The era of Junichiro Koizumi (2001̫)

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How a country with ‘everything’ went into a tailspin
By Paul Baylis, Asahi Shimbun, 29 May 2002. Alex Kerr's Dogs and Daemons argues that, rather than a miracle, Japan is a case of failed modernization. The political, bureaucratic, economic and educational systems set up after World War II are now bloated and ossified.
Diet passes anti-terror funding bill
Yomiuri Shimbun, 6 June 2002. A bill designed to punish those who help finance terrorists and those receiving such funds passed the House of Councillors plenary session. The bill was backed by ruling and opposition party members with the exception of the Social Democratic Party.
Plans to Computerize Personal Data Ignite Firestorm in Japan; Citing Privacy, Municipalities Defy Effort
By Doug Struck, The Washington Post, Friday 23 August 2002. Assigning a ID number and placing it on line is upsetting the public. An identification number will shackle the freedom and independence of the spirit, and the energy that is produced by an independent sprit. Numbering people somehow suppresses this.
Structural reform not an either/or problem
Yomiuri Shimbun, 29 September 2002. A deepning crisis due to inadequate economic policies pursued by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Koizumi's policies prioritize structural reforms over the economy. That policy has clearly failed. People are overwhelmed by a sense of resignation and helplessness.
SDP, now merely an also-ran, has no one to blame but itself
By Sayuri Daimon, The Japan Times, 11 December 2002. The Social Democratic Party of Japan was once the largest opposition force but now the smallest in the Diet. Possible reasons range from a weakening labor movement after the Cold War to the 1996 introduction of a new electoral system with single-seat constituencies.
Whose suffering matters most?
By Aidan Foster-Carter, Asia Times, 23 January 2003. Japan, which for months has been transfixed by a tale of kidnaps. Last September Kim Jong-il sensationally admitted that North Korea had indeed, as had long been rumored, abducted several Japanese to train its own spies. But just how big a deal is all this really?