Mr. Mori Weighs In...

and makes his presence felt in the selection of a new Cabinet lineup.

"I can do this myself, OK?"

Courtesy: Yomiuri Shimbun
morning edition, August 15, 2007

The latest rumors--that former foreign minister Kōmura Masahiko and Hori Kōsuke (72 years old!) will be appointed to the Cabinet--indicate a new, if hardly convincing, emphasis on experience. Why experience matters, rather than say good sense and clean hands, is not clear.

Just how these wise men are going to stay still in their seats while a pampered princeling 20 years their junior blathers away during Cabinet sessions also remains to be explained. For Kōmura, who passed the law exam on his first try while still in college, being forced to serve Escalator Boy will be galling.