070706JapanConsideredPodcastVolume 03Number24

Click here for a transcript of this program. Greetings Again From the Japan Considered Podcast Mobile Studio. Parked here on the shore of Lake Thurmond. Enjoying the view, in spite of the heat. Thanks for dropping by. This week we focus almost entirely on the significance of the resignation of Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma. After the negative publicity his comment on U.S. atomic bombing of Japanese cities at the end of World War Two incited. After describing what happened, we consider the significance of Kyuma's resignation, given the options, and what it tells us about Shinzo Abe's management of the Japanese premiership. My conclusions are somewhat different than those of most of Japan's political media. Finally we consider what I believe to be the most long-term significant aspect of the Kyuma Affair: Appointment of Yuriko Koike as his successor. And why.