Editorial
Parties need to speak up on foreign diplomacy ahead of Lower House election
While Japan faces a general election this month that could lead to a historic change in government, the party leaders' debate at the Japan National Press Club on Monday left a feeling of dissatisfaction.
Issues that have a direct influence on people's lives such as social security, employment and child-rearing are worthy topics for debate, but they do not form the sole basis for selecting a government. It's important for the parties to show the public what kind of country they want to make Japan, including in the areas of foreign diplomacy and security.
Party manifestos for the House of Representatives election devote little space to foreign diplomacy and security, and discussion of these issues was similarly limited in the leaders' debate. It's probably true to say that while the election could be a major turning point for Japan, the future that lies around the corner remains unclear.
Sam Jameson, 73, former Tokyo bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, has lived in Japan since 1960. He says that Japanese today have lost the "hungry" spirit of the 60s, and he is frustrated over the fact Japan could be doing more -- evidenced by its low economic goals.
The same goes for foreign diplomacy. He says that no matter whether Japan is dealing with the United States or the United Nations, it has had a tendency to avoid proposals in case they meet opposition. But Japan needs to press ahead with such proposals, he says: if it remains silent, not even its ally the United States will understand how it feels.
The year 2005, when the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a landslide victory in the House of Representatives election, was a time when Japan had aspired to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, but abandoned hope after the U.S. responded negatively to the idea. While criticizing the U.S. attitude as betraying an ally, Jameson is troubled by the recent security debate in Japan. He says that if Japan has the ability to intercept a missile headed toward the United States but fails to do so, then it would lose the trust of Americans, and the Japan-U.S. alliance would in effect come to an end.
He is also puzzled by Japan's stance of not wanting to get its hands dirty when dividing up defense roles, saying that it is involved in the clean, clever and cool tasks, while the U.S. takes on the dangerous, difficult and dirty. It is a claim often heard from Japanese rightists, but the worry from a journalist familiar with Japan shows through.
The tendency for Japanese politicians and bureaucrats to remain sensitive to the feelings of the United States has been pointed out long ago. But what is the actual situation regarding Japan's compliance with the United States? Rather than it being a case of the U.S. making Japan comply willy-nilly, it has been pointed out that Japan has simply fallen into a state of suspension of thought due to self-regulation, getting tangled in its own net. In this situation, a paradox emerges: Japan still wishes to follow the U.S., while the administration of President Barack Obama is attempting to solicit advice from its allies.
It is important to bring such issues together. No clear focus has emerged, but it can be said that doubts about following the United States -- including Japan's response to the Iraq war -- that have festered inwardly among Japanese have had a small impact on elections in Japan.
In their manifestos, the LDP has stated that it would strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance, while the opposition Democratic Party of Japan has called for a "close and equal Japan-U.S. alliance," but unless the alliance is one that Japan and the U.S. can debate frankly, such descriptions will be nothing but empty, flowery phrases.
(Mainichi Japan) August 18, 2009