Japanese Elections

Japan's Twitter-Free Election Campaign Time Magazine — Campaigning officially kicked off Tuesday in Japan as candidates for the Diet's upcoming elections took to the streets to canvas for votes. And while the Aug. 30 general election could be revolutionary — with Japan on the cusp of a regime change that could end nearly 54 years of virtually unbroken rule — candidates' official campaigning methods are far from it. With 12 days to go until national elections, candidates rode in vans, armed with banners, leaflets and loudspeakers for soapbox speeches at train stations and street corners across the nation. But as their names were blared out on the first day of political open season, their campaigns on Twitter and Facebook were silent. One thing that Japanese politicians aren't armed with is the Internet. click to read complete article

Japan’s Opposition May Press BOJ to Buy More Government Bonds Bloomberg — Japan’s opposition party may press the central bank to purchase more government bonds should it win this month’s general election, economists say. Lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Japan, which is favored to gain power for the first time after the Aug. 30 election, have said they value the Bank of Japan’s autonomy. That respect would be tested if the party’s pledge to spend more on social programs forces the Finance Ministry to increase bond sales. Analysts say the DPJ would be tempted to urge the central bank to buy the debt to contain an increase in yields. click to read complete article

Hatoyama's 'new politics' threaten to obliterate Aso The Australian — IT may well produce a historic result but Japan's general election campaign was officially launched yesterday in familiar style, with Opposition Leader Yukio Hatoyama offering "new politics" and Prime Minister Taro Aso asking: where's the money coming from? "The day to make history has finally come," said Mr Hatoyama at a street meeting in Osaka, the start of a six-city barnstorm finishing in Tokyo yesterday evening. click to read complete article