Nagano Prefecture, whose assembly early this month passed a no-confidence motion against Gov. Yasuo Tanaka, is bracing for the election of a new governor. The key candidate will be Mr. Tanaka himself, who on Monday automatically lost his job but vowed to seek a fresh mandate. The key question for voters is whether Mr. Tanaka is fit to serve as governor again.

In October 2000, Mr. Tanaka, a novelist with a passion for reform, debuted with a pledge to break tradition. In particular, he was, and still is, opposed to building dams -- traditional public works projects in this mountainous prefecture. The bruising battle between him and a predominantly conservative assembly has attracted national attention, in part because it resembles, in essence, the ongoing face-off between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and antireform forces.

Koizumi's "structural reform" initiative is now in danger of losing momentum as it comes under mounting pressure from the old guard of his Liberal Democratic Party as well as a bureaucracy beholden to the status quo. Japan today, torn between two opposing forces, has yet to draw a reliable road map for the future. In this sense, Nagano is Japan in microcosm.