Word: abely
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Affair unfolding in Bangladesh or the Philippines? Think again. It's Japan, long held up as the paragon of a mature Asian democracy, yet which continues to serve up political leaders distinguishable only by subtleties of grey in their ideological coloration. Yasuo Fukuda, the leading candidate to replace Shinzo Abe as Japan's next PM, and Fukuda's rival, Taro Aso, appear to be trying to differentiate themselves as the Sept. 23 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) election approaches. Aso is pegged as a tough-talking hawk, Fukuda a diplomatic dove. But both are products of a political system dominated...
...former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi - a post he held for a record 1,259 days, a period unmatched by any other post World War II minister - Fukuda earned a reputation for calm competency that should appeal to a public and a party still shocked by the utter disintegration of Abe's administration. But it seems far less likely that Fukuda will be able to help the LDP at the ballot box. (Legislative elections aren't scheduled until 2009, but with the opposition empowered by its recent win, early polls seem inevitable.) Clever and even cutting in person, Fukuda was always...
...wasn't supposed to be this way. In the immediate aftermath of Abe's sudden resignation on Sept. 12, it was Aso - the conservative, high profile ex-Foreign Minister - who had the inside track. A comic book-loving populist - his most recent book was titled Awesome Japan - Aso had finished second to Abe in last year's LDP presidential election, and generally scored well with the public. But like a radioactive bomb, Abe's departure was so disastrous that it contaminated anyone near him, particularly Aso, who reportedly knew of the Prime Minister's coming resignation days before...
With Aso seen as damaged goods, a consensus rapidly formed around Fukuda, a safe if dull choice who wouldn't hurt the LDP, as Abe, who led the party to an historic electoral defeat at the end of July, so clearly had. "This is a self-preservation move for the party," says Carol Gluck, a professor of Japanese history at Columbia University. "This is seen in the party as a safer choice for regrouping the LDP." Even Fukuda himself seemed to recognize that he was parachuting into a caretaker role. "Our party faces an emergency," he told LDP members gathered...
...Prime Minister, Fukuda seems likely to continue the general course of the Abe administration, albeit with a more moderate touch. He also seems less willing to prioritize the U.S. alliance at the expense of Japan's Asian relations. Though not an opponent of economic reform, Fukuda is unlikely to risk taking any chances, which means needed changes like a consumption tax increase will stay on the shelf, even as Japan's recovery loses steam. For now, after the tumult of July's election and Abe's exit, Japan seems to be in a holding pattern, with tradition-bound hands...