If you're looking for the next issue, it will be very tempting for people to say 'Let's do it now'.
Popular nationalism and sometimes the Chinese government's manipulation of the issue, as well as Japan's poor handling of it over the years, sometimes supersede their rational economic interests. It's a dangerous pattern if it gets out of hand. So far it hasn't.
I don't think either party is the party of radical reform. Both will do evolutionary reform, and in some cases there would be more under the Democrats.
This election could mean a major jump to a much more Western-style system in Japanese politics -- that's revolutionary.
Party label and leadership image become more important...and thus who leads the party and what the party stands for, which can be communicated to a large number of people only by media, especially TV, becomes a more important factor.
He's purged the party of recalcitrant anti-reformers at least in one field, and others will get the message, too.
If Koizumi wins, his party is not going to be the old LDP, ... Koizumi has become able to call the shots and in the future, no matter who is prime minister, the back benchers will be hesitant about defying policy made by the leadership.
I think this will significantly change the LDP.
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