William Pesek is an award-winning Tokyo-based journalist and author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades."
Japan cannot vie for leadership in Asia without substantive economic reform

Fumio Kishida speaks to the media on Dec. 10: The Japanese prime minister's economic reform program lacks firepower. © Reuters
William Pesek is an award-winning Tokyo-based journalist and author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades."