Thursday, February 19, 2009

Odds and Ends from the Nakagawa Resignation

Yomiuri was the most favored of all.

I’ve noted that Yomiuri was kindest to the Finance Minister when the story about the press briefing meltdown first broke. It turns out that Yomiuri reporter was the only journalist at the preceding lunch with the MOF Minister and his bureaucrats. One bureaucrat testifying today in the Lower House Budget Committee said that the Minister asked for the wine himself but barely touched the stuff. The MOF bureaucrat further testified that there was a similar dinner the previous night that included four journalists, one of them being the same(?) Yomiuri reporter, while two of the others asked that their identities not be revealed and the fourth did not respond. Asahi is the only online source that is reporting on that dinner. With these clues, you have four guesses to name the other three. Don’t worry, you’ll find the answer in one of the tabloids. In the meantime, if you really need to know what I think, look here* where I’ve written them down in size”0” font, backward.

The LDP isn’t pushing Aso out until April at the earliest.

At least that’s what the mainstream media is telling us. Party faithfuls want the Aso administration to preside over late-April, supermajority overrides for FY2009-budget-related bills. After that, they want him to leave the stage or stay on to preside over yet another stimulus package, depending on whether or not they are diehard Aso supporters and/or speaking on the record. It’s not really a bad game plan, actually, considering the DPJ has nothing but the same old four-year schedule for its 2007 manifesto rev.2 in response to the economic collapse. However, there’s no one ready in the LDP to step up—帯に短し、襷に短し, if you will—and frankly, after the last three offerings, the Japanese public will be excused if it decides to kick the tires some, then goes to the other used car dealer’s lot down the street.

Everybody is talking about Nakagawa’s alcohol issues.

It’s one thing for a DPJ member to talk about how he’d seen Nakagawa held up on both sides as he left the local airport twice, it’s totally another for LDP cohorts to give eyewitness accounts on the record about his numerous public meltdowns and chronic late-shows. Never mind the usual backstabbing friends; these colleagues are shooting him in the face. Casper the Friendly Ghost he is not.

* ieknaS dna ,ihciniaM ,iekkiN

3 comments:

Our Man in Abiko said...

Lovely job as usual. Particularly liked the secret back-to-front font. Did you know if you consume too much cold medicine, you can read it without noticing the difference?

Added Entry said...

Tyrant or tyrannosaurus -- not a problem. I can take it or leave it.

But, Paladin and "will sing for lunch" what's with that? It's a long way from being the leading knight at the court of Charlemagne.

Have gun, will travel reads the card of a man. A knight without armor in a savage land.

Please don't make Paladin a knight without honor too.

Jun Okumura said...

Did you know if you consume too much cold medicine, you can read it without noticing the difference?

I didn’t know that, Our Man in Abiko, and neither did Shoichi Nakagawa.

As for you, Added Entry, I’m afraid I‘ve missed your point, but if this helps:

Two things about this blog:
a) my word is my bond; and
b) other than that, don’t take it too seriously.

I thought that the jpeg image conveyed those points perfectly.