'I Would Start a War'.(Shintaro Ishihara)(Interview)

Popular for his outspokenness and his outsider status, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara is usually mentioned as a potential replacement whenever Japan's prime minister begins to falter in the polls. With current Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi struggling--and with no viable reform candidates waiting in the wings--he may soon have his best chance yet of gaining the nation's top office. Ishihara recently spoke with NEWSWEEK's George Wehrfritz and Hideko Takayama about that possibility. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: You've been spotted dining with senior ruling-party politicians recently and grown more critical of Prime Minister Koizumi's policies. There's speculation in the Japanese media that you're planning a campaign to replace him. Is that true?

ISHIHARA: I prefer to evade that question. How the media interprets my actions is not my concern. Decisions in life must be made on one's own.

Koizumi has been in office for a year. How would you grade him?

So-so. The Koizumi cabinet began with big slogans, but politics is about completing small tasks. He keeps repeating the phrase kozo kaikaku, or structural reform, over and over. If he does not offer up some concrete ideas he could end up dashing Japan's expectations.

In your view, does China's emergence threaten regional stability?

There is a limit to how far China's economy can rise. It's similar to the textile problems between Japan and the United States [in the early 1970s]. At that time Japan's cheap labor threatened the U.S. economy, which is the same phenomenon that occurs whenever a new economic area takes off. Japan should explore and develop [in fields] where Japan excels. It is not something Japan should fear. That said, we should be careful to check China's habit of stealing ideas and serious lack of protection for intellectual property.