It's Japan, for Crying Out Loud

The spigots opened a few days ago, before Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka was fired Tuesday for squabbling with political rivals. As the pressure mounted, the nation's top diplomat, a woman so tough she's been called "an untamed stallion," cried in public.

The next day, archrival Muneo Suzuki, a conservative lawmaker credited with helping engineer her downfall, shed a few of his own tears. Whipping out a handkerchief, he told voters in his constituency how hard his early life had been compared with many of his political colleagues--i.e., Tanaka--who were born into elite political families.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who has admitted to getting misty-eyed himself listening to Elvis songs or seeing romantic movies, added to the ruckus by volunteering that tears have long been the ultimate female weapon.

That prompted a countercharge Wednesday from opposition lawmaker Tsuyoshi Saito, among others, that Koizumi's comments were decidedly sexist.

The government's four remaining female Cabinet ministers were then paraded before parliament to give their views on tears, women and weaponry. Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama acknowledged that women's tears can be a powerful force in weakening men's resolve. Then again, she added, men's tears can have the same effect on women.

Chikage Ogi, Japan's strong, steady transportation minister, said she cries a lot and finds it cathartic. "I think tears are little treasures," she said. "They're like jewels."

Tears have sometimes played a prominent role in the U.S. political landscape, undercutting at various times the careers of former lawmakers Edmund S. Muskie and Pat Schroeder, even as a discreet sob at a funeral or disaster site has boosted the fortunes of others.

But Japan, with its often sharp distinction between public and private behavior, has long considered public tears by prominent social and political figures a major faux pas. This tradition dates at least to the nation's long feudal period.

"Suppressing your emotions in Japan has been a mark of the samurai spirit," said Takashi Tomita, psychology professor at Komazawa Women's University. "Keeping your eyes dry has been a virtue."