Japanese people are very embarrassed by their government. I often hear people say ridiculous things to me like, "I wish we Japanese had a good government like you do in America" or, "Japanese politics is such a joke, all they ever do is care about themselves."
"Who voted for this Asoh?"
Laughable, isn't it? I mean, ow could anyone think the US government is "good" is well beyond my comprehension. I think, in some ways, the Japanese government is head and shoulders above the US government.
Take the recent news...
The newspapers read:
Japan Leadership Battle Kicks Off!
Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his rival, powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa, kicked off a leadership battle Wednesday that threatens to divide the ruling party only a year after it took power. Their contest to run the governing centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) comes as its economic recovery is slowing, Japan's debt mountain is growing and exports are threatened by the yen trading near a 15-year high. The rivals, who both formally declared their candidacy for the September 14 party election, represent the two different wings of the party which a year ago ousted the conservatives after more than half as century in power.
That's what the papers are all saying. To most Japanese people who care about this sort of thing, it is an embarrassment. It looks like Japan can't have a stable government. I mean, it is possible that, very soon, Japan will have their seventh prime minister in six years if things keep going at this rate.
Seven prime ministers in six years? I think that's great.
Why do I think that's good? Well, you see, in the USA we get some moron into the presidency and we are stuck with him for at least 4 years (usually 8). This allows that fool to do all sorts of stupid things like start wars, raise taxes, pass new and destructive laws... And we are stuck with it....
In Japan? Nope. We don't have that problem... When the prime minister's job is like a revolving door, with the prime minister changing every few months, then that's the best result we can possibly hope for short of abolishing the entire government.
Why? Well, if we are changing government constantly, then they cannot pass new laws nor can they raise our taxes. See? It's the best!
It's the most optimum outcome possible! So three cheers for the dysfunctional Japanese political system! Let's hope it spreads around the world and puts and end to tax increases and wars!
Besides that, I have "10 prime ministers in 8 years" in the pool at work and I have my eye on that money!
Go dysfunctional government! Rah! Rah!
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Keywords:
prime minister, Naoto Kan, Ichiro Ozawa, Marketing Japan, Mike Rogers
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