Why Japan needs to change!

" Why Japan needs to change! " You know, this is the

kind of headline you find in the press here in Japan,

like a perpetual mantra type improvement - "kaizen"

orientated kind of slogan for a society looking for

its "Way" out of its isolation in the Pacific ocean

immensity.

Japan relegated as a minor player in Asia, as a no

voiced heard in the world thanks to its imposing

protector the Usa and in the shadow of 2 neighboring

giants that are China and Russia has apparently

decided "to say no" after... 54 years of genuflection

and self indulgence.

Where to?

Sunday August 30th is the day when it might happen! A

peaceful transfer of power in a quasi politically

fossilized Japanese archipelago with no views on its

own future, no hopes for its citizen rights or no

clear knowledge of its geographical boundaries.

Japanese electorate seems to have decided that there

is a need for political change in a nation that has

been controlled by the conservative LDP, a US post

World War II sponsored party, for all but around a

year since its creation in 1955. The irony is that

both contenders Aso and Hatoyama are both heirs of

political family dynasty which created the post-war

"Japan economical miracle" thanks to Wall Street and

the Pentagone.

And then Obama momentum came...

Back to the future scenario? No, Hatoyama team has

lots of power makers that won't let themselves pulled

by exaggerated "Gaiatsu" (foreign pressure) as we saw

with the recent secret nuclear deal suddenly thrown in

the campaign debate.

It also transpires that no fundamental changes will

come from the new policy and that business as usual is

to be the best posture in dealing with Japan new

administration.

What is the Japan perception of a Foreign

Correspondent living and working in Japan since the

Heisei era started? Here are my views published in

the "Asahi Shimbun" August 27th.

The Asahi is the second biggest daily newspaper in

Japan with a circulation of over 11 million and is the

Japanese equivalent of France daily Le Monde or Le

Temps in Switzerland.

✍ Click the picture to read the article.