STANDING TALL

Below is my comment on your article of "STANDING TALL", Page66 TIME, December 26,2005

As your article keenly pointed out, it could be a great risk for Junichiro Koizumi and Japan to alienate China and South Korea for a long time by his continuing visits to the Yasukuni Shrine.
But we should not forget that many Japanese people chose his policies at the Upper House election, not only because he promised to break down the powerful bureaucracy such as the post office, but because he is the only prime minister who could say “No” to the leaders of China and South Korea about many taboos such as the Yasukuni issue laying between those countries and Japan. People support him deep in minds despite his stubbornness simply because he speaks for their inner voices.