Business as usual in a stagnating society

JAPAN was jolted by the worst nuclear disaster the world has seen in a quarter of a century when the huge earthquake unleashed a deadly tsunami which took out cooling systems at the Fukushima power station on its north-east coast on 11 March 2012.

However, the resulting chaos has failed to snap Japan out of its economic and political doldrums. Its government has piled up debt while dodging critical decision which have been fobbed off to expert panels in a bid to build consensus in a divided parliament. The main political parties have been unable to put aside their differences and provide the nation with much needed leadership.

Instead politicians have fought each other every inch of the way, and played the annual game of ditch the prime minister, giving Japan its sixth premier in five years. That said, Japan has changed over the past 12 months – though in ways too gradual to grab headlines.

The main driving force is growing distrust of politicians and bureaucrats and public indignation at their incompetence.

What remains unclear is whether public anger will force a radical overhaul of Japan’s politics, economy and society or simply deepen apathy and frustration.

Tomasz Janowski