The Japan That Can Say No

Foreword<br >en Shintaro Ishihara s youn~er brother Yujiro died of can-<br >in 1987， Japan mourned as if the entire nation had lost a<br >nlwr of the fimdlx. As national public mourning， it was<br >Lh d in the United States perhaps only b the put)lie reac-<br >i to the death of John F. Kennedy or Robert Kennedy. In<br >an， only the death of the lq， mperor received more public<br >mtion.<br >;hintaro and Yujiro were a remarkable pair， Shintaro， a<br >ter and movie director， and Yujircx an actor. In 1955，<br >en Shintaro was only 21， his novel. Tai~lo no ki，s etsu (Sea-<br > of the Sun) won him the Bungaku newcomer s award and<br >， Akuta~ax~a Prize. ltis name became a househokl word.<br >e novel was instantly made into a movie and proved im-<br >，t~selv p~:pular， lshihara produced a string of novels o[ sire-<br >\" gen，e and when they too beCalne movies， they were<br >isatim，s. The star actor o|\" these moxies was his youn~er<br >~ther Yujiro. Known for his athletic build and cool style， he<br >.s sometimes reDrred to as -Japan s James 1)can，\" but his<br >pularity and inltuenee l:ar exceeded that of James Dean in<br >nerica. Yujiro remained one of Japan s most popular actors<br >til his death， and both he and his brother l)ecame the svm-<br >ds ot\" an alienated younger generation in Japan.<br >In the 1960s， as Japanese youth moved from the countrv-<br >]e to the city in search of new industrial jobs. the elders of<br >1)art s IAbera] Democratic Party (which is the eonservatiw~<br >