Regarding Roger Pulvers' July 22 Counterpoint article, "Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto: 'What Japan needs now is dictatorship' ": On the contrary, what Japan needs is less of Toru Hashimoto. Was he alive during World War II, sponsored by a variety of dictators? I doubt it. I recall vividly many of the worst aspects of that war, as I lived through it.
If the likes of Hashimoto had existed then, it is more than likely that the word "dictator" would leave a nasty taste.
Dictators exist only to climb to the top of the rest of humanity. In doing so, they crush everything in their path. When a dictator bud appears on the human bush, that is the moment to prune it!
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.