A leader who worries that he’s too popular

TOKYO, Japan – Here’s one for Ripley. Japan’s new Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, 59, known for his wavy hairdo and his dapper suits, is a guy who worries that he’s too popular. He recently got an approval rating of 90 percent and complained: "It’s too high. It’s sure to go down!"

Of course it is, Juni-sensei, but what the heck – let the good times roll! Since he took over the leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (which is neither Liberal nor Democratic, really), upsetting the habatsu system by which the country is ruled by the predominance of factions within the political set-up, Koizumi has been viewed as Jack the Giant Killer. He’s a television star, attracting almost (but not quite) as many viewers as the pop stars. Unlike his predecessors, including the unpopular fellow he succeeded, ex-P.M. Yoshiro Mori, he welcomes question-and-answer sessions with reporters. Will he last? The habatsu bosses are sharpening their knives for him, including the tradpol he overwhelmed in the contest for LDP leadership and the prime ministership, the top honcho of the Diet’s biggest faction, ex-Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto.

The litmus test of Koizumi’s captainship of the LDP will be the crucial elections for the House of Councillors (their equivalent of the Senate) in July. If he steers the party, which has governed Japan in over half a century of its postwar history, to victory in that contest, Mr. K. will be vindicated. If he fails, Hashimoto (already licking his chops over the prospect) will oust him and replace him by next September. Miffed by their setback, the most powerful habatsus are trying to foster the impression that Koizumi is merely a "caretaker prime minister." They don’t dare defy him openly, though. He’s much too popular with the general public, a phenomenon in the cut-and-dried set-up of Japanese politics where "decision by consensus", not bold individual decision-making, has been the tradition. From the day Japan’s toddlers enter kindergarten or pre-school, they are trained to observe team-work, to go with the flow rather than question or defy it. The individual painstakingly fights to avoid standing out in the crowd. The Japanese think and move within the context of their group or team – there’s a word for this: matomari or "adjustment." This is why Mori fell but nothing was disturbed by his departure. Japan Incorporated, for all its current corporate and banking woes, went forward without a break in stride.

Let’s see whether a maverick like Koizumi, who doesn’t even have a First Lady (he’s a bachelor) will be able to transform Japan.

In the meantime, even the political opposition is having a difficult time in attacking Koizumi and his Cabinet choices, including that of Ms. Makiko Tanaka, the first woman Foreign Minister, although afflicted with "foot-in-mouth" disease. Ms. Tanaka is immensely popular in her own right. When the LDP’s Diet Affairs Committee Chairman, Hirotaka Akamatsu, openly questioned Tanaka’s ability as foreign minister, he was deluged with angry phone calls, e-mail and other messages telling him to shut up. One furious caller complained: "She’s trying to put bureaucrats in their place, so don’t criticize her!"

When Naota Kan of the opposition Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) launched a scathing attack on Koizumi during a budget session, he was besieged by a similar flood of resentful calls, e-mails, and insults. "Why are you such a bully?" one caller challenged. Others bitched: "Don’t ask questions that the prime minister cannot answer!" (Can you imagine that sort of defense for GMA or the deposed Erap?) One Minshuto official exclaimed in disgust: "This is not normal. We are in limbo because Koizumi’s support rate with the public is so high!"

Just wait a while, tomodachi. It will go down.

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President Arroyo did a smart thing. She visited the "imprisoned" ex-President Estrada for a cordial 20-minute gab session with him, and afterwards made noises about favoring "house arrest" rather than imprisonment in exile (in Sta. Rosa) for the ex-Chief Executive.

The usual crush-Estrada groups like the radical Leftist Bayan Muna, the Civil Society die-hards, etc., who would prefer to throw Estrada into a dungeon and throw away the key will, of course, assail GM for being too "soft" on Estrada. But the President loses nothing and gains much sympathy by being cordial to the fallen Erap. After all, the matter of "house arrest" rather than spending time in a prison is up to the Sandiganbayan, not her.

She’s gotten the message, however, that Estrada retains a substantial base of support among the electorate, particularly the D and E classes. Since GMA has called for "reconciliation" and "healing," making that visit is a consistent first step.

The President would do well, now and in the future, to follow her heart and her own political instincts, instead of listening to the naggers, whisperers, influence-peddlers, and "ako muna" advisers who surround her. She’s learning. But, as she probably realizes, no matter how quickly a fledgling President learns it’s almost too late. That’s the harsh nature of the job which fate and the Filipino people have entrusted to her.

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The sun is shining brightly outside my 10th floor window here in the Westin Tokyo (in snazzy Ebisu) as I write. The past few days were cool but bright. Now, summer has descended on Tokyo with a vengeance.

What impresses me, always, whenever I visit Japan is that, although they live within a nightmare population density of 800 persons to the square mile (against 84 in the United States), the Japanese manage to maintain large patches of green, leafy parks, lots glorious with colorful flowers. As we drove around yesterday morning, we spotted scores of men and women "volunteers" cleaning the streets, picking up trash. Everything is neat, spick and span, and in its place.

The Japanese young, on the other hand, have discovered "fun", making them less workaholic – yet, Japan retains their old intensity of purpose nonetheless. They also have a love affair with the English language which is not reciprocated, alas, since their stabs at using English tend to be hilarious often enough. This clumsiness in English language usage does not faze them, on the contrary. They forge forward cheerfully, mangling Eigo at every turn.

One hotel, for instance (not the Westin), hung out a sign in the lobby: "Please take advantage of our chambermaids." A popular hamburger chain, with branches all over, calls itself, "Freshness Burger."

"Birely’s" fruit drink has huge posters and painted-on advertisements at the rear of buses with the message: "Be Fruitful." The well-known Citizens Watch company hands out glossy brochures featuring their latest display of watches, with the guarantee appended at the bottom of the page: "Completely Verification." The watchmaking firm means, I think, "Completely Authentic."

Almost all department store signs, restaurant signs, and shop neon-signs are in English (with Japanese kanji and katakana characters much smaller than the Latin script). Thus, one shop is named "Slap Shot." A department store calls itself Franc Franc (they love everything French, too). In Harajuko, the youth district, there’s a street-corner condom emporium named "Condomania." Its huge blurb, winking in neon, proclaims: "Be Safe. Why Wait? We’re Open!"

Another shop declares itself to be "Mon Tou Tou." It’s too much, really. But it’s cute. Everywhere you wander in Tokyo, at first blush, you get the impression that you’re in a European city. Japan is unique in that it’s not self-conscious about its copycat image. This is because the Japanese may copy something from the Americans or the Europeans, but then they improve it and make it better.