Minoru Morita is one of Japan's most outspoken and astute political commentators. He was a necessary thorn in Junichiro Koizumi's side at a time when most of the press corps was fawning over the "lion-haired" former prime minister. When Morita would be scheduled to talk on one of Japan's national TV networks, inevitably Liberal Democratic Party henchmen would apply pressure to the network to keep Morita off the air. Here's an illuminating Q&A of Morita from friend and Kuhaku contributor Takehiko Kambayashi.

The reason I bring up Morita is that we just recently closed a deal with his Morita Research Institute to begin translating his writings into English. Beginning in the new year, Chin Music will be translating one article a week. If you're interested in reading one of Japan's sharpest political minds, just visit our blog and we'll provide links to the articles (they're going to be posted on a site to be decided by Morita's staff).

We think Morita-sensei should be heard not only in Japan but in DC, in Asia Pacific think tanks and in American newsrooms. And if you think he'll have less to say now that Koizumi has stepped down, here's his take on the new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, in a Time article from September:

"I think he is the most dangerous politician in Japan." ... Morita, a liberal political commentator, believes a disquieting nationalism is on the rise in Japan, and he thinks that Abe's immense popularity is a troubling sign of that wave. "Of all the 700 or so Diet members, Abe is the most right-wing, the hottest, the most nationalist," Morita says. "He is the politician who could lead this country to war."

Look for more from Morita in the first week or so of 2007.