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riday, January 13, 2006. Volume 02, Number 02Spring classes have begun here at the University of South Carolina.
Students are back, and the USC campus is altogether a brighter place. I
have an undergraduate class in Japan's foreign relations this semester.
About 50 students. Looks like a good group.This week we run a
bit longer than usual, beginning with an update on negotiations with
China over exploitation of natural resources in the East China Sea, and
then a look at what the handling of the Shanghai Consulate Incident of
2004 tells us about relations between Japan's central political
executive and the Foreign Ministry.Then we begin a review of
the Liberal Democratic Party's preparations for a party presidential
election to be held this September. Conditions have changed somewhat,
and to better understand the current situation we look back at the
April 2001 LDP presidential election that placed Junichiro Koizumi in
the prime minister's office.As usual we close with some
progressive bluegrass, this time the opening of Billy Parks' "That
Memphis Sound." You can hear the whole song on the webpage he maintains
for the Dirty River Band, listed below.Some links to individuals and organizations mentioned in today's podcast:Dirty River BandUSC's Department of Political Science Japan's Ministry of Foreign AffairsOffice of the Prime MinisterJapan's Liberal Democratic PartyThe Japan Considered Project |