071102JapanConsideredPodcastVolume03Number39

November 2, 2007. Volume 03, Number 39

Click here for a transcript of this program.

Thanks for dropping by. Another full week. Even without being able to access news for today, Friday. I'm in the Mobile Studio again, at Hunting Island State Park, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. A beautiful site. But a long way from internet access!

This week we'll consider Takemasa Moriya's testimony Monday before the Lower House Committee, and subsequent Japan political press coverage of the event. What was said and what was only hinted.

Then we'll shift to Tuesday's meeting between Prime Minister and LDP President Yasuo Fukuda and DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa. Lots of speculation since about that mostly closed-door meeting. And the decision to cancel the Diet debate between Fukuda and Ozawa the following day.

And finally, we begin our consideration of Fukuda the Man, a brief profile of Yasuo Fukuda. That hopefully will help us interpret his behavior and consider the implications of his premiership for Japan's national political processes.