nippon watch

Will we be able to matsuri this year? It’s not looking good.

Edo-era uber in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan

How much “Oh, really?” should I be putting into rumblings of Abe Shinzo becoming Prime Minister again (for the third time) after the elections? And what would be the payoff for Suga Yoshihide for his role as a patsy?

Get all Amerikan warmongers out of Okinawa!

So, elections at the very last minute (i.e., mid-October), then? To be fair, that would buy Suga some time to do a charm campaign. Also, it makes sense for the goverment to do an election post-Olympics to have one less distraction and/or to use the fallout of the (ahem) sure to be successful Olympic games to LDP’s advantage.

Honestly, a faster vaccine rollout would’ve helped more. Maybe just straight up canceling the Olympic games would be the way to go, too, but I don’t see that happening with all the money Japan’s paid for such silliness. In the end, it’s all about recouping a return on investment.