LOS ANGELES — The country is deadlocked. The people are divided. The stock market is grumbling. The leader is discredited — but vows to govern onward anyhow.
If this reads like a rough portrait of the U.S. political situation today, guess what? This is also a good sketch of the political situation in the world's second largest economy and top-tier American ally: Japan.
Sure, Junichiro Koizumi, the previous prime minister, was never going to be an easy act to follow. But perhaps his successor's most glaring error is that he didn't even try to follow it. The charismatic Koizumi emphasized bureaucratic shakeup, economic reinvigoration and a riverboat-gambler's risk-taking politics.