Ozawa to be tapped as prime minister?
Posted by Matt Dioguardi on September 24th, 2007
Here’s a small civics lesson on how the Japanese government works:
On Tuesday, the lower house will name Fukuda prime minister, while the upper house will likely select DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa as its choice for the premiership, given the opposition bloc’s majority in that chamber. As a result, a joint committee will meet to resolve the situation. If the committee cannot reach agreement, Fukuda will automatically be named prime minister as the Constitution stipulates that the lower house decision takes precedence. (From Yomiuri)
A few days ago when I’d read the headline that Ozawa would likely be elected prime minister by the upper house, I was a bit disoriented at first. Sort of like, can they do that? The answer is yes. But that doesn’t mean he gets to be the prime minister.