Perspectives

Lax handling of security issues taints Hatoyama administration

It is not just because he failed to keep his promise to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma "at least out of Okinawa Prefecture" that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is facing criticism.

He is also under fire because people see no hope of making progress on important issues under a leader who has lost the public's trust -- issues such as deepening relations between Japan and the United States, the formation of an East Asian Community, the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korea, and the Northern Territories dispute. Overall trust in foreign affairs and security policies has drained away.

Hatoyama has stressed the justness of his motivation in calling for the Futenma base to be moved out of Okinawa Prefecture, but with the insincerity he has displayed, one cannot believe that he has put his neck on the line to solve the issue.

Facing resistance from the United States, Hatoyama realized last year that it would be impossible to move the base out of Okinawa. But he failed to withdraw his banner promoting relocation outside Okinawa after being confronted by protests from the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Later, facing a deadline for settling the relocation issue by the end of May, he started struggling to form alibis to return to the idea of relocating Futenma outside Okinawa, trying his luck with the dead-end proposals of Tokunoshima and Guam. This turn of events seems to sum up the story.

At the same time, we must not forget that what allowed the prime minister to wander off course were structural faults of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)-led administration.

To win control of the government, the DPJ thrust issues affecting people's lives to the forefront, and kept its distance from security policies as there was a jumble of complicating circumstances within the party and it was believed that such issues would not equate to votes. This was evident in the DPJ's election manifesto, which paid scant attention to the area and sidestepped the issue of relocating the Futenma base.

A statement by the chairman of the DPJ's Diet Affairs Committee that "Futenma does not directly affect people's lives; it's a distant issue" -- quickly retracted following criticism -- is symbolic of the light approach to the Futenma relocation issue within the DPJ. Despite its leading position in the administration, the party does not seem to have an ounce of awareness that national security is protecting the lives of the people.

Due to a lack of preparation, strategy and readiness, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano failed to join hands on the issue at any point. And while the administration built itself on a slogan of departure from bureaucracy, it ignored the opinions of professionals with plenty of experience. Furthermore, as the prime minister's personal advisors were not fixed there was no "team Hatoyama" equipped to tackle difficult tasks.

The dismissal of SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima -- who served as minister of state for consumer affairs and food safety, social affairs, and gender equality in Hatoyama's Cabinet -- to align government policy also sparked criticism within the DPJ as the SDP's votes were eyed.

One might say that within the administration, Hatoyama was like Don Quixote rushing to attack windmills on his own. Security issues have been tossed about by an inexperienced administration. If government policies are not restructured, the same things will be repeated even if the prime minister changes. (By Hiroto Kosuge, Managing Editor, Political News Department)

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