tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post3442006853998805200..comments2023-10-09T00:45:55.603+09:00Comments on Shisaku: Drawing The Short StrawMTChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-2104614362602493772008-03-01T12:08:00.000+09:002008-03-01T12:08:00.000+09:00Mr. Ōshima probably forgot that it was leap year.Mr. Ōshima probably forgot that it was leap year.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-71189782077670883202008-02-29T11:59:00.000+09:002008-02-29T11:59:00.000+09:00Herr Morén - I am not sure about the characterizat...Herr Morén - <BR/><BR/>I am not sure about the characterization of the Kōmeitō as generational phenomenon--though I have speculated in this blog about the possible generational origins of the Komeito's failure to get out the vote in July 2007.<BR/><BR/>I would agree to an intermediate position: that the Soka Gakkai was a coping mechanism for those caught up in the sudden shift of population from the countryside to the cities and the replacement of peasant life with behaviors consistent with employment in factories, offices or small retail outlets. This adjustment, having been completed 30 years ago, no longer pushes individuals to seek the psychological and economic benefits of SG membership.<BR/><BR/>The Kōmeitō should probably be seen as a significant regional player. As a resident of Osaka you know better than me, but the indications are that many of the votes allowing Hashimoto Toru to thump his opponents in the governor's race came from Kōmeitō supporters.MTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-16542941650256997462008-02-29T11:27:00.000+09:002008-02-29T11:27:00.000+09:00Komeito is, I suspect, a generational phenomenon t...Komeito is, I suspect, a generational phenomenon to some extent. They are viable as a political party only to the extent that their mother organization brings in members, and they do not seem to be able to bring in enough new young members to account for the older members dying off.<BR/><BR/>What worries me with LDP is that when the hard-right takes over for real (something that I now think is inevitable at some point), that they will not marginalize the party, but manage to bring most of their support - and thus the country - along with them. The best safety against it is a viable alternative (in the form of DPJ I guess), but that isn't the most reliable of organizations either, and would they falter due to some major scandal or similar then that might give the hardliners enough of an opening.Jan Morenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06834641501438709866noreply@blogger.com