The political situation is beginning to show signs of yearend tumult. At the beginning of the fall, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was doing fine. In September he visited Pyongyang and managed to extract an apology from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il for the abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, an issue long shrouded in mystery.
After that, however, the North Korea problem became more and more blurred. Talks between Japan and North Korea on normalizing diplomatic ties ran into difficulties, and the United States, pursuing suspicions of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development, made it a three-party affair.
Japan's diplomacy toward North Korea should have enhanced support for the Koizumi administration; instead, the subsequent confusion has led to remarks about the limpness of Koizumi's diplomacy. Even more, public uncertainty and distrust are being exacerbated by Koizumi's economic and fiscal management.