Word: ldp
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...ready for the party. Japan's economy continues to shrivel, the government remains gridlocked as elections loom, and public approval for Aso's administration is plunging. Even influential former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is criticizing Aso's performance, though both are members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP...
...Building Checks and Balances Traditional Asian deference makes it easier for one party to keep a stranglehold on politics, its power feeding on itself and undermining real opposition. Malaysia and Singapore have each been controlled by one party since independence, while the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) dominates Japan. "The LDP has been in power for more than 50 years," says Arne Fahje, a constitutional expert in Tokyo. "That doesn't work in a democracy, and it's not good for the country...
...growing strength and the LDP's past failures have some believing that Aso's party could lose a general election outright. "If my guess is right, then Aso will be the prime minister with the shortest time in office," says Axel Klein. He says that in the race against the "uncharismatic" Fukuda last year, Aso showed himself to have a "very difficult character." Says Takao Toshikawa, political analyst and editor of political newsletter Tokyo Insideline: "This controversial general election will be an actual competition...
...chief rival is Ichiro Ozawa, the 66-year-old populist leader of the DPJ, who has vowed to become prime minister and called the upcoming elections Japan's "last chance" to change. Ozawa has set out nine major policy initiatives aimed at perceived LDP weaknesses. Among them is a plan to unify the pension and healthcare systems, which could win points with Japan's aging population and embarrass LDP leaders, who have at times appeared insensitive to the pocketbook issues of ordinary citizens. Ozama also wants to narrow Japan's growing income gap by raising low-income wages and give...
Despite the LDP's precarious position, Aso does have some things going for him. A famously avid fan of manga comics and the first to set up an award for non-Japanese cartoonists, the ex-foreign minister has gained the support of young voters. His characteristic off-the-cuff remarks win him the image of a gruff political straight shooter - he admits, for instance, that he is "prone to pork-barrel spending," but says that to reinvigorate Japan's economy he plans to spend more to stimulate domestic demand. "The economic situation is getting tough," said Aso on Sept...