PM Tanigaki? Rat's Chance in Hell

Back from holiday and rested, I see in a headline that all is now clear: Chief MoFo Tanigaki's pseudo-vicious fight with the BoJ was a prelude to his now not-so-secret desire to succeed PM Junichiro ("Elvis") Koizumi as Japan's next PM, Bloomberg reported. His platform? Consumption tax increases coupled with lukewarm anti-nationalist foreign policy. It is the true Keidanren platform making him far and away the favorite of Corporatist and Mercantilist interests in Japan who would like to see a weaker yen and a "kindler, gentler Japan" to the billions of emerging Asian consumers. The only problem is that these are inherently unpopular policies with "the people". No matter that the Emperor's own reservations have been leaked to the press about PMs making official visits to the Shrine where amongst others, the spirits of Class-A war criminals are errr remembered and revered. No matter than neo-mercantilism is set to torpedo the post-WWII monetary system. Tanigaki is well behind Abe in polls, who leads with between 40% & 50% of voter sentiments. But at least we can now understand why Keidanren's Man With a Plan has been such a persistent and vocal critic of ending BoJs Free Money policy.