Across the ideological spectrum, a consensus is emerging: Fumio Kishida is unlikely to last another year as prime minister, and even now, he is only lingering on because no credible and attractive alternative has appeared.
When former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi formed a bond in the mid-1960s with Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon over their shared anti-communist views, little did he know that he was sowing the seeds that would eventually take the life of his beloved grandson, Shinzo Abe.
Visitors to Japan’s main international hub are still greeted by a sign saying “Down With Narita Airport,” a giant middle finger waved by diehards from a different era.
The people who wrote this constitution lived in a world more dangerous than ours. They were surrounded by territory controlled by hostile powers, on the edge of a vast wilderness. Yet they understood that even in perilous times the strength of self-government was public debate and public consensus. To put aside these basic values out of fear, to imitate the foe in order to defeat him, is to shred the distinction that makes us different.
