VOX POPULI: No eraser large enough to delete this error

An American acquaintance once taught me the meaning of "pencil schedule." The phrasal verb means to schedule something tentatively, although it is not found in the English-Japanese dictionary I have at hand.

Here's an example of its usage: "What does Friday at 5 sound like?" "I guess it could work, but I can't say for certain now." "Then why don't you just pencil schedule?"

Since there is no firm commitment on either side--and hence no harm done if the appointment has to be changed or canceled--busy people must welcome this sort of flexible scheduling.

In life, however, some commitments are meant to be kept. Such, for instance, are promises made by politicians. This is particularly true of any promise made by the prime minister of Japan.

But it appears that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's pencil comes with a good eraser. Having once said he would relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma "outside Okinawa Prefecture at the very least," Hatoyama has since shamelessly "rubbed out" his own words. As for creating landfill off Henoko, Hatoyama previously vehemently denounced that as "an act of sacrilege against nature." But here too, his words are about to be erased.

Bounced around by the prime minister's sweet talk, the Futenma issue has gone nowhere, and we are now back at square one.

In his promise to settle the issue "by the end of May," Hatoyama must have wanted to save his face with Washington. This appears to be the only date he marked in his calendar with a pen, not a pencil. What was so important about this deadline? Isn't easing Okinawa's burden most important? Many people must feel that they are now seeing the Hatoyama administration's true colors.

Writer Jinichi Uekusa (1908-1979), who was familiar with American pop culture, once described an oversized eraser he had bought in the United States. It was a huge slab that had to be held with both hands, he wrote, and was stamped with the words "For Big Mistakes."

I wish I could hand one of those to the prime minister, so he can erase his "end of May" calendar note.

It has become obvious that Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan "penciled in" not only its commitments concerning the Futenma issue, but also other campaign promises that appeared in the party election manifesto.

As the Cabinet's approval ratings continue to slide for all sorts of reasons, the public's "eraser" is growing larger against the administration.

It would be awfully sad if last summer's historic regime change were to end up being just a "big mistake."

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 21

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.