9/17/2007

In case you haven’t heard, Japan’s Prime Minister Abe pulled a Britney by suddenly resigning last week and checked into rehab for “mental exhaustion” (and an impendeing scandal). This left Japan’s political scene in a lurch with the hyper-conservative, ultra-nationalist Taro Aso trying to take over, EEEK!

New favourite in Japan’s PM race
–The ruling LDP will choose between the two rivals on 23 Sept–
BBC NEWS, Sunday, 16 September 2007— Japan’s former foreign minister Taro Aso has conceded he is unlikely to win upcoming party elections to replace Shinzo Abe as prime minister. Speaking on a television chat show, he agreed that his rival Yasuo Fukuda was most likely to win the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership vote.

According to my old Japanhand buddy, gboothe, “When the smoke settles, from what I hear, they’ll bring Aso off the bench to get the game going again. Although, he’s not out of the running yet, he’s also smartly playing it.”

On the other hand, Fukuda has vowed not to visit the Yasukuni (war-criminal) Shrine in a attempt to have better China ties. That’s a lot better than the Aso’s ranting’s about the Japan’s needing to honor the WWII war criminals at Yasukuni and drive out the ethnics (Chinese, Koreans, and mostly pale folks like me) from Japan.
Actually, pox on both of them since they are slime from the LDP…and “Japan under the LDP is the only country in which communism, by fact if not by name, ever worked.” Two turds in these are just swirling in the bowl and waiting to see who goes down first.
The way I figure it is that Fukuda is being given the hot potato—After the Social Security etc. scandals cool off, then the Aso will drop in to claim the spoils, meh.

For additional grins and laughs, read Japundit’s report about, A real Aso.