Just over a week after being forced to make a public apology, admitting that his campaign promise to get the US to abandon a military a base in Okinawa would go unfulfilled, Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio has tendered his resignation, putting an end to his eight month reign.
Hatoyama’s party came to office on the back of campaign pledges to pursue an independent foreign policy and calls to renegotiate cushy US base deals made by the long-standing ruling party, but in the end US refusal to negotiate and Hatoyama’s inability to organize convincing resistence ended any hope of him accomplishing anything.
The resignation was likely under heavy political pressure, as has popularity flounders and his party struggles to compete in the upcoming election. Hatoyama’s political strategist is said to have resigned as well.
It is unclear so far who will replace the prime minister, but with his approval rating having gone from 70% to the mid teens in just eight months, anyone will likely be welcomed as an alternative.
This is crazy. Why did he fail? What happened behind the scenes to make a guy totally committed to his campaign promise of getting rid of the American bases, give in to American pressure. How did Washington “make him an offer he couldn’t refuse?”
"anyone will likely be welcomed as an alternative."
Not "anyone".
And in Japan there is no "vacuum" socially.
In an earlier day the fellow would have committed hari-kiri.
There may have been heavy political pressure but it is irrelevant.
The US will now try to insure the pre-eminence of a typical, very buyable pathological liar on the American model.
It will not work.
The genie is out of the bottle, as it is in the streets of Greece.
Only the very subtle and closely observant will be able to see why it is the same genie, the same bottle.
How did Washington "make him an offer he couldn't refuse?" Black Flag USi operation N.K torpedo capper :^/
Hitler didn't leave Russia voluntarily either.
That's the difference between Hitler and Napoleon by the way.
Napoleon is supposed to have arrived at the outskirts of Moscow and have seen the smoke of the Russians burning the city, exclaiming "Scythians!".
As if he suddenly recalled his Herodotus.
He still took the city unopposed but had already decided to retreat.
Under the circumstances Borodino was still a great tactical victory for the French, but the war was lost even before it was begun.
Very seldom do military historians include retreats among the operations that define great generalship.
With Napoleon one has a string of great victories, one great retreat, and one major defeat to limn out his generalship, which remains unequalled in modern times.
The second greatest general in modern times is Georgy Zhukov hands down.
The third, and close to the first two, but first in daring and thinking out of the box, is surely Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck.
Fourth would have to be Giap.
Then comes a score of first class and nearly great, including George Patton and Che Guevara (for Santa Clara).
Eisenhower also has to be included as a first class example of the logistic and strategic genius.
Erwin Rommel is optional–a good case can be made for including him in the pack.
Geo.Sherman is a good fifth after Giap.
Geo.Washington, on the other hand, goes in the pack of the first class.
This is a depressing pattern we see over and over again. Even when the voters try to vote for change, they still get the same policies shoved down their throats. Eventually everyone loses hope that change is possible in the system, and then the right wing parties become dominant. And then everyone points and says 'aha! See! They want the wars. They want the bank bailouts. They want the 'austerity' measures that really mean screw everyone but the rich, who just got bailed out.
You can have your democracy. As long as you let us rig it for you.
Polls have show again and against since the last midterm election under Bush that seventy percent of the electorate or thereabouts want of both Iraq and Afghanistan immediately.
Forget "hope"–it clears the head.
The Japanese and the Greeks and the Khyrghyz and so forth seem to have got the hang of it. Germans soon too?
Meanwhile, enjoy your Cajun Shrimp Petroleum–the Finance Capitalists and the Corporatist elite are about to tell you it's nutritious, delicious, and good for you too. Grows strong Bodies without organs in eight ways and puts hair on your chest, even if you are a woman or prepubescent.
You can have your "democracy" as long as you do what the entrenched establishment wants.
It looks like Mr. Hatoyama, or rather his delegates (His cabinet secretary, Ministry of Defense, the Foreign Office with its FM, etc.) had never confronted the U.S. counterpart. In Japan, there are a lot of people who make a living on subordination to the U.S.
Likewise, very strangely, the Japanese mass media, who have fiercely criticized Hatoyama's indecisiveness and inability to overturn the existing base agreement between U.S. and the previous regime, has NEVER avowed that the will of the Japanese people is pointing to the removal of the U.S. base from Japan. They have just taken advantage of Mr. Hatoyama`s pledge in order to take down the new regime.
Behind those strange phenomena, there is a long history of collaboration among the media, the bureaucrats (including the prosecutors), and the conservative party. Because of the last summer's regime change, those collaborations are beginning to be revealed. Secret notes written by ex-regime officials or politicians name those bribe-takers, including big newspaper reporters, famous commentators, TV executives. But this big scandal has never been reported by the mass media.
It's so inconvenient and embarrassing for them because they have been bashing Mr. Hatoyama and another party strong man, Mr. Ozawa, about unclean political funds, which turned out to be just minor offences. But, their bad images are firmly imprinted on the public mind.
The prosecutors, who have mainly investigated Mr. Ozawa are also corrupt. It is said that they became loyal to the old regime since the regime (Mr. Koizumi's) promised to turn a blind eye to their illegal expenditures.
So, there are a lot of people who don't want the new regime to be successful, not only U.S. militarists. This regime collapse has deep roots.
The Japanese and the Okinawans want the US out.
They have become a real burden with their barbaric manners and technological backwardness.
Dirty, uneducated, uncultured, hairy, smelling of butyric acid–the stench is just too much.
If the Japanese actually cut back on tobacco, the US will be forcibly expelled in six months.
That's no smell for Japanese school children to be exposed to–it's downright pornographic.
Shame on the U.S. government for bullying him out of his job. Most people would GET THE MESSAGE and know they are not wanted and leave. The American empire neither knows or cares.
I hope they keep on trying to throw off the "yoke of the Hegemon", it's the only chance they have. As a side note I also was amazed at the Neocons who wanted Japan to alter it's constitution from that of a self-defense military into one of the "Foreign Legions of the Corporatist Hegemon" Insanity plain and simple.
Damn E.A., you're on a roll today brother. Brilliant stuff!
His failure was a blow to Japan. On the other hand, it is astounding in this day and age that a politician would actually take meaningful responsibility for his actions.