Eideard

Wen Jiabao, Naoto Kan and Lee Myung-bak at evacuation center in Fukishima City
Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea publicly munched on farm produce grown near the stricken Japanese nuclear plant on Saturday in a show of solidarity with Japan’s recovery efforts.

Premier Wen Jiabao of China and President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea arrived in Japan on Saturday for a two-day meeting that was expected to focus on resolving differences over Japan’s handling of the nuclear crisis.

China and South Korea have criticized Japan for spilling radiation into the air and sea, and have banned imports of farm products from areas near the plant, citing what they call inadequate checks for radiation. Japan says the restrictions are unjustified.

Before the meeting began in Tokyo on Saturday night, the Japanese prime minister, Naoto Kan, took the leaders to visit a refugee shelter in Fukushima, 40 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Before entering the shelter, a converted gymnasium, Mr. Kan steered the group to a table displaying strawberries, cucumbers and other produce grown in Fukushima Prefecture.

The leaders, who did not appear to have been surprised by the photo op, smiled and nibbled gamely. “Very delicious,” Mr. Wen said…

Before meeting Mr. Kan, the two visiting leaders also paid separate visits to the city of Natori, which was devastated by the tsunami.

“The warm feelings of the two leaders came through in their visits to disaster areas and an evacuation center,” Mr. Kan told reporters. “I’m glad they came.”

No doubt import restrictions to China and South Korea will be reduced following this meeting. The interesting bits will be – what else is resolved over the weekend?

The earthbound disaster has pushed Japan’s economy into an artificial recession. Individual Japanese corporations have started working their way out of the context of parts suppliers and individual enterprises both being handicapped by the damage to physical plant and infrastructure. Collective effort will be welcomed – no doubt – to aid Japan’s recovery.

Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is used to political lashings. But the latest one is not from an opposition party — it’s from his own wife.

In a book released this week titled, “What On Earth Will Change in Japan After You Become Prime Minister,” first lady Nobuko Kan writes bluntly about her husband’s shortcomings.

The book says the prime minister is unable to cook a simple meal and has no fashion sense. But it’s the blunt review of her husband’s ability to govern that will raise eyebrows.

She writes that her husband — a grassroots politician — is a good off the cuff speaker and is suited to working in supporting political roles. But as the world’s second-largest economy’s prime minister, she questions, “Is it okay that this man is prime minister? Because I know him well…”

The marriage between the Kans spans four decades, and is widely regarded by the public as a pairing of equal minds. The prime minister speaks publicly about his sharp-tongued wife and how she is his toughest critic.

In her book, she notes that most of their conversations are about politics. They disagree and debate the issues, she writes, from capital punishment to tax reform.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan appears to have been left out of the writing of his wife’s book. Talking to reporters, the prime minister joked, “I’m afraid to read it.”

Har!

Actually, I’d be as inclined to vote for Michelle Obama as her husband – a second time around. She might be more likely to face down the cowards in the Democratic Party – and the hypocrites in the Party of NO.