Word: koizumis
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...Indeed, it is not. Last week, for example, an effort by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to encourage foreign companies to buy or merge with Japanese businesses was set back when legislators postponed needed legal changes until at least 2007. But a foreigner would never have got the chance to run Sony if Japan was not changing. In Sony itself, that transformation is now well grounded. "The Japanese executives' concern about Sony is palpable," says Stringer. "They are not rooting for me to fail. Our pride has been battered and it's time to fight back...
...This process has picked up steam under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. "Koizumi and Bush see each other, talk to each other, and like each other," notes Jack Pritchard, also a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. "That has made all the difference in the world in terms of how the Japanese perceive their relationship with the U.S." Washington wants Japan to take a bigger role globally. "In the words of key members of the administration, Japan ought to become the England of Asia," says Lieberthal, "a security partner who will act with the U.S., not simply a piece of real...
...same time, diplomatic relations between China and Japan have been tense. Beijing carps about Koizumi's visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honors some Japanese war criminals, and the two governments squabble over disputed territories such as the Diaoyu Islands (known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands). The Japanese public is also suspicious of Beijing's economic and diplomatic support of North Korea, which has a history of kidnapping Japanese citizens. A government survey released last December showed that 58% of the Japanese polled said they "do not have friendly feelings toward" China...
...political adversaries for "thinking like a Japanese." A few weeks ago, over Beijing's vociferous objections, Japan allowed Lee a private visit to Kyoto, Nagoya and Kanazawa; likewise, President Chen's wife, Wu Shu-jen, may be granted a tourist visa to visit Japan. It's inconceivable that Koizumi and Chen could meet or even officially communicate: Tokyo doesn't recognize Taiwan's existence as a nation. But at least it no longer ignores the potential threat to Asia's stability posed by the state of the strait...
...ties between the two nations remain remarkably close. Advisers to Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian, whom Beijing loathes, happily describe Japan as an ally, while in Tokyo, political leaders such as Shinzo Abe, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party and frequently tipped to be Koizumi's successor, have made no secret of their support for Taipei. Taiwan, Abe pointed out last year, has been separated from the mainland for 50 years, "so perhaps it's natural for them to want independence." That sort of sentiment has Beijing using language a lot stronger than "irresponsible...