Why not?

The article presents suggestions for a free-trade agreement of the U.S. with Japan. Japan may be in a mood to negotiate. Its bubble economy has burst. The recession continues. Major corporations' margins are under unaccustomed strain. Despite government propping, the stock market remains barely half what it was four years ago. Real estate remains weak. The political establishment is wracked by scandals. Even more sobering, Japan's access to overseas markets in Europe and North America is in increasing jeopardy.