There is growing opinion at home and abroad that Japan lacks national leadership. When the former ruler of a neighboring country suggested recently that Japan had no true leader, there was no public outrage in Japan.
Perhaps Takashi Hara, prime minister in the early 20th century, was the last politician who could be called a true national leader. After Hara, Japan was ruled by a succession of prime ministers who represented political parties, the military and the bureaucracy. Among them, only Shigeru Yoshida, Hayato Ikeda and Yasuhiro Nakasone deserved to be called a "national leader." Hideki Tojo, who plunged Japan into the Pacific War, could be better described as a guide to hell.
Why does Japan lack political leaders? In my opinion, that is because politicians fail to view things from the perspective of international competition.