Japan has stepped into the 21st century under not-so-comfortable political circumstances. Public approval ratings for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori remain extremely low, and half of the nation's voters say they have no political party to support. While the government has launched one stimulus package after another, policy measures to reform the economic structure have not achieved their intended effects. Many Japanese lament that the nation's future is doomed unless something is done, but the government appears to be at a loss over how to accept and respond to such calls, which in turn has fueled voter apathy toward politics.
At this turn of the century, it is now evident that the ways of politics that have governed the nation for the past four decades have become obsolete and ineffective. This is most clearly illustrated by the declining clout of the Liberal Democratic Party. Political leaders also appear to have lost a sense of direction on policy matters. They are pressed to change both "what" they do and "how" they do it.
Seen from a different angle, it can be said that politicians today rely on the strong legacy of their past successes. Put more simply, politicians are confronted with a choice: whether to follow a path of decline as part of the legacy of the nostalgic past, or top break from such nostalgia and embark on the rough seas of the new century.