tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post3373253957967717147..comments2023-10-20T18:03:01.821+09:00Comments on GlobalTalk 21: Updates on Media Treatment of the High School "Payoff" Scandal and Prime Minister Abe's "Masakaki"Jun Okumurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-39658543906418779962007-05-09T12:50:00.000+09:002007-05-09T12:50:00.000+09:00Your first sentence says it all. So, what lies ahe...Your first sentence says it all. So, what lies ahead?<BR/><BR/>Remember, Diet presidents have apparently been doing this for quite some time. (One wonders if Takako Doi, former Socialist Party head did likewise.) This robbed Mr. Abe's act of most of its sting, or so he must have hoped. Just as China does when it lets CNOOC tell the world that it is pumping gas in the East China Sea or lets a submarine break the waves precariously near Japanese territorial waters, I think it is likely that the Abe administration will come across other opportunities to see where the tripwires lie, and how powerful the charges they set off.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-23932790562287270572007-05-09T12:09:00.000+09:002007-05-09T12:09:00.000+09:00I am thinking that whether we get more than an IHT...I am thinking that whether we get more than an IHT/NYT and FT article out of this visit now depends on how Abe responds. If they let it go quietly, then it will quickly become old news. If, however, China raises the stakes by complaining more loudly and/or Abe just says something stupid, then it could blow up. Certainly, everyone is watching and waiting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com