The biggest challenge for Koizumi may lie in persuading the country to drop its prevailing not-in-my-backyard attitude
The town of Yunotani near the Sea of Japan is a sleepy one. Just how sleepy becomes apparent when you step into city hall and count the number of employees napping. Some on lounge chairs, others at their desks. Faint snores can be heard among the clatter of typewriters. The scene is an apt metaphor for something else that's snoozing around here, the economy. It too has a bad case of the yawns. As Japan slides into its fourth recession in a decade, it's places like this that are feeling most of the pain. Things will get even worse as Tokyo's reform efforts halt the public works projects th...
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