Asahi: Writer tells Japan to get out from "wings of American eagle"
In "Sekai ga Nihon o Mitomeru Hi" (The Day that the World Can Take Japan Seriously Again, PHP Interface, 1,785 yen), published this month, Karel van Wolferen, University Professor of Comparative Political and Economic Institutions at the University of Amsterdam, argues that Japan should "discard an antiquated role as a vassal of the United States" and take an independent diplomatic line to contribute to world stability and peace. In a telephone interview, the writer said that continuation of the same diplomatic line shows Japan lacks a government that can take initiatives to adjust national policy...more...