Pyeongtaek, South Korea ¨C Navigating politics is never easy, but it used to be a lot simpler within the confines of Nagatacho ¡ª Japan¡¯s political center.
For the better part of the last 70 years, when the Liberal Democratic Party picked its party president, the LDP-controlled parliament would hold a vote to make that person the prime minister. When the party¡¯s dominance started to wane in the 1990s, the LDP formed a coalition, and the same process applied.
But when Komeito decided to break from its 26-year coalition with the LDP last week, things became ever more complicated. Now, what exists is a negotiator¡¯s nightmare as Japan¡¯s top politicians have about a week to figure out their party¡¯s and their country¡¯s future.
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