Word: kunihiro
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...seats on the proportional list, but probably far fewer than in the past. That has already incensed some of the Social Democratic Party members in Hosokawa's own coalition, and five of them voted against the government plan. "It's over for the Social Democrats," said Masao Kunihiro, an upper-house member of the party. "This new system stamps out minority views...
Unfortunately, not all analyses of America's problems are as sophisticated as Kunihiro's. When Yoshio Sakurauchi, the Speaker of the Lower House of the Diet, caused a furor in the U.S. two weeks ago by saying that the "root of America's ((trade)) problem lies in the inferior quality of American labor," he was reflecting a condescension toward Americans that many Japanese share...
...most Japanese -- like most Americans -- place the responsibility for U.S. economic troubles largely on Americans themselves. "Whatever happened to the good old Emersonian credo that if you build a better mousetrap, the world . will beat a path to your door?" asks Masao Kunihiro, an anthropologist who is also a member of the Diet's Upper House. "That is what made America what it is today, economically and industrially powerful. But many of us, rightly or wrongly, now feel that the U.S. is no longer turning out mousetraps which are better than ours. Sadly, there's been an erosion...
Some experts estimate that the Ground Self-Defense Force, as the army is known, is at least 12% below its authorized strength of 180,000 because it cannot find enough recruits. Even critics of the military show some sympathy. Says Masao Kunihiro, a Socialist Diet member who opposes the use of Japanese troops abroad: "It's a pity that the S.D.F. has been treated so shabbily by the public...
...opposition to the legislation is very strong. The controversy currently dominates newspaper columns and television news shows. Many Japanese fear that to allow the military to operate abroad, even under U.N. auspices, would set a dangerous precedent. Says Kunihiro: "Personally, it scares me that ((the corps)) should become a permanent fixture. If the 'right' to send troops aboard were firmly established, the government could later claim legal grounds if it wanted to extend operations in some unsavory situation...