The Financial Times (April 7)
A “cup of sake could save the nation.” The Financial Times disagrees with Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara’s efforts to discourage traditional hanami cherry blossom viewing parties out of respect for those still suffering from disaster. The Governor’s entreaties could make a bad situation worse, as restraint worsens a reeling economy. “Mr Ishihara risks deepening the post-disaster slump by simultaneously seeking to stop Tokyo residents from celebrating the arrival of cherry blossoms with their traditional hanami flower-viewing parties.”
The Economist (October 28)
“Tokyo’s governor is starting to look like yesterday’s sushi” proclaims the Economist. Tokyo voters may once have enjoyed the antics of Shintaro Ishihara, but his penchant for confrontation is wearing thin. Ishihara is now fighting fish mongers to relocate Tsukiji fish market to a polluted site where benzene levels exceed the safety threshold by up to 43,000 times. Ishihara’s latest fight suggests 11 years of power may have “gone to his head.”
