Paul Nadeau
@pauljnadeau.bsky.social
2.2K followers 430 following 5.9K posts
Trade, politics, and geoeconomics. Editor of Tokyo Review, adjunct professor with Temple University Japan, visiting research fellow with the Institute of Geoeconomics/Asia Pacific Initiative, should be GM of the Quebec Nordiques. Usual disclaimers.
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pauljnadeau.bsky.social
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Bring any immigration documents you have (visas, letters from USCIS, etc.) to your first meeting with an attorney.

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Scan the code or visit https://linktr.ee/lawyerinfo for more resources + info

*this flyer is not legal advice*
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
Damn, I've missed a good Fred reference
Reposted by Paul Nadeau
amandamarcotte.bsky.social
For those tempted to say Young Republicans have always been this way, they really have not. When I worked on campus and did bipartisan college events after, they were very much not like this.

That’s why groups like YCT and eventually TPUSA formed — because Young Republicans weren’t radical enough.
politico.com
EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of leaked messages show leaders of Young Republican groups joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape in a private Telegram chat.

Inside rising GOP leaders’ racist chats — obtained by POLITICO and spanning more than 7 months👇
‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat
Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.
www.politico.com
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
(but some things are more possible than others)
Reposted by Paul Nadeau
japantimes.co.jp
Japan turns to anti-dumping measures as international trade gets complicated, with an uptick in the number of probes this year indicating an evolving strategy.
Japan turns to anti-dumping measures as international trade gets complicated
An uptick in number of probes this year indicates an evolving strategy.
ebx.sh
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
Which is why Sanseito concerns me beyond their limited approval...in a situation where no one's really popular, seeing a media-oriented right wing party pick up a few seats because they're the latest fascination would give them more attention than they've earned and might solidify them in the field
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
Feels like it, honestly, and would track with media consumption patterns and patterns you see in other countries
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
Makes me respect Abe's ability to grab Japan by the ankles, turn it upside down, and shake out all the seats he could get out of there. I don't think Takaichi nor the people around her have the same skill, and none of the possible coalition parties have a strong vote-getting operation themselves
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
Spitballing now, but I wonder if this might encourage Takaichi to call an election if/when she's confirmed as PM since no one's really ascendant and you could catch Sanseito offguard before they'd build an electoral machine, though it would be high risk since Sanseito would get more seats regardless
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
While this isn't terribly helpful in terms of coalition-building (you count seats, not approval ratings), it still suggests the limitations to any coalition in trying to lock down public support; it's still very much the LDP and a bunch of guys
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
And looking at the age breakdown in support reveals Sanseito as Japan's unc party; they're not really very strong with any other age bracket
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
Approval ratings for Japan's parties Saneito polling about as well as CDPJ, just behind DPFP, and ahead of Komeito and pretty solidly Ishin, but all still far behind the LDP (as long as you don't count "no preference", who could blow them all out of the water if they finally settled on a candidate)
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
I don't think it's entirely an accident that you see that among one particular research focus
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
One of my personal rules for writing about another country is to never use the word "should", as in, "[country] should..." because it's not my place to tell them what they should do

Which I mention because way too many foreign commentators are comfortable telling Japan's parties what they should do
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
Right? He seems made for this moment
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
Disagree...the guys in the picture accurately assessed the problems
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
Yeah I started responding to your original question and then things got out of hand
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
On one hand, yes. On the other hand, there's so many miscalculations going on (IMO) that I don't put anything past them anymore.
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
But anyway, what was supposed to have been a bring-the-party together election turned into Aso and the conservatives spiking the football, driving out Komeito, and antagonizing the moderates.

It is, as they say Cotton, a bold strategy.
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
I don't know how this would work, but it feels like every party would lose seats if the election was called tomorrow
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
The whole mess is also not what the public wants, and they'll probably resent being called to vote again or anything that doesn't address kitchen table bread-and-butter issues that they're looking for action on.
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
Maybe he thought they could collaborate with Ishin or DPFP, maybe he thought that the LDP could win more votes by becoming a true conservative party, but probably both. But losing Komeito will almost immediately cost the LDP numbers they can't afford to lose in the next election
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
Komeito made the LDP more moderate, but their vote-getting operation, once an immaculate machine that help give the LDP is dominant majorities, isn't what it used to be, so Aso may have felt this was the time to boot Komeito and become a more ideologically coherent conservative party
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
She and Aso badly misread the situation in front of them, which IMO is what precipitated the current situation. Not sure if reporting's confirmed this, but it feels like they pushed out Komeito or at least created a situation where Komeito would feel compelled to leave
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
To go back to your immediate question, conservatives hate Ishiba but his status as a maverick within the party made it unlikely he'd ever unite the LDP. Koizumi would probably dampen the tensions but not really resolve them, while we're seeing how it's playing out with Takaichi.