tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post3519920389725965684..comments2023-10-20T18:03:01.821+09:00Comments on GlobalTalk 21: The 50-Somethings Are Restless; But CanThey Make the Move?Jun Okumurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-18648229109234376142008-12-06T10:44:00.000+09:002008-12-06T10:44:00.000+09:00anonymous optimist: You’re right, I merely address...anonymous optimist: You’re right, I merely addressed the politics of the generational gap. I’m sure that the party elders do care about statecraft as much as any other age group, but I do believe that there is a difference in the attitude toward policy-making between the baby boomer leadership and their immediate elders. It can be exaggerated—among sexagenarians, Yosano and Tanigaki, and Koichi Kato, for instance, certainly have the policy-making chops to hold their own with the bureaucrats, and Hidanao Nakagawa is positioning himself as even more of a reformist than Prime Minister Koizumi ever was —but the <I>seisaku shinjinrui’s</I> hands-on approach and more importantly their attitude towards the status quo does represent a shift, probably for the better where the long-term health of the nation is concerned.<BR/><BR/>To go back to the point of my post, the baby boomers are politicians, quite often heirloomers as well, with the extra baggage that comes with it, which figured acutely in the short, unhappy rein of their age group cohort Shinzo Abe.<BR/><BR/>Having said that, I hope that your optimism will be justified by the events.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-39613484297611902722008-12-06T01:00:00.000+09:002008-12-06T01:00:00.000+09:00Thanks for your comments on the LDP. (OP from the ...Thanks for your comments on the LDP. (OP from the other day here.) I read this one with interest also. I wonder though, if you have everything in here. We know that the goal of the LDP after its first few years was essentially a system of factions designed to try and get their bosses to be PM. And that the status of having been a minister was essentially what government was about. Actually making policies? Meh, leave that to the ministries and their interminable Shingikai.<BR/><BR/>I wonder if you don't do a disservice to the younger crowd here by putting in the same camp. That is, perhaps in this instance the "Introduce Some Damn Policies Quick Will You Group!" (alternative translation) actually might not be able to be taken at their word. And if so, they do indeed represent a different model of politician than before - one for whom gaining a post is - at least in part - about actually governing competently. <BR/><BR/>Yours, <BR/><BR/>anonymous optimistAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com