Finance Minister On The Brink Of Resigning

[Mulboyne]

Marketwatch: Japan's finance minister to resign
Japanese Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii is expected to resign due to poor health, in a potential setback for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, according to reports published Wednesday. Fujii, 77, told Hatoyama he wants to resign after the year's first regular Cabinet meeting, according to the reports. The finance minister had been admitted to the hospital on Dec. 28 for tests after complaining of exhaustion. The Kyodo news agency described Fujii as "one of the few members of the Cabinet with extensive government experience." His reported resignation comes at a difficult time for the government, which had been working overtime to draft a budget for the year beginning in April. The Nikkei reported that potential successors for Fujii include Administrative Reform Minister Yoshito Sengoku, Senior Vice Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan. The next finance minister will be expected to handle attacks from lawmakers as the budget is challenged in committee meetings, the Nikkei reported.

PM Hatoyama has reportedly said he wants Fujii to stay on if possible.

[BO-SENSEI]

A lot of people were scatching their heads to learn that when the guy got the position. I didn't think it was a good idea to have a 77-year old in charge of getting the economy back on its feet.

[IkemenTommy]

Probably a smart move by Fujii as he sees the economy not recovering any time soon.

[FG Lurker]

Probably a smart move by Fujii as he sees the economy not recovering any time soon.

I'm hoping his departure might weaken the yen a bit. He talked it up, perhaps a better replacement might help bring it down.

[FG Lurker]

Five facts about new Japan finance minister Kan
Reuters, January 6, 2010

Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan, a ruling party heavyweight with little experience in fiscal and tax affairs, was named on Wednesday to succeed ailing Hirohisa Fujii as the country's finance minister.

Kan, 63, will remain economics minister but would give up his portfolio as national strategy minister, who oversees the budget process and sets priorities for fiscal policy.

[...]

Little is known on Kan's stance on currency policy but he is expected to be less tolerant of a strong yen, which hurts exports, than Fujii. In November, when the yen surged to a 14-year high against the dollar, Kan said he hoped the yen would weaken and that the government will try to slow its appreciation, although he didn't elaborate on how that could be done.

(Full Story)

Fujii's out, Kan's in. The complete lack of depth of the DPJ is really starting to show... If the yen weakens somewhat though I'll certainly be happy.

[nottu]

[nottu]

[Samurai_Jerk]

??
?

You're not the only one who doesn't get Baby Bo's line of reasoning.

Anyway, what happen to all your red dots? I guess you've been getting a lot of green lately.

[nottu]

[Samurai_Jerk]

The lesser I post the greener I get.

Holy shit! When I posted that last night you still had two red dots. Now you're in the green.

[Greji]

The lesser I post the greener I get.

Same again
"vBulletin Message
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to nottu again."

[Jack]

I'm hoping his departure might weaken the yen a bit. He talked it up, perhaps a better replacement might help bring it down.

Actually I think the yen will weaken substantially. I can see it going to 130 to the US dollar by next August. The reason for my thinking is that I think a lot of the yen carry trades have been undone as futures matured given that interest rates everywhere else were also near zero. But the US will start to tighten by summer if not earlier and the carry trade will continue because Japanese rates will remain near zero. Then you will see a tonne of yen being shorted again. I sold all my yen at around 86 it didn't go as high as I thought it might) but I am convinced it is going a lot lower now.

[Jack]

A lot of people were scatching their heads to learn that when the guy got the position. I didn't think it was a good idea to have a 77-year old in charge of getting the economy back on its feet.

It doesn't matter how old the dude is. The Japanese economy will never be as robust as it was for the simple reason that there is no population growth which is critical for increasing "private consumption" in the formula below.

GDP = private consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports − imports)

[BO-SENSEI]

I just didn't think that a 77-year old was going to be willing to help bring change to the economy but seeing Jack's reasoning, there was nothing he could have done in the first place, at least his age has forced him into resigning.

[Greji]

I just didn't think that a 77-year old was going to be willing to help bring change to the economy but seeing Jack's reasoning, there was nothing he could have done in the first place, at least his age has forced him into resigning.

Bo, I don't know why you seem to be hung up on 77. How old do you think the people who are ruling Japan are? For that matter, check the ages of other countries. People the age of Obama are the very exception, the rest are closer to the 77 mark then they are to Obama's age.

Check the age of Robert Bird in the states when they wheel his musty old ass out to vote. Fujii is only about 4th, or maybe 5th among the J-diet and Kanbu "Depends" set..

[Mike Oxlong]

I've seen 80-year-old guys in dojo kick some serious ass - they were the ones holding back, not the 40-year-old wannabes...

[FG Lurker]

How old do you think the people who are ruling Japan are?

For the most part? Waaaaaaaaaay too fucking old.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I've seen 80-year-old guys in dojo kick some serious ass

That's like faith healers who knock people out with the flick of a hand.

[Mike Oxlong]

That's like faith healers who knock people out with the flick of a hand.

Not even close. The guys that stay healthy and keep growing technically do kick some serious ass. There's more out there than the octagon and K1. Just saying.

[BO-SENSEI]

Bo, I don't know why you seem to be hung up on 77. How old do you think the people who are ruling Japan are? For that matter, check the ages of other countries. People the age of Obama are the very exception, the rest are closer to the 77 mark then they are to Obama's age.

Check the age of Robert Bird in the states when they wheel his musty old ass out to vote. Fujii is only about 4th, or maybe 5th among the J-diet and Kanbu "Depends" set..

For the most part, people in Japan voted for the DPJ to send Japan in a different and new direction then the one the LDP was leading it down. Putting a 77-year old in charge of the economy was not the direction that I believe people wanted to go in. I believed they needed to go with someone younger who would be willing to shake up the economy the way that Maehara Seiji has shaken up the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.