OZAWA,ICHIRO - REFORMER AT BAY

Ichiro Ozawa, a former power broker in the Liberal Democratic Party, h as become a seminal figure of Japan's reform movement. A leader of the up-and-coming New Frontier Party, in 1993 he wrote an influential bes tseller, Blueprint for a New Japan, that helped define the national de bates over democratic reform, social issues, and foreign policy. He vi ews himself as Meiji-type leader, trying to awaken Japan to the change s in the outside world. But many of the Japanese are wary of the savvy backroom dealmaker. In any case, his views are helping chart Japan's diplomatic course: a more engaged global role coupled with a resilient U.S. partnership.