The tax system should put countryside second homes beyond the reach of more people, according to the head of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

BBC: CPRE says second homes 'gutting' rural communities

Any significant change in the agricultural or financial sectors is bound to upset large numbers of people whether they are civil servants in the countryside, laid off to reduce the tax burden on peasants, or factory workers unemployed because their inefficient enterprises are no longer kept afloat by indiscriminate bank loans.

ECONOMIST: China's suspended politics

This past summer's election kept the LDP in power mainly because Japan's countryside is ruled by a semifeudal system in which politicians distribute tax money to construction companies, gangsters and farmers in exchange for kickbacks and votes.

FORBES: Japan's Dirty Secrets