Nipponica

Walt Disney and Japan’s Oriental Land Company unveiled plans on Tuesday to launch a new cruise ship that will set sail from Tokyo in 2029, adding a ninth vessel to the brand’s growing fleet.

The new ship will be modeled after the Wish, the largest vessel in Disney’s fleet. OLC, the operator of Tokyo Disneyland, will also operate the new cruise vessel.

The best news of this announcement is that operations will be run by OLC, who has surpassed Disney itself in providing excellent service at their parks.

The Japanese government said Tuesday that Yukihiko Imasaki, a 66-year-old Supreme Court justice, will become chief justice of the country’s top court to replace Saburo Tokura, who will retire on Aug. 10.

Not the most liberal institution in the world but at least it is functioning unlike other courts I could name.

Following her loss Sunday night, Renho did not touch on the reason for her unexpectedly poor performance. Instead, she offered thanks to her supporters, including the JCP, whose members appeared with her at campaign stops and gave speeches.

“I consider it an asset for me to have received so much support from the JCP and others,” she said.

But conservative CDP veterans have long been skeptical of the cooperation between the CDP and the JCP in national and local elections, which is meant to avoid splitting the opposition vote.

Until the LDP’s turnouts are low enough for a second party to get enough seats to form a government, multi-party coalitions are necessary to attain any kind of power. Perhaps the problem isn’t entirely with the parties (although some blame is theirs) but with the candidate.