Very Kind Of Them #11

A while ago the very kind and very patient Tiago Alexandre Fernandes Maurício of Japan Foreign Policy Observatory asked me a series of probing questions, then held his breath as I provided my answers.

If you think my posts too chatty and incoherent, this interview will really bug you.

In it I reveal

- the names of some folks with whom, when a non-elite and non-taxi-driving Japanese citizen is not available, one can talk to about Japanese politics (there are a lot of other worthy folks whose names I do not mention because of the nature of the question)

- the identity of the most important person in politics today (no, you will not know the name)

- why Koizumiism is not dead, it's not even resting

- why studying change in Japanese foreign policy has to be left to experts

- why "reflection," "foreign policy" and "Japan's political elites" should probably not be used in the same sentence

- the limits to Hashimoto Toru's ambitions (notice the use of the word "to" rather than "of")

- my doubts as to the ability of government policy makers to steer the economy through rough waters.

The whole lot can be read at:

http://www.japanfpo.org/2012/05/interview-with-michael-cucek.html

As to the creative and energetic folks at Japan Foreign Policy Observatory (Link) they are planning an e-magazine of interviews to complement their omniverous samplers "J-Soft Power Weekly Brief" and "East Asian Security and Defence Digest."