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‘Sana-mania’ grips Japan as ultra-conservative Takaichi expected to secure election landslide

8 months ago by breakfastmtn to c/world

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The country’s first female PM is the object of a personality cult revolving around everything from her outfits and snacks to her favourite pink pen

When the LDP’s conservative wing forced a leadership election to replace the embattled Ishiba in October last year, many expected his ally Shinjiro Koizumi – the young, telegenic son of a previous prime minister – to win.

Instead, Japan’s party of government for most of the past seven decades took a gamble on his ultra-conservative rival, Sanae Takaichi, installing her as the country’s first female prime minister. If opinion polls are correct, that gamble is about to pay off in ways even her strongest allies could not have imagined.

In an eventful four months, Takaichi has met Donald Trump – who this week offered an endorsement and an invitation to the White House in March – as well as Xi Jinping and South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung. She sparked an unresolved row with Beijing over the future of Taiwan, spooked bond markets with promises of sweeping tax cuts, and faced fresh scrutiny over her links with the disgraced Unification church.

Despite the ups and downs, she has emerged as the LDP’s most effective weapon, the object of a personality cult revolving around everything from her choice of outfits and train journey snacks to the pink pen she uses to take notes in parliament.

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JamesBlonde 58 points 8 months ago

I loved Japan when I visited but Jesus Christ they need to wake up and stop vibe voting.

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WizardofFrobozz 23 points 8 months ago

Japan’s population only ever “vibe”-does anything

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unmarkedbot 37 points 8 months ago

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kescusay 33 points 8 months ago

Could someone who is more familiar with Japan's politics explain what this means? Is a Japanese conservative at all like an American conservative?

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Meshuggah333 75 points 8 months ago

She's absolutely not what Japan needed. Conservatives are less unhinged than their US counterparts but they wont do what's needed for Japan to survive. Their aging population voted for this as they get unreasonably spooked by immigration when their country needed it the most (Japan's immigration is already very low). They'll gradually fall into corruption and irrelevance in the next few decades if they don't wake up or worse if there's a war. 

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gravitas_deficiency 53 points 8 months ago

Their demographics are crashing, young people are not having kids, or waiting until far later in life, and her solution, as far as I’ve heard, is “bitch you gotta max that grindset, 100h weeks are for closers”. Which is just leaning further into the already insane work culture of Japan.

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Meshuggah333 14 points 8 months ago

They're going to kill themselves, MMW what remains of their young will try to move to other countries and they'll be over. It's just sad. 

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phutatorius 2 points 8 months ago

the already insane work culture of Japan

Average weekly hours worked: Japan 30.98, USA 36.08.

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thatradomguy 8 points 8 months ago

There's probably some truth to that but I imagine in Japan, it's not so much the work but them having to stay in the office regardless if they have work or not. It still destroys the work/life balance for them.

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xep 2 points 8 months ago

Whoa, stop posting facts and let Lemmy's usual bashing of Japan's work culture continue.

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arcterus 13 points 8 months ago

Part of the problem is that some of the LDP's base thought they weren't conservative enough and started voting for other parties, so the LDP decided to appeal to them. Of course, this is just short-term thinking to maintain power at all costs and is gonna fuck the country in the long-run unless they get their act together.

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RIotingPacifist 6 points 8 months ago

The majority of the Seats are FPTP, so it's a common trend to chase the crazies.

I think we need to blame voters less and systems more, all non-proportional system have a rightwards shift built in.

In theory this could work leftwardly but as these countries tend to depend heavily on capitalist media to tell voters who is capable of winning in their district, the leftward shift is usually described as unrealistic & impossible, whereas the right shift is usually exaggerated and considered a real threat to the center-right/center-left.

You see the same effect in the UK, US, Russia (when they had elections), etc.

Whereas Ireland, Scandanvia, tend to have stable liberal-to-progressive governments rather than flip between a center-left & center-right establishment party that is constantly chasing far right voters.

I think the best system to counteract this is STV (used in Ireland) as it:

  • Delivers proportional results
  • Removes the need for the media to tell you who can win because you can rank who you like
  • Doesn't use party-lists (one of the issues with PR is the list system invites corruption as loyalty to the list maker, is what secures your job).

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phutatorius 2 points 8 months ago

Developed countries that don't have FPTP show no evidence of better governance than countries that have it.

Like term limits, it's an obvious solution that doesn't actually solve anything.

If you want to clean up politics, get the money out of it and limit propaganda.

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nialv7 1 point 8 months ago

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porcoesphino 12 points 8 months ago

It's possible for both things to be true isn't it?

Your source mentions that she is popular with young people but that her party is not popular with young people. It also mentions that young people don't have a high voter turnout. With Japans aging population and the information in your link, that could still mean that she is popular with young people but the net effect from young voters is still tiny. I couldn't find any good sources for actually breaking down the demographics of her popularity though.

Also, why do a hit on run on someone trying to answer a question, and not take a shot at the question itself, or let people know why you didn't try to answer the question?

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Saapas 7 points 8 months ago

The earlier comment made it out to seem like it was just the older people who voted for her. Saying that young ones vote for her too is a good correction 

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WizardofFrobozz 4 points 8 months ago

Young voters in Japan are less informed than young voters in literally every other developed country.

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Meshuggah333 4 points 8 months ago

I never said they don't, with time they'll realise they f'ed themselves. 

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Zorsith 33 points 8 months ago

Not familiar myself, but IIRC she has been quoted idolizing Margaret Thatcher, sooo...

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gravitas_deficiency 22 points 8 months ago

From what I understand she’s also something of a fan of orangeboi

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udon 2 points 8 months ago

Yeah, and the 'stashy boi

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gravitas_deficiency 3 points 8 months ago

I’m guessing she’s a fan of Emperor Hirohito, too

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tiredofsametab 25 points 8 months ago

More immigration strictness. Things like same-sex marriage and changes or abolishment of the koseki system are dead. Possibly revising the constitution to have real military again and remove or change the defense only clause. Harder lives for the non-wealthy. More corruption and interference with the moonies (allegedly). More stirring shit and nationalism

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tiredofsametab 17 points 8 months ago

Ah, also rolling back some labor reforms. For people like me who voluntarily work two jobs (my own small company) it's not a bad thing on paper but I worry about other things.

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thlibos 32 points 8 months ago

I guess I thought it would be longer before I saw openly vapid, grifitng, right-wing, cult of personality in the office of prime minister of Japan. SMH. I give it less than two years before reasonable Japanese wish their government hadn't installed this clown as prime minister.

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WanderWisley 28 points 8 months ago

Welcome to the fascist nazi party Japan.

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k0e3 26 points 8 months ago

Ugh. I'm going to vote now but it kills me to think that my vote won't really change anything to prevent this. At least I'll bring my kids to show them how it all works.

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Grass 8 points 8 months ago

japan must need more ghetto makeshift firearms

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Corngood 3 points 8 months ago

It's called a Doohickey, thank you very much

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ArgumentativeMonotheist -3 points 8 months ago

I mean, it's a vassal state (a main one too, completely dominated) of the American empire so whatever the Burgers go through I expect Japan to go through as well, at least until America reaches the next step in their empire's uhh restructuring. Racism, ideological and moral corruption, plus their very recent imperial history makes this all possible, IMO. Oh well, eventually they'll learn and find some North to their society, God willing.

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k0e3 9 points 8 months ago

I dunno why you're getting down voted. As an Okinawan, I mostly agree with your point.

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Soulg -1 points 8 months ago

Man everytime you post you just get dumber and dumber

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ArgumentativeMonotheist 4 points 8 months ago

That's a matter of perspective, I feel.

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