FROM THE EDITOR

On January 14 Prime Minister Obuchi Keizô's Liberal Democratic Party and the Liberal Party headed by Ozawa Ichirô launched their coalition government. Liberal Party Secretary General Noda Takeshi was tapped for the spot of home affairs minister. The policy agreement reached by the parties included (1) eliminating two cabinet posts; (2) reducing the size of the House of Representatives by doing away with 50 proportional-representation seats; (3) abolishing the system whereby senior bureaucrats speak on behalf of ministers in Diet deliberations; (4) introducing a vice-ministerial system; and (5) allowing Japanese forces to participate in United Nations peace-keeping missions not involving the use of force.

The first agreement was carried out without incident. The second, a reform supported by the public, drew the ire of opposition parties that had gained new seats in the districts in question; achieving the reduction looks to be difficult. The significance of the third and fourth proposed reforms is addressed by Tanaka Akihiko in an article we carry in this issue of Japan Echo. The fourth agreement is now being debated in the Diet. Just how senior politicians reacted to the conservative coalition is covered in some detail by Kawachi Takashi in his article.

The Democratic Party of Japan has been highlighting its position as the leading opposition force in the National Diet by calling attention to the discrepancy in the positions of the two coalition partners. In doing so, the DPJ is seeking to boost its own popularity, which has been dropping lately. Despite such efforts, the popularity the DPJ enjoyed in the House of Councillors election last July is nowhere to be seen. The voters are surprisingly fickle, and they may now be feeling some regret over the inordinate support they gave the DPJ and other opposition parties in the upper house election, leaving the LDP far short of a majority and thus making it extremely difficult for the government to implement a coherent set of policies. I do believe the Japanese people still have the good sense to look askance at scattershot economic stimulus measures like the regional promotion coupons now being distributed in response to a demand from one of the opposition parties. A look at public opinion polls carried out by three major Japanese dailies shows approval ratings creeping up for the LDP as the DPJ watches its star fall. In my view the people feel that in its current straits, Japan should not have its course decided by politicians with airy policy ideas. Perhaps they are also hoping that the new coalition will bring stability to the Obuchi administration, which was launched under a cloud of public disapproval, and that it will lead to economic recovery.

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As we move toward the turn of the century, civilizational theory seems likely to inform more writing in opinion journals. In our section on culture and civilization we have included a piece by Kawakatsu Heita that discusses Obuchi's goal of making Japan a "rich country which also has virtue"--the ideal underlying much of what the prime minister is trying to accomplish. It should contribute to an understanding of what makes Obuchi tick.

We are also including in this issue a section on diplomacy, in which we examine Japan's take on the high-level state visits carried out between China, Russia, South Korea, and the United States in October and November. On August 31 last year North Korea launched a ballistic missile over northern Japan, an act that made clear North Korea's offensive capabilities and loomed large in discussions of legislation to implement the new guidelines for security cooperation between Japan and the United States. Many Japanese began thinking about concrete national defense issues, and their attention is focused on Diet deliberations on maintaining the effectiveness of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. Anxious to avoid sensationalizing Pyongyang's actions, we have selected an article by Izumi Hajime on that volatile state.

Tokyo Governor Aoshima Yukio on February 1 made the surprise announcement that he would not seek a second term. Four years ago he enjoyed massive public support, to the tune of 1.7 million votes, in his defeat of a big-name bureaucrat to take the post; but it seems that the task of governing the giant metropolis was beyond this former TV personality. Once Tokyoites woke up to this inability, and Aoshima became aware of their dwindling support, he decided not to run again. The LDP is backing former U.N. Undersecretary General Akashi Yasushi, a candidate also expected to gain the support of the powerful New Kômeitô. Tokyo residents are showing deep interest in the race, which has also been entered by Hatoyama Kunio of the DPJ and Masuzoe Yôichi, a political scientist who has served for many years on the editorial board of Japan Echo. We will report on the election results in our June issue.

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The distribution of merchandise coupons to stimulate domestic demand, a Kômeitô campaign promise in the upper house election in July last year, has finally gotten under way. A fair number of Japanese have seen these coupons as a stupid way to boost the economy. The original idea was to distribute ¥20,000 worth of them to every man, woman, and child, but in the end the program was drastically scaled back and turned into more of a welfare measure, with distribution limited to families with children aged 15 or under (¥20,000 per child) and elderly people (65 or over) receiving welfare assistance. Design and printing of the coupons, valid only for purchases in local stores, was left to municipalities. The first local governments to issue the coupons made headlines across the nation, and voices opposing the scheme seem to have died down.

A string of archaeological discoveries across Japan over the past few years has piqued the interest of the public. This January scholars found bronze coins known as fuhonsen in Nara Prefecture's Asuka Village. The nation's attention was focused on this historic find when the National Research Institute of Cultural Properties in Nara announced that these coins, minted in the late 600s, predated the previous oldest known specimens, the wadô kaichin coins from the early eighth century.

The Utakai Hajime is a New Year poetry reading with over a thousand years of history. Held at the Imperial Palace, the reading of waka (Japanese poetry composed in the traditional 31-syllable form) features verses from members of the imperial family and a selection of poems solicited from the general public. We have included a piece on this most democratic of events, which is open to entries regardless of the age, sex, education, occupation, or nationality of the poets. A game in Japan using the Hyakunin isshu (a collection of 100 classic poems) has a reader intone the first lines of one of the verses; contestants try to grab the card showing the poem's conclusion from an array before them. The popularity of this elegant game hints at the force that has given the Utakai Hajime its longevity.

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An article by Kumakura Isao kicks off the series of pieces on Japan's food culture we will be carrying over the next two years. We hope these selections will serve to illuminate Japanese food-related customs and to bring our readers fresh cultural insights.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare on January 25 gave its approval for the anti-impotence drug Viagra, which has been much in the news in Japan as elsewhere. This approval, which came only six months after Pfizer Pharmaceuticals applied for permission to market the pill, is to be welcomed if it marks an era when the drug-approval process is speedy for any needed medicine. But many in Japan--both men and women--saw this rushed approval as a sign of male-oriented thinking in the ministry, especially given the more than nine years that have already passed since drugmakers applied for permission to market the birth-control pill. Recent reports that the pill will soon be approved notwithstanding, many women are understandably angry that their concerns have been placed on the back burner while the bureaucracy rushes to satisfy men's needs. (IWAO Sumiko)

© 1999 Japan Echo Inc.