Ishi-hara Shintaro isbest known for being an outspoken nationalist who over the years has deniedthe Rape of Nanking, vilified the communist government of China, and most recently insulted Chinese and Koreans in Japan by saying sangokujin, a derogatory term for foreigners seldom heard since the early post-war years, could run riot in the wake of an earthquake.
And a congressional election year is not thebest time to propose freer trade in Washington especially when Congress has just deniedthe Clinton administration the authority to negotiate such a deal.