In Japan these days it almost feels like the 1980s. Back then, the country was led by Yasuhiro Nakasone, a controversial conservative with a new economic program along with a desire to strengthen U.S. ties and restore national pride. Today, we have Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following a similar path. Now, as then, the Tokyo stock market is storming upward. Honda is even re-launching its NSX supercar, once a symbol of Japanese corporate ambition and consumer exuberance.
All we are missing are the dancing flower pots, gold-flecked sushi and the wave of headline-grabbing overseas acquisitions -- such as Sony's 1989 purchase of Columbia Pictures, which inspired a notorious Newsweek cover featuring the Statue of Liberty in geisha garb.
