Japan: From the Cow-Walk to the Brawl

Ever since its founding 73 years ago, the Japanese Diet has had a hard time distinguishing between Robert's Rules of Order and those of the Marquis of Queensberry. Just as the typhoons come to Japan in September, and the cherry blossoms in April, the parliamentary brawling season arrives in June, filling the Diet with the sound of crashing fists and strangled curses. This year the season arrived on schedule.

More Than Secretaries. Before World War II, brawling was a common practice among hot-blooded delegates who, in the samurai tradition, were really hankering...

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