Since Hatoyama became prime minister just over a week ago, every day’s TV news has been dominated by the latest actions of the new DPJ government: Hatoyama off to the USA for a gruelling series of meetings – climate change at the UN, finance in Pittsburg, summit meetings with Obama and the leaders of China, Korea …, Okada the new foreign minister also zipping around, and back here controversial dam projects cancelled, and, significantly, a start to investigations into various murky dealings involving bureaucrats and the former LDP government. Who knows what might come out there? Of course there’s a long list of expensive promises on the election manifesto that have to be paid for somehow, but they appear to be determined to carry them out, at the expense of the pork-barrel pour-more-concrete projects that have got Japan where it is today…
But image-wise the new DPJ government are looking good for the moment. They appear serious, dedicated people who really mean to clean up Japan’s act. How much of this is just media hype we will have to wait to see. Good luck to them anyway!
asazuke 