"He follows the rugby spirit--in other words, the spirit of fair play, " says the wrestler, Hiroshi Hase, now a member of the upper house of parliament.
By contrast, the U.S. Commerce Department (roughly MITI's counterpart) was unable to play a corresponding role despite the spirit of then-pending legislation (the Bingaman amendment to the FY1989 DOD Authorization Act) requiring Defense to consult with Commerce in the negotiation of bilateral memorandums of understanding.
That continuity has helped forge a fantastic team spirit and style of play, with everybody knowing their job - and the job of their team-mates - inside-out.
Let's try and find a way to enter into the original spirit of what this piece was about, to play with the tension between an 18th-century text and a 21st-century context.