> From: Richard Katz

> Jean-Christophe Helary wrote:

>> Did Abe have an important election 6 months after
his getting in power
>> 6 years ago ?
>
> RK:
>
> Yes, he did and he lost it. He came to power at the
end of 2006 and faced an Upper House election in July
2007 (the UH election is held every three years).

No, the situation was totally different from now.

In 2006, the Upper House was held by Jiminto and Komeito and they had quite a comfortable majority.
The Minshuto then was a threat but certainly not a tangible one since Jiminto and its allies had always managed to secure enough votes to gain the majority in either house (with a very few exceptions that are not really relevant).

So, as far as Abe was concerned, it was business as usual in 2007-2007 and that election certainly had not the same weight as the one coming this July.

> JCH:
>
>> Abe and his friends know very well that they can't
do much for the economy...
>
> RK:
>
> What makes you believe that they "know very well that
they can't do much for the economy"?

Because Abe has not been elected for its economic policies. He has been elected because Ishihara managed to trick the public opinion into thinking that the time was ripe for a hardliner team to seize the power. His focus on infrastructure spendings instead of energy technology investment is a proof that he is just looking for short term results and has no interests whatsoever in making it easier for the Japanese people on the long term.

As you write, for them it is about magic wands and similar tricks, and if that doesn't work (which is
likely) they'll find a scapegoat.

Jean-Christophe Helary=