081114JapanConsideredPodcastVol04No31

November 14, 2008; Volume 04, Number 31Click here for a transcript of today's program Thanks for dropping in again this Friday. We're slowly getting back to our regular weekly schedule. Hopefully, it will last. But no promises. This week we return to the Tamogami Essay Incident, considering General Tamogami's testimony before the Upper House Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday, and the reaction to that testimony. We also consider the significance of 94 additional active duty Air Self Defense Force officers submitting essays for the same contest, and what that means for military discipline and supervision of military training. Then, at long last, we return to the topic of political reform, or 'seiji kaikaku' that we began considering week before last. And nearly complete it before the Old Clock on the Screen went into emergency blinking. Thanks too for your e-mailed messages. Your comments and suggestions for the program are most helpful. Agree or disagree, they're all valuable. So keep 'em coming.