WHAT'S THE POINT OF LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMS...:

Aso has dragons to slay (Catherine Makino, 9/26/08, Asia Times)

An outspoken conservative, Aso does not hide his distaste for communism and supports a firm United States-Japan alliance. But what distinguishes him from other hawks in the LDP is his pragmatic approach and his disarming smile. [...]

Just where Aso stands on foreign policy can be gauged from a suggestion he made two years ago that it was time Japan began a debate on whether or not to acquire nuclear weapons.

But the new prime minister's most daunting challenge will be to revive the flagging economy and address the effects of the global financial turmoil. Some attribute the worsening situation in the agro-centric rural areas to reforms under Koizumi, especially the draconian cutting of large-scale public works projects which had created job opportunities.

"The crux of the problem lies in the fact that you now have a declining input into the economy, as you have a declining population, and the growth in productivity has not caught up,'' Taniguchi said.

...if there's no populace to utilize the structure?

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 25, 2008 8:05 AM