No doubt everyone already knows what I’m going to talk about, simply from reading the title: the propensity of Japanese politicians to say the wrong thing.
Some modern legends have been Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and current Foreign Minister Taro Aso, but it seems we have additional candidates popping up every week: Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma and Health Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa. Are these all just ham-fisted individuals? How did these people become politicians? Are they saying these things on purpose? Does this tell us something about Japanese politics? Is there a honne/tatamae distinction come in this? That is what I want to get through in this post…
Abduction Politics 