Miss Domoto, Mr Tanaka, Mr Ishihara and the other unruly governors owe their success to their independence.

ECONOMIST: Japan

In Chiba, Miss Domoto wants to cancel a land-reclamation project that Tokyo's bureaucrats have been pushing for nearly 30 years.

ECONOMIST: Japan

The project, which would create land for new factories, has long since stopped making sense, says Miss Domoto: thanks to the weak economy, Chiba has plenty of empty factory space already.

ECONOMIST: Japan