Japanese Politics

* I had to laugh (through my tears) at Steven C. Clemons’ Op-Ed piece (April 10) about deep-seated political corruption in Japan that led, he contends, to the resignation of Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa.

Here’s the comic relief: “The key issue for Japan is that none of its current leaders matured in a clean political system. They are powerful because they built the best political machines, raised the most money and secured the greatest amount of government resources to return to their constituents. No politician has been exempt from this reality.”

Does this remind you of a certain other country, very large, very rich, often self-righteous, very confused, edging toward decadence?

Talk about the (inside the Beltway) pot calling the kettle black!

SARA MERIC

Santa Monica

* It’s about time someone complimented The Times for its excellent coverage of Japan. As a longtime student of a Japan, having lived there and written a thesis on its economy, it was always difficult to find good current information on the country. That lack of information frequently justified the common complaint I heard from my Japanese friends: You Americans don’t understand us. For anyone who has been reading The Times lately that no longer is the case. Your staff in Japan is doing a great job of giving your readers penetrating insight into, what is in fact, a difficult country for Americans to understand.

At this historic juncture between our two countries, not completely unlike that of Commodore Perry’s time, knowledge and understanding of Japan are crucial. SHELLEY NORWOOD

Rolling Hills Estates