The shogun and the emperor

摘要

Who rules Japan, the emperor or the W shogun? That question vexed America when it first sought to trade with Japan in the 1850s. Today, China has no doubts. The answer is the "shadow shogun", Ichiro Ozawa, a master manipulator who secured an historic victory for the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in August elections. In the past week Mr Ozawa has hogged the limelight on two occasions to convince China-and remind Japan-who is the boss. On December 10th he led what looked like a modern-day version of a medieval tribute visit, flying 645 people, in-rncluding 143 DPJ members of parliament, to Beijing. They filled five aeroplanes. His meeting with the premier, Hu Jintao, made the top of the nightly news in China, an achievement in a country where many people still loathe the Japanese.