The latest prime minister, Yoshiro Mori, is a hapless bumbler who showed his mettle when he stayed on the golf course after an American submarine accidentally sank a Japanese fishing boat this month. His popularity has fallen into the single digits. Because if Japan's troubles worsen, it could help trigger a worldwide recession. It is easy to imagine the scenario. The U.S. economy slows down even further than it already has, slashing demand for Japanese exports such as cars and electronic goods.
Japanese banks collapse as crippled companies fail to repay their loans.
A wave of bad news rolls back and forth across the Pacific between the world's two leading economies, setting off a double recession that soon spreads around the globe. Now that would be news. It need not happen. But unless other countries start taking an interest in Japan's troubles, it easily could. Every effort should go into persuading Japan's leaders to overhaul their country's overregulated, overprotected, crony-ridden economic system, before it is too late.