tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post1815766145937533033..comments2023-10-09T00:45:55.603+09:00Comments on Shisaku: Estimating the magnitude of the LDP defeatMTChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-50009277399124366772009-01-14T12:32:00.000+09:002009-01-14T12:32:00.000+09:00Hmmm, maybe I did not make myself very clear. I k...Hmmm, maybe I did not make myself very clear. I know we agree about things like appalling land use, insane construction policies and the like. However, then I am confused about just what you mean by parasitic. If anything, I would see it as the opposite with urban areas feeding off of rural areas (cheap labor, exploited materials and such).<BR/><BR/>So, the question is, how do you see the rural areas (if not the people) being parasitic? On whom?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-32671213590875381392009-01-13T11:48:00.000+09:002009-01-13T11:48:00.000+09:00Dr. Mock - Cognizant of your deeper and closer rel...Dr. Mock - <BR/><BR/>Cognizant of your deeper and closer relationship with the problems of rural areas, I nevertheless stand by my characterization. As you know from our previous exchanges, I have a a great sympathy for those living outside the metropole. When I call the rural areas "parasitic" I am not asserting that the rural areas are peopled with parasites. Rural area parasitism is imposed from the outside: it arises from hideous land use and agricultural policies promulgated and perpetuated by the powers that be in Tokyo.MTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-63356097544318383382009-01-12T16:10:00.000+09:002009-01-12T16:10:00.000+09:00This week's Shuukan Bunshu predicts a loss of 156 ...This week's Shuukan Bunshu predicts a loss of 156 seats for the LDP, for a total of 149. With Komeu holding 18, the government ends up with 167. They've done a seat by seat analysis on the senkyoku and predict a loss of 132 seats.<BR/><BR/>Tellingly, they also offer a range, and the upper limit of the range is 216 seats for the government.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714063.post-53839702342707684542009-01-12T14:42:00.000+09:002009-01-12T14:42:00.000+09:00I think that the May argument is a good one becaus...I think that the May argument is a good one because leaving the election to the very last minute would be seen (and would be) a sign of serious weakness, not a good premis on which to run an election.<BR/><BR/>However, I was also a bit offput by your comment about the "parasitic rural areas". If anything, I would argue that the rural areas of Japan have been systematically ripped off by the LDP. The only way, as I see it, the rural areas can be considered as "parasitic" is if you count the "Highway Tribe" as rural. It doesn't benefit rural folks to have an expressway running through their valley or a dam constructed through their village. The wages at the bottom of the food chain are pretty paltry compared to the major urban interests that usually run the companies (and collect on the bribes and such.<BR/><BR/>This may be a bit picky but I also don't see that the phrase adds much of anything to your argument and, in dismissing 80% of the area of the country, seems to weaken it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com