picture of the day

New cabinet

20 Comments

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, front center, and his cabinet ministers pose for a photo session at his official residence in Tokyo on Wednesday night.

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A chorus of Shiny happy people getting ready to sing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I've always thought it looks strange for a mature gentleman to color his hair. It doesn't look natural.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Abe's front row made me throw up a little.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Setting the three female cabinet members apart by clustering them together seems a bit strange to me. It smacks of tokenism.

Abe has clearly opted for this arrangement with the women positioned together prominently in the second row in an attempt to showcase his womanomics policies (and also reflects the Japanese preference for sameness and uniformity). Still, I think it sends a completely skewed message, one where the women are viewed as being in a different category than the men.

It is hard to imagine a photo op of the U.S. Congress or British/German parliaments where the women were told to stand together.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

Morning cutaway coats for an evening at the residence with two in casual and a possible cocktail dress. A very odd cabinet indeed . Looks like a new Rodgers and Hammerstein musical production

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Sorry , but only caption I think worthy of this picture is , "Shower of shite".

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Cabinet of the Dead

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Real diversity there in that crowd aye?

2 ( +4 / -2 )

At least the ladies chose different dresses. The uniformity of the men is absurd. Makes me think they are sheep following the shepherd.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

But....MarkG...Don't they all look so very dapper in their big boy suits? ;)

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I know that most people on this site and others like to point out how the Japanese government constanlty being shuffled is like a game of musical chairs, but Abe is making even that an understatement.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Why aren't they wearing the miniature rectangular "Hino-maru" pins above their left breast pockets? Looking at the photo, is "Kimigayo" playing softly in a he background?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Nothing but YES men & women to Abe!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Real diversity there in that crowd aye?

What did you expect exactly? Are you surprised they all look very japanese? In Japan? Did you expect some white guys (former english teachers), few blacks, few pakistanis, indians and nepalis? Maybe some iranians, brazilians, some arabs or kurds? Last time I went out (this morning) I did not see any diversity here. Not in the train nor on the TV. Tokyo and Japan are not UK or US.

Politicians are mostly old, a lot of young japanese don't vote and certainly don't want to make politics. They just look like the people who elected them. Everytime there is a new japanese cabinet we get the same comments on JT...

On a side note I am however disappointed to see only 3 women. From someone who wants to promote gender equality and women's empowerment....speech and reality.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Shouldnt 30 % of Abes cabinet be females, as per his stated goal?

People are not chess pieces. You might set a goal concerning people, but you then have to find people willing and able to do the job. If you can't, you can't.

But don't worry. There is still yet a mountain of legitimate criticism we can direct at this government.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sent from my iPadtokyobakayaroOCT. 08, 2015 - 12:22PM JST Real diversity there in that crowd aye?

What did you expect exactly? Are you surprised they all look very japanese? In Japan? Did you expect some white guys (former english teachers), few blacks, few pakistanis, indians and nepalis? Maybe some iranians, brazilians, some arabs or kurds?

Last time I went out (this morning) I did not see any diversity here. Not in the train nor on the TV. Tokyo and Japan are not UK or US.

< You must not travel far, or you're unaware of your surroundings. Just this morning I went to the beach and back, I saw several business men from India and met two French men on their way to work. Though it's true I see less diversity than the UK or States, there ARE some foreigners who live and work here.>

< Lastly, I can't speak for the other poster was really implying but he could have been referring to gender diversity. As other posters have pointed out, Abe is setting a bad example of his own stated goal. If he doesn't even do what he says, why will anyone else?>

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Wouldn't it be great if they all of a sudden broke out with "Hello my baby, Hello my honey" and started doing the Charleston in tandem on the stairs?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

You must not travel far, or you're unaware of your surroundings. Just this morning I went to the beach and back, I saw several business men from India and met two French men on their way to work. Though it's true I see less diversity than the UK or States, there ARE some foreigners who live and work here.

Considering Japan's (correct, in my view) restrictive citizenship requirements, I doubt that those French or Indian gentlemen are even eligible to vote anyway. Ultimately, the people that vote in Japanese elections are old and Japanese. Gender aside, the cabinet is very much representative of the voting public.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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