BERKELEY, California -- For the people of Miyagi Prefecture's 4th district, the generational shift in Japanese politics has just arrived. On Oct. 28, Shintaro Ito was elected to represent Miyagi's 4th district in a special by-election to replace his father, Soichiro, who passed away on Sept. 4.
We all know there is much to lament about old-style Japanese politics: backroom bargains, cozy relationships, wasteful spending, and systemic corruption. But there is a more honorable side to the older generation's brand of politics, embodied in the senior Ito's four decades of service in the Diet.
My first encounter with Japanese politics came as a college senior serving as a summer intern in Ito's office. Thousands of American college students flock to Washington D.C. every summer to serve as interns for members of Congress or lobby groups, yet few get the opportunity to try this in Tokyo. Fortunately for me, Ito had the flexibility and the imagination to take me on. As one of the very first "gaijin" secretaries in the Diet members' office building, I soon became somewhat of a curiosity among the political press corps.