The day of the governors
Once the pliant tools of Tokyo, the governors of Japan’s 47 prefectures are starting to assert themselves
AN UNWANTED dam in Nagano. A controversial tax on plastic bags in Tokyo. A fight in Chiba to save precious wetlands from the bulldozers. The stuff of Japanese local politics might seem low-grade fare beside the larger drama now unfolding on the national stage. Yet amid the talk of a revolution in Nagatacho, Tokyo's political district, it is important not to forget the many minor acts of rebellion that went before it. Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's reformist prime minister, came to power in April on a wave that began, in a thousand small ways, in the regions.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “The day of the governors”
From the June 16th 2001 edition
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