What a difference a year makes. In March 1990 Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu came away all aglow from a meeting with President Bush in California. The two leaders claimed to have forged the basis for a new "global partnership," and Japan seemed ready to play a role in world politics corresponding to its ever expanding economic power. Kaifu affirmed his commitment: "I am determined that Japan must be one of the countries to bear the responsibility for maintaining and strengthening international order."
This week Kaifu will travel once again to California for meetings with Bush, but he is no longer glowing....
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