It is commonly stated of Japan that everybody knows what has to be done. All that is needed is a leader with the guts to do it. This is a thesis largely devoid of merit.
Naoto Kan, the 16th prime minister in two decades, faces pretty much the same roll-call of problems confronted by his string of mostly short-lived predecessors. The economy is stuck in deflation, public debt is rising, the population is ageing and, more than 60 years after the war, Japan has still not properly defined its place in the world.
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