Gerald L. Curtis (born September 18, 1940) is an American academic, a political scientist interested in comparative politics, Japanese politics, and U.S.-Japan relations.[1] (wikipedia)
He basically accomplished the impossible, painting the DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan) as a party against change and the LDP as the party of reform.
They had their shot and they blew it, ... The LDP was and still is ready to be overthrown the problem is it's been overthrown by its own president rather than the opposition.
The answer, unless he falls flat on his face, is Abe. He's tall, he's nice-looking, he's young...He stands up for Japan and is tough on North Korea and China.
He's elected a lot of people who are urban and reform-minded and not part of the old machine.
Handling the budget is a big part of the job, but you have to realize that 70 or 80 percent of the budget is mandated by the state; you can change very little of it. But you do have to look at cuts.
He has no agenda, he just has slogans. The pressure to come up with a program of reforms is huge.
He's accomplished the impossible. He's turned the DPJ ... into a party that's against change, and he's turned LDP, a party that's resisted (change), into the symbol of reform.
He's accomplished the impossible, ... He's turned the DPJ ... into a party that's against change, and he's turned LDP, a party that's resisted (change), into the symbol of reform.
I was the first officer to earn a degree.
He is going to be stronger than ever before if he scores as big a victory as looks likely, and that means that if he can come up with substantive reform policies, he has a very good chance of getting them passed.
