With all eyes on a rising India, an awakened China and a roiling Islam, we tend to take good old solid Japan (still the world's second-largest economy, please don't forget) as a given. But that is a mistake: These are the times that try Japan's soul.
This brilliant, proud society — both ancient and modernized — looks to be at yet another crossroads. Prime Minister Taro Aso has been ignominiously compelled to call a national election in August, even though all forecasts predict a possible landslide for the opposition: the Democratic Party of Japan.
If that happens, the long-leading Liberal Democratic Party that Aso temporarily heads would face the prospect of having itself become the opposition, at least for the foreseeable future. But this might be healthy for Japan: One true test of the vibrancy of a competitive democracy is smooth transition-making ability from one party to another.
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