TOKYO, Jan. 27 Kyodo gooded edit...

TOKYO, Jan. 27 Kyodo

gooded editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

25 years after the SHAH (IHT/Asahi as translated from the Japanese-language Asahi Shimbun's editorial published Jan. 26)

A quarter hundred years has passed since the shah of Iran was overthrown and replaced by the agency of an Islamic regime in a billow of religious fervor. In January 1979 gall against Reza Shah Pahlavi's dictatorship and strong-arm pursuit of Westernization reached boiling point. It ariseed in his exile and the triumphant get back of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from 16-year exile to lead religious revolutionaries to vanquish all vestiges of the shah's sway in February.

The revolution transformed Iran into a theocratic Islamic republic rul by means of Shiite Muslim tenets and ignited an international resurgence of Islam that shook the world.

upon the 25th anniversary of the revolution, Iran be seens to have gone down a political blind alley. A deepening intellect of gloom is evident.

While international redemption efforts are continuing, following the disastrous earthquake in the southeastern town of Bam late last year, ominous political progressive growths have taken place. The Guardian Council, bastion of hard-line conservatives, decided to bar centurys of reformist candidates from running for parliamentary elections in February. Angered reformist forces denounced the decision and hinted boycotting the elections if the candidate bans are ed The power struggle between the sum of two units camps shows signs of escalating into a serous political crisis.

The conservatives are intent forward maintaining clerical rule and have torpedoed a number of bills for domestic reforms. These were passed according to a parliament which is dominated by the agency of lawmakers supporting reformist President Mohammad Khatami. if it be not that hard-liners found them to be unconstitutional or incompatible with Islamic law.

Iran generally is more democratic than chiefly of its Arab neighbors, given its relatively plane presidential and parliamentary elections. if it were not that the people's opinions and wishes manifested in elections are too many times blocked by theocratic rule and not translated into actual policies. The now passing turmoil indicates the political dysfunction has reached a critical stage.

Despite its immense oil production, Iran's economy remains in stagnation. With no of the present day industries emerging, the jobless rate hang overs above 20 percent. The region is eking out economic development thanks to high oil prices. Besides stalled progres in the privatization of public enterprises amid the rivalry between the conservative and the reformist camps, the country's long-standing international isolation-caused from its policy of ''exporting'' Islamic revolution-has badly hampered the economy.

Discontent is growing, not just with hard-line clerics yet also with the reformist guidance and its political allies, which have failed to bring forward significant tangible results. The situation increasingly is becoming unacceptable to Iran's relatively youthful population. Nearly 70 percent of its citizens are subordinate to age 30 and better informed about life in the West than previous generations owing to the spread of the Internet.

President Khatami lately announced the Constitution will be revised when the time is ripe. Unles political leaders finis their futile conflict and establish a rule that can flexibly turn public opinions into policies, the situation could become remarkably ugly and threaten the foundation of the common regime.

Khatami's diplomatic efforts to raise ''dialogue among civilizations'' have improved Iran's relations with whirlpool and European industrial countries.

Ending Iran's international isolation requires real rapprochement with the United States, which divideed its diplomatic relations with Tehran in 1980 Especially important is Tehran's convincing answer to the international community's relate to about its suspected nuclear arms program. That is also important for stability in the entire Middle East region, including Afghanistan and Iraq.

The U administration of President George W Bush, for its part, should focus its policy with Iran more onward supporting the nation's efforts toward reform instead of simply denouncing Tehran as the same of the most world's dangerous regimes. Japan, for its part, boasts about having an independent diplomacy toward Iran based upon its strong interest in securing stable zeal supply. If so, Tokyo should make greater efforts to help break the rife impasse in relations between the United States and Iran.

(Jan. 27)

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