Tobias Harris
@tobiasharris.bsky.social
6.3K followers 740 following 5.7K posts
Japanese politics analyst; author of The Iconoclast: Shinzō Abe and the New Japan; Chicago-born Cubs fan now living in DC; marathoner; RHP + IF ⚾ Substack: Observingjapan.substack.com. Business: www.japanforesight.com
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tobiasharris.bsky.social
Japanese politics was rocked on Friday as the Kōmeitō announced it would leave its coalition with the LDP after twenty-six years. To understand why this happened and what it means, I wrote a guide for the perplexed.

open.substack.com/pub/observin...
Kōmeitō quits the coalition
A guide for the perplexed
open.substack.com
Reposted by Tobias Harris
tobiasharris.bsky.social
Ishiba's address on the eightieth anniversary of the end of the war is really worth reading:

japan.kantei.go.jp/content/0001...
japan.kantei.go.jp
tobiasharris.bsky.social
This would have been weird a few months ago, but I'll be happy when I don't have to see Andrew Vaughn again until next season.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
I think you're going to be waiting for a long time if you're pinning your hopes on Renho.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
I mean, I love listening to Pat and Ron so it's not a terrible hardship.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
Help! I know superstition is dumb but my inner baseball player says it must be respected.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
I started listening to Cubs radio after they took a 3-1 lead in game 3 and I think superstition now demands that I follow the remainder of the series by radio.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
I'm in the early stages of a book project on Japan's post-1952 politics and I am constantly struck by the resonances.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
"We need you for one last job."
tobiasharris.bsky.social
Naturally because of the 1993 resonances and his life's work of destroying the LDP, but also he's pushed Noda to work with the DPFP and others to topple the LDP.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
I can't help but wonder, where's Ozawa Ichiro?
tobiasharris.bsky.social
I don't think I'm ready for it. Trying not to think about it.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
We'll use state power to usher in utopia and then we'll never, ever need to use it again, we swear.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
I fell asleep sometime between the 12th and 15th but literally opened my eyes just in time to see Polanco seal it. Happy for the many, many M's fans I follow.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
Pitchers might be too good.
Reposted by Tobias Harris
tobiasharris.bsky.social
In a free edition of the Japan Daily Briefing — I’m starting “free Fridays” — I look more at the causes and effects of Kōmeitō’s break with the LDP and discuss Ishiba’s reflections on the eightieth anniversary of the end of World War II.

open.substack.com/pub/observin...
The end of the coalition | Japan Daily Briefing
As the coalition breaks, Ishiba delivers an impassioned defense of democracy
open.substack.com
Reposted by Tobias Harris
tobiasharris.bsky.social
Japanese politics was rocked on Friday as the Kōmeitō announced it would leave its coalition with the LDP after twenty-six years. To understand why this happened and what it means, I wrote a guide for the perplexed.

open.substack.com/pub/observin...
Kōmeitō quits the coalition
A guide for the perplexed
open.substack.com
tobiasharris.bsky.social
You may not like it but this is what peak performance looks like.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
When Levi speaks about Kōmeitō, it pays to listen.
levimclaughlin.bsky.social
Japan, ostensibly one of the least religious countries in the world, had its political order upended by the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai. That is THE story about Friday's epochal shift in Japanese politics (thread follows):
tobiasharris.bsky.social
In a free edition of the Japan Daily Briefing — I’m starting “free Fridays” — I look more at the causes and effects of Kōmeitō’s break with the LDP and discuss Ishiba’s reflections on the eightieth anniversary of the end of World War II.

open.substack.com/pub/observin...
The end of the coalition | Japan Daily Briefing
As the coalition breaks, Ishiba delivers an impassioned defense of democracy
open.substack.com
tobiasharris.bsky.social
How confused is Trump going to be if Ishiba is still PM when he comes to Japan?
tobiasharris.bsky.social
Sanseitō's numbers now are too small. They have three seats in the lower house, so they may only matter on the margins. But also Sanseitō objects to the LDP as an institution.
tobiasharris.bsky.social
This was recorded before the breakup but I talk about the coalition issues at around the 13:30 mark.
korea.csis.org
Don't miss out on our latest episode of The Impossible State!

@csis.org @victordcha.bsky.social hosted James Brady and @tobiasharris.bsky.social for a special discussion on Japan’s new leadership and the future of U.S.–Japan–South Korea relations.

Watch the full video: youtu.be/n0BVuqXjsac
tobiasharris.bsky.social
Ishiba's address on the eightieth anniversary of the end of the war is really worth reading:

japan.kantei.go.jp/content/0001...
japan.kantei.go.jp