The Economist - USA (2021-07-10)

38 Asia The Economist July 10th 2021

Japanesepolitics

Tokyo drifts

E

lectionsin tokyooften foretellna­

tional ones. In 2009 the opposition

DemocraticParty ofJapantriumphedin

thecapitalbeforesweepingtherulingLib­

eralDemocraticParty(ldp) frompowerin

nationalelectionslaterthatyear.Thisyear,

too,thesignsareagainbadfortheldp. Par­

tyleadershadhopedtobag 50 ormore

seatsinthe127­seatlegislatureinelections

onJuly4th.Theldplimpedhomewithjust

33,aslightimprovementoverahistoric

drubbingin2017,butstillitssecond­worst

showingever.TheresultleavestheTokyo

assemblysplitamongseveralparties,and

theldp’s leader,SugaYoshihide,whoisal­

sothe prime minister, lookingincreas­

inglyvulnerableaheadofa contestforhis

party’s presidency and national parlia­

mentaryelectionsintheautumn.

TheflopreflectsTokyoites’frustration

withthegovernment’shandlingofthetwo

issues at the top of voters’ minds: the

Olympics,whichwillbegininthecityon

July23rd,andcovid­19,whichloomslarge

overthem.Thepaceofinoculationshas,at

least,pickedup.Japanisnowputtingnee­

dlesintomorethan1marmsa day.Yetjust

16%ofJapaneseovertheageof 12 arefully

vaccinated,a lowerproportionthaninall

butfourofthe 38 membersoftheoecd, a

clubmostlyofrichcountries.Thatmight

worryvoterslessif Tokyowerenotaboutto

hosttensofthousandsofathletes,admin­

istratorsandhangers­onfrommorethan

200 countries.Pollsshowthatnearlytwo­

thirdsofJapanesewouldliketo seethe

gamescancelledorheldwithoutfans.

TheTokyoresultsmay“destabilise” Mr

Suga’spositionasleaderoftheldp,  says

UchiyamaYuoftheUniversityofTokyo.

MrSugatookoverthepostlastyear  after

hispredecessor,AbeShinzo,stepped down

owingtoillhealth.Hemuststandfor  his

ownfulltermasldppresidentinSeptem­

ber.Thoughheandhiscabinetinitially en­

joyed widespread support,approval  rat­

ingshavesinceslippedfromashigh as 74%

toaround40%.Tellingly,MrSugahimself

didnotcampaigninTokyo;theparty  in­

steadsentoutother,morepopularfigures.

Evenso,nearlyhalftheparty’scandidates

wererejectedbyvoters.Theshoddy results

comeafterldp­backedcandidateslost  in

sixspecialby­electionsforDietseats  and

governorships earlierthisyear.Mr  Suga

mustnowhopethatswiftprogresson vac­

cinationsandperhapsa fewgoldmedals

forJapanwillchangethemood.

Hemayalsotakecomfortinthe  fact

thatTokyoisnotasreliablea portent as it

oncewas.Theelectoraldynamicsof the ci­

tyhavebecome morecomplicated  since

theemergencein 2017 ofTominFirst  No

Kai(TokyoitesFirst),thepartyofTokyo’s

populargovernor,KoikeYuriko,a former

ldpheavyweight.Atjustsixmonths  old,

thepartywoncontrolofthecapital’s  as­

sembly,anditseemedthatMsKoike’s new

forcemightevenmustera challenge to the

ldp’s nationaldominance.ButTomin First

floppedinDietelectionsthatyearand nev­

ergainedtractionoutsideTokyo.Ms Koike,

whoissaidtoharbourambitionsfor high­

eroffice,hasrecentlybeencosyingback up

to theldp, perhapsrecognisingthat  the

roadtonationalpowerstillrunsthrough

her oldparty. Her ambiguous stance  is

probablyonereasonwhyTominFirst  lost

14 ofthe 45 seatsit held.

Evenif MrSugajoinsa longlistof short­

livedJapaneseprimeministers,there  is  a

limittohowpoorlytheldpcanfare. There

isnoTomin­stylespoileratthenational

level.TurnoutinTokyowasjust42%,  the

second­lowestlevelonrecord.Butin gen­

eralelections,lowturnoutfavoursthe ldp

andKomeito,itscoalitionpartner,  which

havestrongnetworksandinfrastructure to

getouttheirvoters.Mostimportantly, the

mainoppositionpartiesaredeeplyunpop­

ular.“Wehavenoalternativepolitical forc­

esbesidestheldp,” saysToshikawa Takao,

theeditorofInsideline, a politicalnewslet­

ter.InJapan,dissatisfactionbreedsapathy,

notchange.n

TOKYO

A bellwether local election brings bad tidings for Japan’s prime minister

It’s a sign

SouthKorea’sworkculture

(; —,_—)

Tech workers are finding that their

jobs are less fun than they expected

W

hen park hae-ryungstarted her job

at a big internet company near Seoul,

South Korea’s capital, she had high expec­

tations.  “They  promise  you  flat  hierar­

chies,  flexible  work  and  a  young,  innova­

tive workplace,” says the 26­year­old grad­

uate.  “But  what  actually  happens  is  that

they give you tons of work without telling

you how to do it. There’s no structure and

no  communication.  And  you  can’t  com­

plain  to  hrbecause  the  person  in  charge

probably  went  to  school  with  your  boss.”

Ms Park (not her real name) is planning to

quit  as  soon  as  she  can.  She  says  many  of

her colleagues feel the same.

South  Korea’s  work  culture  is  notori­

ously  punishing.  Its  people  work  some  of

the longest hours in the oecd, a club most­

ly of rich countries. Office­goers have scant

control over their time and little chance to

escape  from  bad  management.  They  have

long  complained  of  gapjil,  the  authoritar­

ian attitude of senior managers who abuse

their  power  to  shout  at  underlings,  insist

on unpaid all­nighters and weekend work,

assign personal errands, and force juniors

to go out drinking for hours upon hours. 

The country’s most prestigious employ­

ers,  such  as  Samsung,  a  technology  con­

glomerate,  attract  the  best­qualified  job­

seekers  with  well­paid  jobs  and  generous

benefits. But the perks come with strict hi­

erarchies, long hours and no doubt numer­

ous opportunities to experience gapjil. 

By contrast, relatively newer firms such

as  Naver  (a  search  engine,  among  other

things),  Kakao  (messaging)  and  Coupang

(e­commerce),  as  well  as  many  smaller