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Karel van Wolferen argues that, since Japan's political economy was the main factor in creating the circumstances that led up to the East Asian financial crisis, studies must focus on it to understand this event. The Japanese economy, which is here described as a war economy operating in peacetime, provided the model for East Asia's 'tiger economies' that imitated the Japanese government in its targeting of sectors for investment, especially the construction industry in the 1980s. These other East Asian economies proved more vulnerable to crisis than the Japanese economy because they were more open to foreign investment and did not have Japan's closely knit economic and financial networks and institutions. After presenting this preface to the crisis, van Wolferen then criticizes the current East Asian economic situation, in which international institutions continue to force the Western ideals of transparency and deregulation on most of the East Asian economies while permitting Japan to remain the least transparent economy of the entire region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Argues that there is no center of political accountability in Japan. Lack of power of the Prime Minister; Power of the economic ministries, the business federations and the large "keiretsu" groups; Need for constitutional revision.

Interviews Dutch author Karel van Wolferen, who contends that Japan's moral relativism and the absence of an accountable center make political or social change in that country impossible; Influence of the Shinto religion on the values of the Japanese.

Analyzes the growth of Japan's giant corporations. Government management of media and society; Purpose of `bubble economy' creation; Political accomodation; Acquisition and consolidation of small companies; Autonomy of Ministry of Finance.

The article analyzes the political upheaval and massive public dissent in Japan. Observation showed the struggle between a group of bureaucrats and a diminishing group of politicians who believed in and wanted to act in accordance with fundamental political reform. In the 1960s, it was Tanaka Kakuei and Ozawa Ichiro of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who aimed for genuine decisions for political change with the creation of a cabinet-centered system. The LDP was defeated by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in 2009 but the first DPJ cabinet ended after it was besieged by oppositionist newspapers, the public prosecutor and sabotaging ministries. The austerity ideology had influenced the Ministry of Finance and which resulted to high government debt.

The article analyzes the relationship between Japan and the U.S. It examines the relationship in a geopolitical context wherein both countries were considered part of the Cold War Alliance and that trust was placed in Washington to prevent communist expansion from reaching members of the free world. The author observes that the U.S. still expects loyalty from past Cold War allies, and that there is still political dependence on the U.S. from other countries. He also pointed out the lack of a strong central government in Japan as a weakness in the relationship and criticizes Japan's immaturity in submitting to the U.S. agenda. According to the author, the idea of American leadership is a fantasy and that global political security under the U.S. is absurd.

The article analyzes the state of Japanese politics and government following the victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in the national elections of August 30, 2009. It explores the controversial Democratic Party (Minshuto) Secretary-General Ozawa Ichiro and the role of the Prosecutor's Office. It also examines the failure of the Japanese media, as well as the possible consequences of a collapse of the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. The article also comments on the absence of Japan in the international arena.

The author reflects on the impact of the replacement of Ozawa Ichiro as head of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan by Hatoyama Yukio. He mentions that the Japanese government enjoyed a status quo of having a one-party system but claimed that the public are no longer satisfied with the situation. He argues that plans for reform have remained as promises. He argues that the Japanese media could not serve as a genuine forum for practical policy discussions.