Mr. Johnson goes to Tokyo

In the 1939 classic movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, its idealist protagonist overcomes the obstacles of a corrupt political class through sheer determination and with a twenty-four-hour filibuster.

Britain's foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, was less naïve when he arrived in Tokyo last week, and his obstacles are of a different nature, but the key to the success of his broader mission lies in similar levels of commitment.

Th...