Gentlemen;
Hope everyone with anything to say keeps posting. I have had little to add even though I just spent a week in Tokyo and am posting this from the road in the USA.
Tokyo biz climate, in the main, still very grim. Many there are buying into current government forecasts, but a few privately believe there are no bullish signs. I was in Tokyo when Ishihara won the Tokyo govenorship election. For those that may not recall Ishihara is the co-author of The Japan That Can Say No along with Akio Morita of Sony fame. I tend to think of him as the preeminent Japanese "redneck". His election is evidence, IMO, of the growing anti-western sentiment we can expect in Asia. However, he insults anyone, including fellow Asians, as this story illustrates:
asia.yahoo.com
All the while I have been gone my adopted home of Kuala Lumpur has been reeling from the aftermath of the absurd Anwar affair and the void of jurisprudence evidenced by the sentence in the case. I predict it will haunt the ruling party for some time to come. My concern is about what might replace them. I see little hope for a true coalition between the moderate, pro western, liberal democratic, faction and the Islamic right. If they do join hands long enough to oust Mahatir and his UMNO party then it will be simply to toss the spoils into the air for a mad, center court, scramble. At that point in time I doubt if Malaysia will be a place that one could live in any form of peace.
Regards to all and please keep posting. I have little time these days to post but read and stay caught up every chance I get.
Best,
Stitch |
