Depending on who you ask, Toru Hashimoto is either a dangerous populist bent on returning Japan to its militarist past, or a charismatic radical leading a crusade to breathe life into the country's stagnant politics. Still in his early 40s, and with no experience of national office, Hashimoto is not only the most talked-about politician in Japan, he is now being tipped as its future leader. As may
![Charismatic outsider Toru Hashimoto tipped as future leader of Japan](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/0afb4688851ddfc11f87ecb66a8c15e85484372a/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fi.guim.co.uk%2Fimg%2Fstatic%2Fsys-images%2FGuardian%2FPix%2Fpictures%2F2012%2F7%2F6%2F1341594340924%2FToru-Hashimoto-008.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26height%3D630%26quality%3D85%26auto%3Dformat%26fit%3Dcrop%26overlay-align%3Dbottom%252Cleft%26overlay-width%3D100p%26overlay-base64%3DL2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctYWdlLTIwMTIucG5n%26enable%3Dupscale%26s%3D42579b9ccee6d080c2a16d6c6e908121)