Peace and stability in East Asia in the coming years will hinge on Japan's political and economic leadership, North-South rapprochement on the Korean Peninsula, China's policies as an emerging regional power and strategies of the United States, the sole superpower.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform programs have attracted international attention because, aimed as they are at restoring economic prosperity and political stability to Japan, they will have a major impact on East Asia.
Japanese diplomacy has, however, been in utter chaos since Makiko Tanaka became foreign minister. International trust in Japan has seriously eroded.
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