Fumio, Fumio, Whatfore art thou, Fumio? (w/Tobias Harris)

Japan By River Cruise

Abe-ographer (The Iconoclast) Tobias Harris stops by to break down the power dynamics in the LDP, speculate on whether or not Kishida's going to get a belated honeymoon (and whether or not his wife will have to stand during it), and discuss why what kills US, makes Kishida stronger.

Ollie does what we in the media do best: gives a platform to bigots.

Bobby discovers that the stuff he loves is now devoid of humor, but at least it's more expensive than it's ever been.

Topics discussed on this episode range from:

• The best way for this week's sponsor, oops, nope, we mean for you to benefit from a tour to Japan in 2022.
• Brian's looming marital crisis
• Commentating on Japan from afar
• What it's like to be an international policy and national security analyst and senior fellow for Asia and have to watch the rest of us dick about with our hot Japan takes on Twitter
• What Tobias thinks is the most uninformed Japan Take of All
• Bad Abe Opinions, and the impetus for Tobias's book
• What are our responsibilities when publicly posting Japan opinions?
• Wet aged beef
• Ollie's Podcast recommendation of the number one podcast for those involved or just interested in the production of beef animals and dairy herds.
• Kishida's approval numbers and whether or not Tobias thinks he's coming into power?
• The limits placed on Kishida by the LDP
• Past and present of LDP factions determining the course of the government
• The public reaction to Kishida's ban on international inbound flight and his backtracking
• The ratings bump he got AFTER enforcing a foreign national entry ban, and why Tobias thinks there is SO MUCH Japanese approval for that particular policy
• The lesson Tobias thinks Kishida learned from Abe's Pandemic Policy mistakes
• Is there a policy or image that Kishida might end up indelibly linked with?
• How much credit does Abe deserve for the latest economic stimulus package? Is it, as Abe claims, ALL OF IT?
• What's the legacy and the influence of Abenomics?
• Japan's appetite for deficit spending and what makes it sustainable
• What Japan's military spending bodes for it's future

This is another one of those week's where the extras could've and maybe even should have been the show. Tobias is SUPER smart,
Topics discussed on the extras include:

• The standard getting-to-know-you bullying
• How Tobias first got interested in Japan
• Ollie's assertion he liked Japan for (undisclosed) "normal reasons."
• How Bobby and Tobias missed Japanese pop-culture exploding worldwide by just a couple of years
• A recent Japan book that Tobias LOVES
• Did Japan miss out on the current global populist moment, or are they still in the wake of a slightly earlier one?
• The cause of the Japanese public's political fatigue/apathy
• Tipping points in being fed up with government, and why smaller things tend to galvanize the public more than HUMONGOUS THINGS
• Japan's revolving door prime minister era, and how it set the stage for Abe
• Why Tobias sees Abe as an Iconoclast, when many of us don't see him as a figure who challenged the institutional status quo
• Abe's ability to walk the line between nationalism/constitutional revisionism and international cooperation
• Does Tobias think Kono Taro will ever become PM?
• The secondary positive internationalizing effects of Japan's opportunistic globalist moves
• A continuation of the discussion in the main show, touching on potential conflict in Asia in terms of both hard AND soft power, and whether or not Japan is REALLY a pacifist country

Get access to the extras for standard episodes by supporting the podcast for less than $1 an episode by becoming a member at http://buymeacoffee.com.

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Social Media Links:

Tobias Harris: Twitter | Observing Japan

Ollie Horn: Twitter | Instagram

Bobby Judo: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

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• We record remotely using Squadcast and the podcast is hosted on Transistor.
• Bobby uses a Shure mic and a Scarlet Focusrite. Ollie uses the AT2005USB mic.

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