7/23/2010

Japan PM’s wife question’s ability of husband to lead in new book
TVNZ.co.nz | July 23, 2003
Japan’s first lady has written a book publicly questioning her husband’s ability to lead the country titled, “What on earth will change in Japan now you are Prime Minister? .”
Naoto Kan became leader of the world’s second largest economy last month.
In the book his wife, Nobuko, writes a long list of his failings. She criticises his delivery of his first policy speech in parliament, as well as his fashion sense and inability to cook…more…

At first I was thinking that writing a such a book was an incredibly stupid, arrogant thing for a wife of a prime minister to do, but in a way it makes Japanese Sense^™.

Basically, this is the best moment in terms of getting the widest audience for Mrs. Kan to write a successful memoir of Prime Minister Kan and family. Most Japanese prime ministers don’t last one year in the job, so she might as well bring in some money while the getting is good.

I just popped onto Japan’s Amazon.com to read the reviews of the this book. It seems that Mrs. Kan, Nobuko, is mostly about family history about their marriage and it is written a droll, lighthearted tone. The reviewers on Amazon both said the book was, “very funny.” We can expect to see Mrs. Kan on the vile Japanese talk shows for years to come as an “political expert/talento.”

Bottom Line: The book won’t hurt Kan’s career in the least and it will bring in some extra cash for his family.

APphotoNews…Nobuko lists a host of her husband's short-comings, from his failure to do any housework to his hot temper…such playful criticism is often heard among some middle-aged Japanese couples….