By Yoree Koh
Probably the last thing embattled Prime Minister Naoto Kan wanted to do Wednesday was give opposition politicians urging his resignation the gift of the gaffe.
- European Pressphoto Agency
- Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan during a political debate at the Japanese Diet in Tokyo June 1.
- European Pressphoto Agency
- Japan’s main opposition Liberal Democratic Party leader Sadakazu Tanigaki at a party rally in downtown Tokyo May 31.
In the end, during a parliament showdown with the main opposition leader, it wasn’t the last thing Mr. Kan did, it was the first.
Mr. Kan tripped right out of the gate during Wednesday’s rowdy debate, the first time the pair have squared off in parliament since the earthquake and tsunami struck, accidentally calling the Liberal Democratic Party’s president Sadakazu Tanigaki “prime minister.”
As he launched into a rebuttal of a scathing review by Mr. Tanigaki of the prime minister’s administration, Mr. Kan said – on live nationwide TV — “First of all, we heard from Prime Minister Tanigaki…oh excuse me…” Mr. Kan had fumbled Mr. Tanigaki’s party president title with his own: the word for Prime Minster in Japanese, souri, is apparently too similar to sousai, which means president, on such hectic occasions.
Cue riotous bellows from the gallery of LDP lawmakers, likely to put a motion of no confidence in Mr. Kan’s government before parliament for a vote Thursday. While not a twitch could be seen from inscrutable ruling Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers seated silently behind the (real) prime minister, Your Party lawmaker Matsuda Kouta was quick to send a message about the mix-up to micro-blogging site Twitter. Pretty soon, the gaffe was taken up by Japan’s tweeters, and “Prime Minister Tanigaki” became a Twitter Japan trend.
Ever the trouper, Mr. Kan carried on with his remarks so briskly that it didn’t leave the opposition much time to dwell on the slip up. No matter, they roared about the next thing he said anyway.
What a timely mistake! And a great photo of Tanigaki to go with the story.
Although a commenter calls Mr Tanigaki a sock puppet every single political leader in the democratic world is possibly a sock puppet of someone else in that regard. If you don’t like it you’d better headhunt Mr Gaddafi or Mr Mubarak. Mr Tanigaki is a type of politician who makes his utmost efforts to put together various opinions among the party bosses and technocrats, and that’s the very talent that the leader of a democracy is required to possess. I personally would recommend Mr Aso Taro, but I believe Mr Tankgaki would also be a very good leader.
Mr Ozawa is rather a fixer than a political leader. Hasty Mr Edano is no other than a vestige of the out-of-date Washington Consensus, who would be a good CEO of a business company rather than a political leader that has to consider macroeconomic kinetics to avoid fallacy of composition.
After all, DPJ appears a motley crew of socialists, libertarians and populists. It is one good idea that Mr Kan should dissolve the Diet. The estimated cost of general election – said to be equivalent to USD1 billion – sounds peanuts compared to Japan’s GDP that reaches USD1.2 trillion, and that’s not a waste at all now that this nation has to sort out the big mess.
And if Kan did decide to give up,who would the country like to see? More to the point, who would be capable of taking on the job? Sock puppet Tanigaki, who daren’t do anything without the consent of the LDP party bosses? Ozawa, forming yet another of his “opposition” parties? Edano (who at least can speak clearly and concisely, even if his political skills are as yet untried)?
Kan is prepared to leave already…