Bloomberg Radio: Michael Auslin on Shinzo Abe

July 16, 2007
By Ken Worsley

In 2004, then Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe spoke at the American Enterprise Institute, where he had this to say:

Japan has become, for the most part, allergic to any discussion of security. It is not logical; it is an allergy like a physical response. Afraid of bringing on this allergic reaction, each administration has avoided discussing matters which they were actually required to address.

We haven’t heard Mr Abe phrase things in exactly this way when speaking to a domestic audience. That, however is neither here nor there. Last last week, I received this email from Bloomberg:

On Bloomberg Radio ®, “Bloomberg on the Economy” host Tom Keene spoke for an hour recently with Michael Auslin of the American Enterprise Institute. They discussed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the outlook for Japan’s political economy, Japan-U.S. relations and defense policies, Japan’s unique relationship with China, and his take on the Liberal Democratic Party and the Upper House elections on July 29. We thought you might find the interview of interest. Please feel free to follow the link below to listen to their conversations:

http://www.bloomberg.com/tvradio/podcast/ontheeconomy.html

I’ve listened to the interview and it’s very much spot-on, and fully recommended as an update on the status of the Abe administration, what makes it tick, and what we can expect from it in the future. Must-listen material for those keeping up on the ties between politics and economy in Japan.

Filed Under Japan, Podcasts