Tokyo on Fire!

The G7 summit held in Ise-Shima was just one of the many reasons why Japan was in the forefront of international media this week. Some notable stories this week: the Okinawa murder case, PM Abe’s new three arrows and an unprecedented mass robbery case - from none other than a convenience store!

There’s a lot covered on this week’s episode of Tokyo on Fire! Featured stories include: developments in the scandal surrounding Tokyo Governor Masuzoe’s luxuriant spending sprees; President Obama’s monumental Hiroshima visit; suspected 2020 Olympics misdeeds; and news of yet another delay in the consumption tax hike.

Good news, new episodes of Tokyo on Fire are up! Stories this week: Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe's *very* expensive taste; PM Abe President Putin chat about the Kuril Islands; the Yen's on the rise again, yet no one can agree on which approach to take. Hear about these topics and more on the new episodes of Tokyo on Fire!

Last we reported, the Trans-Pacific Partnership was very much still on the table for Japan, but given a few new developments that's looking like its now up in the air. Speaking of up in the air (or possibly finally settling down!) PM Abe is pushing pretty hard with the relocation of the Futenma US base on Okinawa to Henoko, something that each Prime Minister has juggled for the last 20 years. Unsurprisingly enough, there's a good bit of hush-hush attitudes around this information, with the LDP's Yamamoto Ichita leading the charge to quiet dissenters. In other news, one of Shinjuku's most notorious drinking establishments went up in flames and we hit 500 subscribers - come join in the celebrations on this episode of Tokyo on Fire!

Abe and his Cabinet received an onslaught of criticism this week, with opposition parties seizing the chance to highlight the secretive nature of TPP talks and the LDP's reluctance to announce the Government's Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) figures. Things were not much better overseas, with the new radar station in Yonaguni incurring the wrath of China, and US presidential primaries making a swift TPP decision look increasingly unlikely.

With the passing of a new 2017 budget of ¥96.7 trillion, the Abe administration has carved out sections for a wide swathe of Japan's "dynamic" society, including the elderly, the dispossessed, and women, making it seem very much like their plan to engage with the minorities is going ahead strongly. But look under the hood, and you've got a slew of very serious (and familiar) issues that must be addressed if they aren't to seriously clash with the public discourse. Gain access to the treacherous world of inside baseball in Japanese policy and politics on this episode of Tokyo on Fire!

Japan's Communist party, far from being a violent revolutionary faction, has nevertheless been labelled as such recently due to their increasing influence on national politics; The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), the two leading opposition parties to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), have joined forces for the upcoming Upper (and possibly Lower) House election; Prime Minister Abe's Cabinet has been falling all over the place, with gaffes, mispronounciations, and scandals occuring on a regular basis - what's going on with the LDP?

The LDP is widely expected to win (overwhelmingly) the July elections. Yet the LDP, led by PM Abe, continue their efforts to bring in all minority voters - from disabled to single mothers - under the LDP umbrella. Host Timothy Langley and Michael Cucek discuss whether this is worth the effort.

As was expected, the population of Japan has shrunk by 1 million in the last 5 years. This has very serious implications for the economy and for PM Abe's 3 Arrows. What plausible solutions are there available? Host Timothy Langley and Michael Cucek discuss the possibilities.

Despite the scandals that have exploded in the last weeks - the lower has managed to pass the budget for 2017. This should be a big win for PM Abe and will prove useful in the upcoming summer elections. Host Timothy Langley and Michael Cucek explore the implications further.