Tim Sullivan comments

Japanese friends (who unlike me can vote) agree with me that he is absolutely useless. No new ideas -- just keep printing yen ...

"True love is something you can't find in stores":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2vJtIfD5HA

How about reducing the tax burden for people who make less than 10 million yen a year? Japan is about the only country in the world where taxes will never go down. Scrapping the hopelessly complicated new invoicing system (a thinly disguised tax grab) would be another popular move.

I live in Tokyo. I'd like to help the Japanese economy, but I can't find much to spend my money on. Any suggestions?

The PM should visit a mushroom farm for his next photo op. I think LDP supporters and mushrooms have a lot in common. They both are kept in the dark and fed BS.

Yet another photo op. The guy doesn't seem to do much else. But this one shows what the LDP really thinks of the voters!

I think a mascot will help to seal an LDP victory in November. An unemployed actor in a "Jiminto-kun" costume will have an irresistible appeal for this country's increasingly senile population.

The turkeys will have another chance to vote for Christmas!

It's about time the LDP changed its name (like Johnny's did the other day). It's not liberal and it's certainly not democratic.

McDonald's and other fast-food joints are paying over 20.00 US dollars in California.

Why can't they do that in Japan? Makes no sense.

The minimum wage should be around 3,000 yen an hour. Japan is getting poorer by the day, but most Japanese won't know this unless they travel abroad.

On the income side, the minimum wage is set to increase gradually, with the national hourly average topping 1,000 yen for the first time.

Wow! I can now earn as much as I did when I was a high-school student washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant in New York in 1986.

That's progress!

My guess is Kishida plans to dissolve the Lower House for a general election before the news gets any worse.

That's how the LDP thinks. It's beyond pathetic, but people get the governments they deserve.

The lady working in a supermarket making sure she earns under 80,000 yen per month so that she doesn't have to pay social security and healthcare premiums. She wants to work more so that she can take home more money, but the current system won't allow her to do this. It's pathetic.

Kishida has come up with a convoluted scheme to prop up this stupid outdated system. I've got a better idea. Stop screwing people over and scrap the "annual income barrier" altogether.

"I will convey Japan's unique concepts, such as human security and human-centered international cooperation" to other countries, Kishida said, adding that he will seek to carry through the achievements of the Group of Seven summit in May in Hiroshima, which he hosted.

Well, he should start by reminding everyone what exactly those achievements were, if he ( or indeed anyone) can remember them.

The guy's bordering on delusional, but hey-ho, another big global summit meeting, and he'll be there for sure.

The "achievements" of the G7 summit -- I may be a bit dense, but what exactly were those? Condemning nuclear weapons while rejecting the test ban treaty because you may need to use nukes against North Korea?

He used to hang around with Jimmy Savile and looks like Charles Manson on a bad day. It might be a good idea of the police looked under the floorboards of his house.

"Human security and human-centered international cooperation" -- who came up with this stuff? What a load of bollocks.

These UN speeches are a complete waste of time. No-one will remember anything Kishida-kun says. He would be better off singing a karaoke version of Imagine: "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one".

Flat bed seats in business and first class that allow you to get some decent sleep on long flights.

It's interesting that one person does all these jobs:

Minister in charge of Policies Related to Children

Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate

Minister of State for Gender Equality

Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment

Minister in charge of Cohesive Society

Minister in charge of Measures for Loneliness and Isolation

My pick would be Taro Aso. He knows how to get things done.

Most people in this land of low political expectations have realized that Kishida is an empty suit. I miss Abe.

It might work if Kishida reshuffled himself.

It's about time the LDP had a mascot -- they could call it Jiminto-kun.

First class is still good though.

Can we have more women this time, please?

Food is for the rich only as of now

Have you seen the 1973 movie Soylent Green? It's worth tracking down online:

"By 2022, the cumulative effects of overpopulation and pollution have caused ecocide, leading to severe worldwide shortages of food, water, and housing. New York City has a population of 40 million, and only the elite can afford spacious apartments, clean water, and natural food. The homes of the elite are fortified, with security systems and bodyguards for their tenants. Usually, they include concubines (who are referred to—and used as—"furniture"). The poor live in squalor, haul water from communal spigots, and eat highly processed wafers: Soylent Red, Soylent Yellow, and the latest product, far more flavorful and nutritious, Soylent Green"

Kishida thinks the serfs will be impressed when the minimum wage rises to (drum roll) 1,000 yen! Japan is only 40 years behind everyone else in this area -- I guess that is some sort of achievement.

Aso was a good PM. He tells it like it is, unlike Kishida, the dithering master of the word salad. Everything he says sounds like it's been put through Google Translate a couple of times.

"Runa" and her friends could make more money if they plied their trade in Nagatacho near the Diet.

All four young women easily clear ¥1 million a month ... and probably don't declare any of it to the tax authorities. That's illegal as well.

Prostitution is illegal in Japan (need a laughing face emoji here), but the police turn a blind eye if everything is kept discreet and the sleaze is confined to certain areas. A very Japanese solution.