True dat! Would it interest you to know that Akamatsu has never mentioned “米” in the Diet in the the last twelve years (except as 米国, 北米, etc.) and “農業” only once—in the context of a riff on Nagoya International Airport and Hamanako unagi?

If Akamatsu follows his former SDP party’s lead, he will want even to roll back the 1994 Uruguay Round agreement on Japanese rice market access.

A big if. According to Wikipedia (HAHA), as JSP No.2 in 1993, he supported tariffication of rice—in opposition to the pro-farmer party’s official line. He’s definitely a city boy.

The Hatoyama Cabinet is predominantly a cabinet of baby boomers. The seniority principle lives on.

A qualified yes. This is predominantly a cabinet of the Founding Fathers (thus my argument, though too many chefs may…). Given the prehistory of the DPJ, it is inevitable that baby boomers predominate. The proof of the pudding actually lies in the subcabinet levels, where seniority in the technical sense appears to have been the most important element in narrowing the choices. Notably, the junior (four HOR-term) Nagatsuma broke that mold in choosing two very senior Deputy Ministers.

‘As Ozawa places importance on forming a united front with other opposition parties, Akamatsu, a veteran politician hailing from the now-defunct Japan Socialist Party, is aiming to embody Ozawa’s vision.’ Akamatsu was well placed to accomplish this mission.

This implies that Akamatsu is on good terms with the party that he left to start the pre-merger DPJ. Is he? Are they? After all, the JSP’s soul—if not main body—goes marching on as the DSP. That said, yes, his proximity to Ozawa does help.