Daily Japan Headlines: Tuesday, Aug 30, 2011
Photo Source: Wall Street Journal.
Wall Street Journal: Noda, the DPJ and the Giant Snowball Problem
In his first words as president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, Yoshihiko Noda, the country’s soon-to-be prime minister underscored the dire state of the party’s position as a gigantic snow ball at the bottom of a hill – the snowball effect gone awry.
It’s not exactly the most foreboding image, but using such a simple illustration described in no uncertain terms the DPJ’s fragile state of affairs. He likens managing political power to the act of pushing a snowball up a hill. That’s when things are looking good.
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BBC: Yoshihiko Noda wins Japan leadership race
Japan’s governing Democratic Party (DPJ) has chosen Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda as its leader, lining him up to become the country’s sixth prime minister in five years.
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A graduate of Waseda University and then the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, he was involved in local politics before his election to parliament in 1993.
He was elected as a candidate for the Japan New Party, which is now defunct, but went on to join the DPJ in 2000.
After serving in key party roles, he was named finance minister in June 2010.
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Sydney Morning Herald: Japan to confirm Noda as new PM
The cabinet of outgoing premier Naoto Kan is expected to resign en masse on Tuesday morning, while Noda, Kan’s finance minister, must start picking candidates for his new ministerial line-up, expected to be named in the coming days.
Noda, 54, who on Monday beat four rivals in the centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ballot to become its new president, is expected to be named premier in the afternoon by the Diet legislature.
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Washington Post Video: Mizuho’s Takeshita Says Japan’s Noda `Realistic’ Leader
Seijiro Takeshita, a director at Mizuho International Plc, discusses the outlook for Yoshihiko Noda, who is set to become Japan’s new prime minister after he was elected head of the country’s ruling party today.
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ABC News: FM Noda Faces Challenges as Japan’s Next Leader
As finance minister, Yoshihiko Noda already has been battling economic malaise and the yen’s record surge, which hurts Japan’s exporters. But when he takes over from Naoto Kan, Noda will take on an even more unenviable role with a much broader set of problems, including a rapidly aging population, public dismay with government and the efforts to rebuild from the worst disaster to hit Japan since World War II.
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Star Tribune: Japan’s economy begins to snap back
Amid the gloom, the outlook for a robust recovery has actually been brightening. Private economists are forecasting a boom in 2012 and 2013, as the rebuilding of the devastated Tohoku region in northeastern Japan acts as a big stimulus, which will offset slower growth in America, Europe and China.
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Bloomberg: Investors Need Clarity, Changes in Japan’s Renewable-Energy Law
Japan’s clean-energy law coming into effect in 10 months needs to clarify prices paid for renewable power to attract large investment as well as changes to rules for the utilities that monopolize markets, analysts said.
Japan’s parliament on Aug. 26 passed the bill that guarantees above-market rates for wind, solar and geothermal energy. The so-called feed-in tariff created a race to install solar panels when implemented in Germany and Spain.
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AFP: Injuries hinder Japan challenge at US Open
Japan’s challenge at the US Open looked to have been jinxed on Monday as first Kei Nishikori, then Misaki Doi and Ayumi Morita retired from first-round matches.
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