Just a couple quick links related to the DPJ’s transition to power:
- Nikkei reports that ministries are struggling to find enough individual offices for the more than 100 DPJ political appointees who will serve as their new midlevel bosses. The DPJ demands they don’t need their own offices – let the political appointees sit among the rest of the bureaucrats, the better to let them order them around. But the bureaucrats (unnamed as always) are saying unless the DPJ MPs are segregated into their own offices, this could result in a world of face-losing hurt if division directors and other higher ups have to be yelled at by politicians in front of their subordinates, particularly the political appointees’ assistants (actually very capable mid-level bureaucrats provided by the ministries).
- Great caption from the Nikkei.com English service: “Like these historic ministry nameplates, the Ministry of Finance has survived war and economic downturns with its powers intact.”
- Here’s a list of major political pressure groups in Japan and their vote-rallying power, again from Nikkei. Most of them are not hesitating to ditch their support for the LDP in favor of the new patron.
Dentists’ association (日本歯科医協会) – 228,000 votes
National construction industry association (全国建設業) – 227,000
Medical association (日本医師会) – 186,000
Pharmacists’ association （日本薬剤師協会） – 168,000
Nursing association (日本看護協会） – 167,000
The Dentists’ association is more powerful/numerous than the National construction industry association?
Hey, you try arguing they’re not when you’re in The Chair….
As far as I can remember, the Nikkei didn’t actually give any explanation for how they came up with those numbers. Still, they seem reasonable enough.