Japan - the odd man in the corner?

[thomas]

Mind this is a JT editorial.

Japan plods path of isolation

Japan continues to be the odd man out in Northeast Asia. While the other states in the region have been forging ties and building networks with each other -- even North Korea -- Japan has lagged behind. Tokyo could be marginalized in its own neighborhood. That risk has motivated Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro's two foreign policy gambles of the last six months -- his trips to Pyongyang and Russia. Koizumi rightfully is trying to break Japan out of its regional isolation and position the country to play a role in the future.

=> http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/...20030116bg.htm