CAMBRIDGE, England -- Japan is going through an interesting period of political change. Or is it? A Japanese colleague in Cambridge who was in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago came back to say that it was only an interlude and that the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would only last a few months, after which the old men in suits would take over again. The patriarchal leaders of the factions are regrouping, he said, and planning their moves to regain power.

This analysis does seem to fit the case of Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka. To an outsider, she more than anything else represents Japan's political dichotomy -- the conflict between the old guard, which has taken the Japanese economy and polity into decline but does not seem to have recognized it, and the new guard of younger people who want to leave the old system behind in the 20th century.

The foreign minister is being attacked for wanting to put a stop to the clubbish tendencies of the men in her ministry, for wanting to economize on ministry expenditures, for questioning the effectiveness of Japan's aid program, for suggesting that important neighboring countries' sensitivities should be taken into account and even for wanting to think her thoughts aloud -- privately. All good things, surely?

The outrageous leaks of her private conversations with visiting politicians would not have happened to a male minister. The prime minister should be supporting her against the sniping of the old guard instead of appearing to join them in sniping. She makes mistakes, but most politicians do, and if they are seen to be acting in the national interest they should be allowed to get on with their jobs.

It is hard for an outsider not to conclude that Tanaka is being judged not as a politician but as a woman. Since I began studying Japan some years ago, I have been constantly surprised by the way Japanese males undervalue Japanese women, making it difficult for even the brightest and most competent to succeed professionally. Gender-based put-downs are not unusual -- where, that is, a woman has somehow managed to get into a position sufficiently important to attract comment at all.

After a bilateral committee of which I was secretary appointed a woman as director, her Japanese counterpart, an ex-diplomat, sent me a message to say that although we had a right to appoint whoever we wanted, he was not prepared to work with a women and would deal directly with me. When one of my young Japanese female colleagues wrote something that was critical of an older male Japanese colleague, also an ex-diplomat, he made things very difficult for her. He told me that Japanese women, especially young ones, were not supposed to behave like that. They should have more respect. The fact that she was correct in her criticism was, of course, irrelevant.

I can understand how Tanaka must be feeling. I can also understand why she is so popular with the general public. She represents a break with the past and a force for reform. She embodies optimism about the future. She also puts old fogies in their place, which is where they should be.

In a 1998 meeting in Tokyo with the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, and later with his advisers, a group of British visitors I was with had his new economic program explained to us in great detail. This was the program that was to halt the decline of the Japanese economy, putting the country back on a prosperous growth path. It added up to an impressive agenda. At the end, we were presented with was a long list of laws and regulations that would have to be passed if the reform program was to succeed. I asked what were the prospects for getting the laws passed by Parliament within a time frame that would make the reform package effective. Our Japanese colleagues looked at each other but did not reply. Most of the laws were not passed and the Japanese economy continues to decline.

Japan needs to move on to a more open, less corrupt, less nepotistic, more democratic political framework. In that new scene, possibly the most important thing it can do is to ensure an enhanced role for women -- not just token women but women with strong minds and the will to use them. The political scenes in the United States, Britain and many other EU countries and in New Zealand have all been enriched and their economies made stronger and more dynamic by the increasing role played by women. Time to catch up, Japan.

Koizumi's appointment of five women to his Cabinet appeared to be a positive move, a strong move, in the right direction. But the reaction to Tanaka has raised doubts about whether anything significant has changed. Maybe things will soon be back to "normal." I hope that my Japanese colleague is wrong. Meanwhile, all strength to Foreign Minister Tanaka.