Triage

It has come to the point where someone has to decide what, if anything, of Japan's politico-economic structure can be saved.

Japan's Exports Plummet Record 45.7%, Signaling More Job Cuts
Bloomberg

By Jason Clenfield - Feb. 25 - Japan's exports plunged by a record in January, as recessions in the U.S. and Europe smothered demand for the country’s cars and electronics.

Exports plummeted 45.7 percent from a year earlier, the sharpest decline since 1980, the earliest year for which there is comparable data, the Finance Ministry said today in Tokyo. The January drop eclipsed a record 35 percent decline set the previous month. Economists predicted a 45.9 percent contraction...

It is difficult to believe that Asō Tarō will be prime minister for much longer. The Houses of Representatives will pass the budget bill on Friday. After that is done, what else is there for Asō to do, except dangle?

A more interesting question seems to be whether or not Democratic Party Leader Ozawa Ichirō can be made to understand that the country needs a stopgap government of national reconciliation, with his Go buddy Yosano Kaoru as PM (not a bad thing at all) and with elections...whenever...

I am not sanguine about either Ozawa or Asō Tarō's Liberal Democratic Party understanding even now how desperately bad the situation has become.