Japan: A Big Shokku for Yasu

The Liberal Democrats just hang on

He is a polite Prime Minister. He is a humble Prime Minister. He is a grave and austere Prime Minister.

—Takao Fujinami, deputy secretary-general, Liberal Democratic Party

Above all, he is very lucky even to be Prime Minister. Pundits and polls alike had predicted a respectable victory for Yasuhiro Nakasone and his Liberal Democrats, so the news last week sent a shokku from the southern tip of Kyushu to northern Hokkaido. When the ballots were counted for the 511-member lower house of parliament, the L.D.P. had failed to...

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