No matter how long Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa hangs on to his post, he is not likely to have many weeks as bad as the last one. Along with a sharp drop in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, declining approval ratings in the polls, and insinuations of financial wrongdoings, he suffered a particularly disappointing setback when parliament effectively killed a government measure to let Japanese soldiers serve overseas in United Nations peacekeeping operations. After harsh criticism in the West for Japan's failure to participate in the gulf coalition against Iraq, Miyazawa was determined to ease his country's strict limitations on military service...
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