Opinion Falling tears, cherry blossoms and politicians By Joseph LaPenta	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
涙が流れ、桜が散り、政治家は失脚する 小泉首相は、次々と政治家が職を辞するのを止められないでいる。早く構造改革を進めないと、だれもいなくなってしまうかもしれない。

There is an old saying: "Politics makes strange bedfellows." At first, Makiko Tanaka and Junichiro Koizumi did not seem to be such an odd couple. He said he was committed to structural reform in politics and in the economy. She said she believed in him, and his enormous popularity was partly due to her support. About a year ago, he became the prime minister. What has happened since?

He appointed Tanaka foreign minister, and it looked like she was trying to change things. She exposed all sorts of financial irregularities, but there was tremendous resistance among bureaucrats and politicians. Her final battle was with Muneo Suzuki. She said he had pressured the Foreign Ministry to exclude an NGO from a conference on Afghanistan. Suzuki and the bureaucrats denied the charges. Tanaka was so harassed that at one point she broke down crying.

What did Koizumi do? He just smirked and made a condescending, sexist remark about "women's tears." It looked like the honeymoon was over. Soon after, he fired her and a Foreign Ministry bureaucrat. A marriage of convenience finally ended in divorce.

Was Koizumi interested in who was telling the truth? Or was he just looking for an excuse to get rid of Tanaka? Some people found her personal style threatening, but the on-going investigation has shown that she was telling the truth. Her replacement, soft-spoken, motherly Kawaguchi, is no threat to anyone.

When U.S. President George W. Bush came to town, he compared Koizumi to the Seattle Mariner's slugger, Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro is doing fabulously well but Koizumi is on a losing streak. At this writing, only about 40 percent of voters approve of him.

Bush also made a speech about an "axis of evil" comprising Iran, Iraq and North Korea. The only thing these countries share is their dislike of the United States. It was ironic to hear Koizumi parrot Bush's remarks; the original Axis Powers were Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan.

As spring approached, the cherry trees bloomed earlier than usual, and as the petals began to fall, so did an increasing number of politicians. Suzuki, blubbering like a baby, quit his party. Koizumi did not mention "men's tears," but said that he "respected" Suzuki's decision.

The list of tainted politicians continues to grow: Koichi Kato and Kiyomi Tsujimoto quit the Diet. More "respect" for their decisions from Koizumi. At this writing, new charges have been made against Takako Doi and Tanaka. Where will this circus end?

Most commentators seem to agree that the corruption exposed so far is just the tip of the iceberg. Japanese politicians are sometimes called "lawmakers," but they don't really make laws. All most of them seem to do is approve laws proposed by bureaucrats. Those laws affect large corporations and other rich organizations. Many politicians collect money directly from these organizations to finance their re-elections. Something is seriously wrong with this system.

Perhaps Koizumi has some substantial new reforms up his sleeve. He might start with stricter regulation of political donations. He could try to make the workings of the government and the financial world more transparent. He should do this as soon as possible, while there are enough politicians in his coalition who have not been indicted or forced to resign.

Shukan ST: April 26, 2002

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