[cstaylor]

Shintaro Ishihara, for example, recently denounced the French coach as a "second-rate bully," who he said embodied the worst characteristics of white people

Wow, didn't know Ishihara was an expert on white people. If he knew anything about Europe, he'd know that the French are bullies, no matter where they are.

So, what's a first-class bully? An ignorant Japanese governor?

[cstaylor]

A new Admiral Perry would serve Japan better

Japan's love-hate relationship with Troussier is an old and familiar tale. It befalls many "gaijin" who land in Japan and then try to make things less, well, Japanese.

The most famous to do so was Commodore Perry, the American whose arrival in the late 19th century dragged Japan into the modern world

Arrival? More like "Open up or we'll open you up".