The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo)

Whether or not the newly dominant Democratic Party of Japan succeeds or fails at the helm of Japan's political order, a new era in Japanese history has begun--and the White House should embrace it.

WASHINGTON--When Shintaro Ishihara and Akio Morita urged renegotiation of the terms of the Japan-U.S. relationship in their provocative 1991 best-seller, "The Japan That Can Say No," few expected that the then less acquiescent Japan would soon disappear in the minds of many as a recognized major geopolitical force. There was a time when U.S. secretaries of state, senators and even presidents would not make a move without considering what impact it might have on Japan's purchases of U.S. Treasury bonds and whether it would hurt "the

A similar version of this article also appears on The New Republic, which features a debate between Steven Clemons and Richard Just, TNR's deputy editor, on the appropriate response to the Beijing Olympics.

China's Olympics are an enticing target for "cause crusaders" who want to taunt the regime with public relations stunts while the global spotlight and attention of billions are watching every countermove China's leaders make. The "norms" of any state are not really evident… more

The various denominations that have demarcated the U.S. foreign policy spectrum are in serious disarray and are rapidly evolving into substantially different movements.

During the first term of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration, there were three camps vying for control of the foreign policy helm. First were the neoconservatives under the lead of personalities like Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff Lewis Libby, and Defense Undersecretary Douglas Feith. The second was a… more

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton used to open his speeches--particularly the big ones--with the line, "I was born in a place called Hope." Indeed, Clinton was born in the town of Hope, Ark.--and the concept of "hope," of optimism about the future, has often been a clarion call of the political left. In contrast, conservatives tend to live in a darker world, where realism--and sometimes cynicism--reign. Leaders on the political right such as U.S. President George W. Bush and Prime… more

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has turned out to be a pretty tame lion. Swept into office in a wave of populist euphoria that he might deliver his people and nation from economic malaise and geopolitical obscurity, Koizumi was the hope for liberal nationalism in Japan. After nearly six decades of U.S. presence in Japan, some hoped that while supporting the basic tenets of the U.S.-Japan security alliance, he might at least shore up Japan's sovereignty and general weight in the… more

After calling for a national debate on whether Japan should arm itself with nuclear weapons-in the racy weekly magazine Shukan Playboy, no less-Shingo Nishimura paid the price for his frankness. In an uncharacteristic display of hyperspeed, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi sacked his defense vice minister on October 20.