LONDON -- A recent, short visit to Japan made me doubt whether there was much sense of an economic crisis threatening Japan's future and how far the recession has affected ordinary people.
A visitor to any country must beware reaching judgments on the basis of a few phenomena that strike him on arrival. As we know, appearances can disguise realities. But a few observations are worth recording.
I had never seen Narita airport -- whose facilities seem to have been greatly improved -- so empty. We got through immigration in record time and noted that the customs officers insisted on searching bags to keep themselves occupied. There were plenty of sniffer dogs around and security was tight. All this confirmed that Japanese had greatly curtailed their journeys by air since Sept. 11. As at the time of the Persian Gulf War, the Japanese had, it seemed, over-reacted.