In his campaign for re-election as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, has made much of the current mild economic revival. He sees it as vindicating his economic policies.
His three opponents in the Sept. 20 election -- Shizuka Kamei, Takao Fujii and Masahiko Komura -- have been reduced to saying that the revival is not for real. They should have been saying this:
Of course there is a revival. Given the funds available to the economy and the fact that after prolonged recession people eventually want to go out and buy things, some kind of recovery was inevitable the moment someone started the ball rolling. But none of that vindicates the Koizumi policies.