LONDON -- Just as commentators have been writing about a fundamentally new political "setup" in Japan, following Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's overwhelming election victory, so also the same language is being used about British politics.
Admittedly, the two situations are not quite the same. In Japan's case a clear political landslide has taken place, carrying away with it old power blocs and old attitudes about Japan's role and place in the world.
In the British case it is only in the main opposition party, the Conservatives, that the upheaval has taken place, with the arrival of an entirely new generation of young leaders, led by the charismatic and charming David Cameron. His victory within his own party has yet to be translated into an actual change of government and an end to the reign of Prime Minister Tony Blair and his so-called New Labour cohorts.