanese textbooks to reflect a revisionist view of history (read: minimizing or denying war crimes), especially comfort women and his repeated visits to Yasakuni Shrine, all of which have unnecessarily worsened relations with South Korea and China. Malapportionment continues to plague the Diet and definitely contributes to continued LDP rule Despite the Supreme Court of Japan repeatedly ruling that the degree of malapportionment is unconstitutional, the LDP has done nothing to address the structural issues that contribute to their continued rule. The Japanese government has also only just recognized the Ainu as an official ethnic minority last year and has still done nothing to address the systematic discrimination Ainu face. The Japanese government has also still not recognized the Rykukuans as an ethnic minority either.

But sure, they got some new weapons. I'm sure that's all that matters to neo-cons like you. Best prime minister ever.

Sai is not a necon at all, more an isolationist.
I strongly disagree with him on many things, but he is definitely no neocon. Neocons a generally supportive of immigration BTW.

In the contemporary world, which is going back to 1800s style geopolitics, you will need to be strong to survive.
The best deterrent against war is military that aggressors are afraid to start a fight with.
In a dog eat dog world you need big teeth lest you become dog food.

You need not be a neocon to advocate for strong defense. Sure Abe has had many flaws and failures, but his increasingly Japanese military defenses is not one of them.

It's already the fourth strongest military, has a pretty decent missile defense system from the US and it's part of the American nuclear umbrella. It's going to be just fine.

Personally, I find the combination of the strong historical revisionist sentiment/ significant ultranationalist minority/close ties to Nippon Kaigi in the LDP combined with their anti-pacifism somewhat disturbing.

[Aureumterra]

Agreed, I can’t take the Japanese military improvements away from him, total credit to him for preparing Japan against the Chinese threat along with the Quad Alliance

That I give him credit for. I might disagree with Abe on many other things, but he did substantially improve Japanese military capability. Which is absolutely vital, we need a strong Japan to hep us contain Xi’s insanity.

Since that has been mentioned, the Quad Alliance may be seeing support from Jokowi’s indonesia soon

[Novus America]

Sai is not a necon at all, more an isolationist.
I strongly disagree with him on many things, but he is definitely no neocon. Neocons a generally supportive of immigration BTW.

In the contemporary world, which is going back to 1800s style geopolitics, you will need to be strong to survive.
The best deterrent against war is military that aggressors are afraid to start a fight with.
In a dog eat dog world you need big teeth lest you become dog food.

You need not be a neocon to advocate for strong defense. Sure Abe has had many flaws and failures, but his increasingly Japanese military defenses is not one of them.

It's already the fourth strongest military, has a pretty decent missile defense system from the US and it's part of the American nuclear umbrella. It's going to be just fine.

Personally, I find the combination of the strong historical revisionist sentiment/ significant ultranationalist minority/close ties to Nippon Kaigi in the LDP combined with their anti-pacifism somewhat disturbing.

One resin it will be just fine is Abe’s military improvements.
Also the PRC is still stronger.

Anyways I agree the historical revisionism is bad (but I am completely opposed to pacifism, which is a terrible policy).
But one can support a stronger military without historical revisionism. One does not require the other.

[Shrillland]

A Kyodo Times poll shows Ishiba's the people's top candidate at 34%, Kono and Suga are basically tied for a distant second.

[Ansarre]

A Kyodo Times poll shows Ishiba's the people's top candidate at 34%, Kono and Suga are basically tied for a distant second.

The most wonderful news to wake up to

[Xiaodong]

Always...interesting in a Japanese politics thread when immigration is brought up, especially in relation to the LDP. The current government under Abe has liberalised laws to allow more foreign guest workers' (here's some articles on the subject) for the purposes of reversing some of Japan's population decline with it being presented as such, although there has been criticism the new laws don't do enough to encourage assimilation, refuse to recognise that its really immigration and more benefits Japanese business then the population or migrant workers'. Either way most Japanese people are far more concerned about emigration then immigration which is all-to-often forgotten in the political debate. The irony here is conservatives defending Japan's "tough laws" even as the LDP open them up and refuse to seriously tackle stuff like Japan's inadequate daycare centre system that holds back women entering the workforce alongside the general failure of the "womenomics" policy which is the nominal alternate solution from immigration to dealing with Japan's poor demographic situation.

[Shrillland]

The LDP has announced that the leadership vote will be held on Monday, September 14, and at this point, it'll be a walkover for Ishiba I think.

[Bienenhalde]

A Kyodo Times poll shows Ishiba's the people's top candidate at 34%, Kono and Suga are basically tied for a distant second.

I think Kono sounds the best because he would be more likely to repair ties with South Korea. Of course, the leaders of the opposition parties might be even more favorable towards South Korea, but we would have to wait for a general election for one of them to come to power.

[Aureumterra]

A Kyodo Times poll shows Ishiba's the people's top candidate at 34%, Kono and Suga are basically tied for a distant second.

I think Kono sounds the best because he would be more likely to repair ties with South Korea. Of course, the leaders of the opposition parties might be even more favorable towards South Korea, but we would have to wait for a general election for one of them to come to power.

Japanese nationalists will be up in arms in that case… and so will Korean nationalists on the other side

[San Lumen]

A Kyodo Times poll shows Ishiba's the people's top candidate at 34%, Kono and Suga are basically tied for a distant second.

A shame the next prime minister won’t be a woman but women don’t often reach high positions in Japan. They only elected their first female governor in 2000.

[Ansarre]

I think Kono sounds the best because he would be more likely to repair ties with South Korea. Of course, the leaders of the opposition parties might be even more favorable towards South Korea, but we would have to wait for a general election for one of them to come to power.

The problem is that Kono's Asia-centrism is at odds with the rest of the LDP, who value their relationship with America a lot more.

[Bienenhalde]

I think Kono sounds the best because he would be more likely to repair ties with South Korea. Of course, the leaders of the opposition parties might be even more favorable towards South Korea, but we would have to wait for a general election for one of them to come to power.

Japanese nationalists will be up in arms in that case… and so will Korean nationalists on the other side

I just wish Japan and South Korea could stop fighting each other and united against the commies. What is wrong with these people?

[Andsed]

Japanese nationalists will be up in arms in that case… and so will Korean nationalists on the other side

I just wish Japan and South Korea could stop fighting each other and united against the commies. What is wrong with these people?

I mean South Koreans do have reason for being bitter with a nation that actively denies the crimes it committed against them...

[Bienenhalde]

I just wish Japan and South Korea could stop fighting each other and united against the commies. What is wrong with these people?

I mean South Koreans do have reason for being bitter with a nation that actively denies the crimes it committed against them...

I mean, that is understandable, yes. What I really don't get is why the Japanese don't just apologize and try to reconcile with South Korea so they can unite against the PRC.

[Great Mann]

I mean South Koreans do have reason for being bitter with a nation that actively denies the crimes it committed against them...

I mean, that is understandable, yes. What I really don't get is why the Japanese don't just apologize and try to reconcile with South Korea so they can unite against the PRC.

National pride, I guess. Japan is very nationalist and the smudging of its atrocities against gaijin has had a lasting effect on that idea.

[Xiaodong]

I mean South Koreans do have reason for being bitter with a nation that actively denies the crimes it committed against them...

I mean, that is understandable, yes. What I really don't get is why the Japanese don't just apologize and try to reconcile with South Korea so they can unite against the PRC.

Most nations don't apologise for past actions in sincere ways to avoid stuff like reparation payments. The idea also of "apologising" for historical misdeeds also is heavily divisive in most nations - look at how stubbornly European nations often attempt to ignore their history of colonialism, or how the idea of the native American genocide is controversial within the United States, or how Turkey continues to deny the Armenian Genocide. Japan's colonial actions are no different then these, only seeming odd as their historical ally Germany has been one of the few nations to actually confront its past transgressions (and even then Germany still has black spots. Historical revisionism and national identity aren't just things that can be transcended with a quick apology.

As well as this whilst historical revisionism is the main thing that drives a wedge between Japan and South Korea its not the only thing - notably Japan is wary about Korea overtaking it in economic terms whilst south Korea under its current administration feels Japan is far to bellicose about north Korea and a potential roadblock to reconciliation (which to be fair suits Japan, as a unified Korea would be a real competitor in economic terms). Really, shared antipathy towards China (and strong alignment with America) is the only thing that the two nations actually have in common in terms of their current foreign policies, and even then South Korea's and to a lesser extent Japan's relations with China are a tad more nuanced then trenchant opposition (as is often the case for neighbouring nations of regional powers).

[Aureumterra]

Japanese nationalists will be up in arms in that case… and so will Korean nationalists on the other side

I just wish Japan and South Korea could stop fighting each other and united against the commies. What is wrong with these people?

Asian politics has little to do with ideology like in the West, and has much more to do with nationalism, and the history of the region. This is why Mongol quasi-fascism and anti-Chinese sentiment is so common, or the Vietnamese rivalry with China even though both are nominally communism.

[Bienenhalde]

I just wish Japan and South Korea could stop fighting each other and united against the commies. What is wrong with these people?

Asian politics has little to do with ideology like in the West, and has much more to do with nationalism, and the history of the region. This is why Mongol quasi-fascism and anti-Chinese sentiment is so common, or the Vietnamese rivalry with China even though both are nominally communism.

Sad! Why must people so mired in petty ethnic hatreds and unable to band together for the greater good. I would be willing to support any Japanese politicians who are willing to challenge this sort of mentality. We really need something like a NATO or EU for East Asian democracies.

[Great Mann]

Asian politics has little to do with ideology like in the West, and has much more to do with nationalism, and the history of the region. This is why Mongol quasi-fascism and anti-Chinese sentiment is so common, or the Vietnamese rivalry with China even though both are nominally communism.

Sad! Why must people so mired in petty ethnic hatreds and unable to band together for the greater good. I would be willing to support any Japanese politicians who are willing to challenge this sort of mentality. We really need something like a NATO or EU for East Asian democracies.

Other geopolitical interests and concerns are more important than democratic crusading when said democracies are kinda shit.

[Baltenstein]

Is there actually a political platform in Japan to become China's best buddy/junior partner/vassal/etc, or are all political camps united in being wary of the PRC?