Japan Notebook/ Yoshibumi Wakamiya: Can Hatoyama sort out ties with China, U.S.?

Let me see if I've got this right. The roots of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's embrace of the motto yuai (fraternity) and his concept of an East Asian community lie in the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan in August 1945.

While he seems to have found a kindred spirit in U.S. President Barack Obama, in their shared hope of a world without nuclear weapons, he is reluctant to toe the U.S. line on some other issues such as U.S. military bases in Japan. While pondering the prime minister's state of mind, it occurred to me that the wartime atomic bombings may have influenced his thinking.

"Fraternity" is a philosophy that Hatoyama inherited from his grandfather, former Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama (1883-1959). Ichiro, who translated the book "Totalitarian State Against Man" by the Japanese-born Austrian politician Richard Nicolaus von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894-1972), was so taken with the author's concept of fraternity that he started his own yuai movement. Coudenhove-Kalergi is regarded as the originator of the idea of a unified European community. The present prime minister's proposal of an East Asian community was also inspired by it.

Why did Ichiro translate Coudenhove-Kalergi's book? In May 1946, when he was set to become prime minister, Ichiro was purged by the general headquarters (GHQ) of the Allied Powers that then occupied Japan.

Suddenly swept from public office, Ichiro later recalled in his memoirs that he found he had little to occupy his time, so he decided to translate the book.

What prompted the GHQ to purge him? One possible reason is a comment he made to The Asahi Shimbun that ran in September of the previous year.

The following is the gist of Ichiro's comment: "The United States, which claims to pursue justice, cannot deny that killing innocent people with atomic bombs is a war crime worse than the use of poison gas. It should inspect the devastation of the stricken areas on its own and recognize its responsibility for compensation and reconstruction."

Angered by the comment, the GHQ retaliated by ordering The Asahi Shimbun to suspend publication for two days. Given its annoyance, it is no wonder that the GHQ moved to block Hatoyama from forming an administration following his party's victory in the Lower House election.

Thus, it's not a stretch to say that without the atomic bombings, the current prime minister would not have come to advocate fraternity or call for the creation of an East Asian community.

Some might say my argument conjures up the Japanese proverb "Kaze ga Fukeba Okeya ga Mokaru" (A bucket shop profits when the wind blows), which refers to a far-fetched interpretation. But there is no denying the anguish over U.S.-led occupation policy that ousted his beloved grandfather weighs on the prime minister's mind.

That helps to explain Obama's special relationship with the prime minister, given the context of the U.S. president's call for the United States to take moral responsibility for nuclear disarmament as "the only country to have used a nuclear weapon." Hatoyama must have mixed feelings of respect for Obama and rivalry with the United States.

I took part in the 5th Beijing-Tokyo Forum held early this month in Dalian, China. It was fascinating to observe the various reactions to the proposed East Asian community. The forum was co-sponsored by the China Daily and Genron NPO, a nonprofit Japanese think tank, and attended by politicians, business people, researchers and journalists from both countries.

Among the Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers who helped engineer a change of government, Kozo Watanabe, a former vice speaker of the Lower House, received thunderous applause.

Watanabe reminded his audience of his long career in politics and spoke about meeting with Chinese Premier Chou En-lai (1898-1976) before Japan and China normalized their diplomatic relations. He drew laughter with the following remark: "Socialist China grew with a free economy while the Hatoyama Cabinet of a liberalist country is working for the poor under the banner of rectifying income gaps. Therefore, China and Japan share the same philosophy."

Apparently, he wanted to stress that although people often say the two countries have different value systems that are seemingly incompatible, such differences should not be seen as major obstacles in forming a community.

But China is not so naive as to blindly follow Japan's lead. In a subcommittee discussion on security issues, China showed consideration not only to South Korea and Southeast Asia but also to the United States by declaring, "China has no intention to weaken U.S. power by joining hands with Japan."

At a summit meeting in October among the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea, Hatoyama made a statement to the effect that Japan has been too dependent on the United States. Critical of the comment, a Beijing diplomat with whom I had lunch said: "Japan should remain friendly with the United States while strengthening ties with China."

In other words, he said it is fine for Japan and China to become closer but Japan must take care not to rattle its relationship with the United States. China is apparently confident of its good relations with the United States but is worried that Japan may start to find its own way. Perhaps China is still counting on the United States to play the role of "a lid" to contain Japan.

To come to think of it, apart from its antagonistic relations with the United States during the Cold War era, China is grateful to the United States for protecting it from Japanese military aggression. That probably explains China's unsympathetic stand toward Japan on the issue of it being a victim of atomic bombings. Hatoyama should also drive home this point.

Meanwhile, Wu Jianmin, an influential former Chinese diplomat who had dealings with Europe over many years, gave a speech in which he signaled his support for the East Asian community concept. He explained that the European Union grew on the basis of efforts to seek peace between Germany and France, saying, "A desk cannot stand with two legs. Likewise, bilateral relations between two countries alone cannot stay stable. East Asia should also learn from Europe."

He went on to say that religious wars did not occur in Asia thanks to Asian culture, which sought harmonious coexistence as opposed to the dualistic thinking of Christianity that draws a line between good and evil. He stressed that this point needs to be seen in a new light.

The argument brought to mind the philosophy of Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), the leader of the Chinese revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. In his latter years, Sun called on the Japanese people to strengthen Asian unity under the Confucian concept of "rule by virtue" to counter imperialism by Western military powers that advocated "rule by power."

Sun delivered his famous speech on the subject in Kobe in 1924. As it happens, it was a year after Coudenhove-Kalergi called for European unity in his book "Pan-Europa." The work was based on his reflections on wars in Europe. However, his assertion for a unified Europe was soon trampled upon by Nazi Germany, and Sun's call for Asian unity was erased by militarist Japan.

Now that Coudenhove-Kalergi's dream has materialized, will Sun's wishes be met with formation of an East Asian community? The United States seems to hold a key, but can Hatoyama win Obama's empathy?

The prime minister may have mixed feelings about the United States. Be that as it may, Hatoyama fortunately has no intention whatsoever to justify Japan's past aggression toward China or its war against the United States. East Asia should aim at seeking lasting peace and prosperity based on lessons from history. There is nothing wrong with dreaming of the formation of a community along those lines.

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The author is an Asahi Shimbun columnist.(IHT/Asahi: November 26,2009)