Financial Times
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
February 7, 2002
From Mr Ko Unoki
Sir, Junichiro Koizumi's recent dismissal of Makiko Tanaka as foreign minister is not the first time the Japanese prime minister has given in to narrow political interests and pressure. Witness his handling of the trade dispute with China, where, instead of taking a statesmankike apporach and listening to the voice of urban consumers, he broke under the force of the mushroom growers and did not lift temporary import restrictions.
Or witness his handling of the texbook controversy and Yasukuni shrine visit, where, again, instead of taking into consideration Japan's relations with it s neighbors, he nearly wrecked it by falling under the influence of conservative rightwing elements in his party.
Furthermore, since coming into office Mr Koizumi has not done one single thing that can be considered a radical departure from past political practices, inspite of having overwhelming support from the Japanese public.
By firing Ms Tanaka, however, the reasons for which are still not clear in the minds of the majority of the Japanese people, Mr Koizumi has proved once and for all that he is basically no different from past mediocre prime ministers, who were prisoners of their own narrow political interests and agenda.
Ko Unoki
Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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