Japan’s Very Own Thatcher 

Continuing our Referendum Rundown, Japan’s political situation has become ever more precarious for the long standing LDP. After a drawn out election cycle, Japan has elected its first ever female leader: Sanae Takaichi. She has had a long career as a politician and served in the Abe Administration for years. Many are already calling her Japan’s Iron Woman. In fact, Takaichi has publicly mentioned her adoration for the late British Prime Minister, having drawn inspiration for her signature blue suits from Thatcher’s iconic blue suits of the 1980’s.. 

Technically, there’s more than one problem with export economies. But they all feed into each other, resulting in a much bigger and singular problem. To start, export economies rely on there being a party that is willing to import the exporter’s goods and services. Usually, the exporter can offer such things at equal quality (or better) than the importer can produce on its own, and at a better price too. The general argument for the benefits of international trade follow this logic, calling it a specialization in competitive advantage. However, this model assumes that the goal is to maximize the ability to consume, regardless of others consequences.

Voting for the next South Korea president is already underway with early and shipboard voting having commenced earlier in the week. South Korea’s democracy is a major facet of what makes South Korea a success story. June 3rd will only be South Korea’s 21st presidential election. While it looked like Lee was going to win in a landslide, the conservative candidates have made some serious headway in the last few weeks. But we entered the polling blackout period, one of the many unique ways South Korea tries to regulate, protect, and promote its elections. Let’s take a look at some facets of Korea elections that make the system unique, as they are laid out in the Public Official Election Act (POEA).