But the most basic fact of globalpoliticaleconomy over the past 40 years has been the move from destitute peasantry into the middle class of a couple of billion of our fellow human beings.
By which I meant that Japan as a state and as an economy has become resigned to the prospect that, like it or not and certainly there will much to dislike it has no choice but to accept integration into a regional if not global political economy dominated and largely dictated by China.
And ultimately in the age of the globaleconomy, both political leaders and corporate leaders are subject to the discipline of the markets, as sovereign bondholders and shareholders can sway corporate and country-level confidence dramatically.