Thread by @observingjapan

I'm starting a thread for stray thoughts about the #自民党総裁選.

Kono's popularity and quirky communication style mask the extent to which he's actually quite similar to Suga. Very good with the details of policy, less good at the "vision thing." This was one of the striking things about his book.

https://twitter.com/observingjapan/status/1438606550415945732?s=20

Kishida has declared an end to neoliberal policy, but he's about ten years too late. Abe just wasn't a neoliberalism; his legacy is neo-statism.

foreignaffairs.com/articles/japan…

It is striking to me just how much anxiety is on display in this campaign. I haven't seen enough of Noda yet, but every candidate is talking about a sea of troubles to varying degrees.

Here's Kishi Nobuo saying exactly that in an endorsement of Takaichi:

https://twitter.com/KishiNobuo/status/1438736084549058562?s=20

Abe liked to talk about "breaking through" crises, but his tenure is looking like a Goldlilocks period.