Japan is groping in the dark politically, economically and diplomatically. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform initiative is deadlocked; there is even a sense that it might end up as an empty slogan. Prospects for the postal deregulation bills, a top item on his reform agenda, are at best uncertain even as the Diet session draws to a close.
The leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has no stomach for attacking political corruption in its midst, as epitomized by its weak-kneed response to the campaign-finance scandal involving Lower House member Muneo Suzuki. The LDP seems utterly unable to put its own house in order.
Japan's ailing economy is a drag on global growth. A ministerial meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Paris-based club of industrial nations, reportedly has expressed concern about delays in write-offs of nonperforming loans and antideflationary efforts.