Thanks, Tom and all, for sharing your insights. I have been suspicious of announcements according to which the J population has suddenly and dramatically moved to the right and begun to embrace a more conservative, reactionary agenda. That said, institutionalized ignorance and lack of interest in politics (present-day or historical), whether in Japan or elsewhere, always seem to translate into conservative attitudes and
(voting) behavior, do they not?

Sabine Fruhstuck
Professor of Modern Japanese Cultural Studies Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-7075
F: (805) 893 3011 E: fruhstuck[at]eastasian.ucsb.edu http://www.eastasian.ucsb.edu/faculty/fruhstuck.htm