Posted on 11/13/2005 5:42:42 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
|
| Tokyo's governor, Shintaro Ishihara, has tempered his political ambitions. (By Tsugufumi Matsumoto -- Associated Press) |
Tokyo Maverick Just One of the Crowd Now
Fiery Nationalist Governor Sees His Once-Provocative Views Go Mainstream
By Anthony Faiola Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, November 13, 2005; Page A20
TOKYO -- Shintaro Ishihara, governor of one of the world's most populous cities, sat comfortably in a white leather armchair in his private meeting room, the endless steel and neon of Greater Tokyo visible behind him through wall-length windows.
Despite the grandeur of his surroundings, Ishihara, 73, no longer seems the threat he once was, when critics feared he would climb to the top job of prime minister and rebuild Japan into a military power. His political ambitions tempered, the nationalist firebrand appears content anyway.
These days, Japan is heading in a direction that Ishihara approves of, even if he is not the one leading the way. Ishihara describes Japanese aggression during World War II as the start of Asia's movement toward independence from the West. He is seen as the precursor of the new crop of hawkish leaders, who may be more diplomatic than Ishihara but appear cut from the same ideological cloth.
Case in point: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's new cabinet, announced this past week, includes several politicians who would do the sharp-tongued governor of Tokyo proud. Japan's new foreign minister, Taro Aso, caused a stir in May 2003 when he insisted that Koreans took Japanese names during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula because they wanted to. Shinzo Abe, the powerful new cabinet chief whom many analysts describe as Koizumi's anointed successor, is considered a strong-willed nationalist who coyly dodged a question by a foreign reporter in September....
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Ping!
"The Nail That Stands Up Will Be Hammered Down"
(or all the other nails will join it)
(memo to self: read full article before posting)
I thought this was going to be about a bad retro-car.
thank you. Appreciated this.
Where is that strategy today? Totally overtaken by events, it seems...
Yeah, trade dispute is not a top priority issue these days. It is China. His nationalist outburst is now directed against China.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.