A Rising Japanese Star's Self-Destruction

A Rising Japanese Star's Self-Destruction

Two weeks ago, Toru Hashimoto, the popular, media-savvy mayor of Osaka, was a depreciating asset in Japanese politics. The co-leader of the Japan Restoration Association, he was watching his four-year old experiment in political theater slide into irrelevance. Support for his political party, which finished a strong second in the House of Representatives election only five months ago, was now down below 5 percent and falling.

On May 13, in an apparent act of desperation, Hashimoto tipped over the game board. He spoke with reporters about two hot-button issues: the Japanese Imperial Army’s system of sanctioned military brothels — the so-called comfort women system — and sexual assaults by U.S. Forces on Japanese service personnel.

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