Political balls (of the crystal variety)

Sorry about the late posting (and on this of all days), so you folks in America will be going to bed without the benefit of a nightcap from Our Man (assuming you can sleep, what with the coronation and all in a couple of hours), but Our Woman had to use the computer for tax returns, which you can appreciate, takes precedence over even the new President (dang, that was clever). Anway, it struck Our Man that he hasn't made any predictions for the New Year in Japanese politics. Taking a leaf from Nostrodamus's playbook, Our Man has gazed long and hard into his crystal balls and concluded it's time to make some absurdly vague predictions that could be interpreted as coming true, some obvious truisms not worth predicting, and a few wild predictions, that if in the million-to-one chance they do happen, he can hark back to them and show the world just what a smart cookie he was. Right, have you dimmed the lights and got your ouija boards working? Here goes:

• 2009 will be a year in flux.
• There will be an election in 2009.
• The next prime minister will be more popular than Aso.
• The next prime minister will quit for health reasons.
• A woman will save Japan.
• The economy will get worse, before it gets better.
• Our Man will become a famous-in-Japan-only rock singer and get his own spot on several of those inane quiz shows where he can hang out with skinny women and remark on how intelligent rabbits are.