Tokyo
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has asked elderly politicians not to run for re-election to parliament, saying he wants his Liberal Democratic Party to have a more youthful image. Many people found the request rude, as age commands respect in Japan. One 83-year-old politician, former prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, said last month that Koizumi was engaging in “a kind of political terrorism.” This week, Nakasone finally agreed to retire. Yet his farewell haiku implied that he would continue playing a political role: “With dusk yet to come / Cicada persists in song / While it still has life.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Pope seeks inquiry on if Gaza assault is 'genocide'Speed Read In a book for the Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis considers whether Israel's war in Gaza meets the legal definition of 'genocide'
-
Can Europe pick up the slack in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Trump's election raises questions about what's next in the war
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in RussiaSpeed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
