Enough of Low Posture

EISAKU Sato's convincing, though by no means sweeping, victory in Japan's national elections has ensured continuity in the land of the rising sun. More than that is speculation. Sato, of course, is committed to lifting Japan out of its "low posture" in international affairs; now he must seek to redeem that commitment at least partially. It is known that Japanese defence expenditure will match China's by the end of this decade, and outstrip it thereafter. And it is also inevitable that at some stage the Japanese economic boom, which has already taken that country to the position of the third biggest economic power in the world, should begin to get reflected in commensurate political influence.