# Japan PM Koizumi dissolves Lower House,Gov't in upheaval. Where's the American press? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 11, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-pm-koizumi-dissolves-lower-house-govt-in-upheaval-wheres-the-american-press/316640 "2005-08-11T21:17:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-pm-koizumi-dissolves-lower-house-govt-in-upheaval-wheres-the-american-press/316640/1 "2005-08-11T21:17:56Z")
[Linkety.](http://news.ft.com/cms/83aec348-087e-11da-97a6-00000e2511c8.html) So Japan’s embattled Prime Minister, reeling from the failure of his much-touted postal service privatization bill, dissolves the Lower House of the Parlaiment. The nation is in political chaos as Koizumi calls for “snap” elections on Sept. 11. This could be the most important election in the last 50 years of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party-controlled history. Japan, the second largest economy in the world and one of our greatest trade allies, is in political upheaval, and the American media are basically ignoring it. Why? Does this not make for interesting news? Is Natalee Holloway a more newsworthy story? Maybe this should be in the Pit, but American journalism needs to take a good, hard look at what it reports. Hell, maybe I’m just overreacting to Japan’s situation. Thoughts? Adam ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-pm-koizumi-dissolves-lower-house-govt-in-upheaval-wheres-the-american-press/316640/2 "2005-08-11T21:21:28Z")
They’re too upset about Heathrow getting closed down due to strikes. Japan’s upheaval may mean big change down the road, but people have planes to catch… ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-pm-koizumi-dissolves-lower-house-govt-in-upheaval-wheres-the-american-press/316640/3 "2005-08-11T22:28:03Z")
> [@Agent Foxtrot](#): > > This could be the most important election in the last 50 years of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party-controlled history. The Lower House is usually dissolved before the full term, so I didn’t really take much notice this time. Can you explain what makes this snap election special? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-pm-koizumi-dissolves-lower-house-govt-in-upheaval-wheres-the-american-press/316640/4 "2005-08-11T22:34:23Z")
I was with you until you said something about Natalee Holloway? What is up with her search? Have they found any more leads? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-pm-koizumi-dissolves-lower-house-govt-in-upheaval-wheres-the-american-press/316640/5 "2005-08-11T22:40:16Z")
I’m not seeing a problem here. From your cite: _Having triggered a political crisis at a time when Japan still needs to tackle deflation and sensitive foreign policy issues, “there is a possibility that the electorate will decide the LDP needs to take a break”, suggests Mr Yumoto. “If this happens, it would be a sign that Japan is moving towards a healthy democratic system.”_ (underlining mine) Leading off your nightly newscast with “Japan might become even more democratic” isn’t going to pull in the ratings. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-pm-koizumi-dissolves-lower-house-govt-in-upheaval-wheres-the-american-press/316640/6 "2005-08-11T23:02:16Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > The Lower House is usually dissolved before the full term, so I didn’t really take much notice this time. Can you explain what makes this snap election special? It’ll decide whether or not Koizumi continues as PM and whether or not a more conservative faction of the LDP will gain control of the party. It doesn’t seem likely to me that the LDP/Komeito alliance is going to lose control of the government, so I don’t think the election is really going to be that revolutionary. I’m more interested as to whether or not a change in the leading party faction could have an effect on the LDP’s November announcement of the party plan for constitutional reform. I expect it wouldn’t, but you never know. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-pm-koizumi-dissolves-lower-house-govt-in-upheaval-wheres-the-american-press/316640/7 "2005-08-12T00:20:22Z")
[Front page](http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/08/10/koizumi.poll.reut/index.html) on CNN’s “World” section, New York Times [likewise](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/international/asia/09japan.html), same for [Reuters](http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-08-11T004638Z_01_N10525704_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-JAPAN-POLITICS-POLL-DC.XML). Can’t find it anywhere on Fox News, as if that’s surprising. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-pm-koizumi-dissolves-lower-house-govt-in-upheaval-wheres-the-american-press/316640/8 "2005-08-12T01:50:32Z")
Well, it’s not like this is any different than before. Japanese internal affairs never made a huge splash on US newsprint. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-pm-koizumi-dissolves-lower-house-govt-in-upheaval-wheres-the-american-press/316640/9 "2005-08-12T04:05:42Z")
Japan should have known better than to schedule a major government crisis right after the Brazilian bank robbery. The American media has already done their foreign news story for this week.