W hen did Japan begin to change and enter its present phase of burgeoning nationalism? (I hesitate to call it "new" nationalism, because it's actually just a rehashing of old myths for 21st-century consumption.)
This country seems to be opting for a kind of Designer Fascism social model, with decisions largely made in political cabals after only a semblance of democratic debate. Meanwhile, the media is shamefully abrogating its watchdog role, acting more like the Establishment's lapdog, docile and tame, only emitting the occasional growl. And throughout this, the attitude of the Japanese people is a shrugging, apathetic, "Whatever."
Welcome to the Land of the Rising Sun, 2007.