Let's Japan.org Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan

Cheng Yonghua kicked-off a new diplomatic mission to Tokyo this morning. The new Ambassador arrived on Sunday and will be busy from the beginning. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is planning on making an official state visit to Japan in the spring. The announcement of Cheng as Beijing's representative to Japan is expected, in some ways to bridge the divide between the two major economies of Asia.

Cheng is replacing previous Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai. Cheng is well versed in Japanese affairs, speaks the language fluently and has well-established business connections. He has spent nearly 15 years working for the diplomatic mission in Tokyo in the past. He was the deputy director-general of the department of Asian affairs at the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry and a Minister at the Embassy. His most recent posting was overseeing the Embassy in South Korea and prior to that was head of the Malaysian mission.

The appointment is being viewed as a step forward in relations with China and Japan, because Cheng is expected to build suitable relations with Hatoyama's government. The post-election statements made by the Japanese Prime Minister in the fall of 2009, signaled to Jiabao's Beijing, that the time was ripe to develop a closer relationship with Japan. As the two governments work towards common goals and move further from tense relationships of the past, they have to move with caution. The growing relationship with China will cause continued problems with Japanese- American relations.

As America continues to maintain a great interest in Japanese relations and views Japan as the cornerstone to American influence in the East Asia Pacific region, Japan is finding itself a popular piece of real estate. China is seeking to boost relations with Tokyo and America is seeking to maintain a historically close relationship. The move that Jiabao is sending to Hatoyama with the appointment of Cheng is that China got the message about increasing relations with Korea and China and that they are slowly implementing a program that will meet both countries stated objectives.

Is the current Japanese government ready to be an international player? Is a move towards increased relations with China the correct step for Japan at this point? Are Japan and China capable of working together in a meaningful and functional way, for the benefit of both?

Of course, these questions are yet to be answered. In regards to Hatoyama, and the current government's readiness to become a true international source of power, I think that the Japanese government is making the right initial steps, to make the nation a touch more dynamic and global. Japan cannot continue to ignore the realities of Asia and the accumulated power of Japan, Korea and China. The three, when working together on issues and counter-balancing each others independent power in favour of a consensus can accomplish great things in the region. As a condition to this, China is certainly going to have to put pressure on North Korea to give up ambitious weapons programs and to make steps in the direction of normalcy. Japan will have to open domestic markets and allow Korean and Chinese companies more inroads in Japan.

In regards to the question about the move towards a closer relationship with Tokyo and Beijing. The move is definitely coming at the right time. With the financial meltdown caused in large part by the sluggish American economy, the Japanese, and the rest of the world are second guessing American capitalism and the free flow of credit backed by international investors. The appointment of a Japanese- friendly Ambassador by China is a seemingly small step towards improving relations, but these seemingly small steps are starting to add up, and there is little doubt that relations between China and Japan are growing closer.

Yes, China and Japan are capable of working together. The Democratic Party of Japan has been welcoming the growing ties and the Chinese have a lot to gain by winning Japanese hearts and minds. As China grows closer to Japan over time, they will be increasingly seen as a legitimate power in global affairs and Asian affairs specifically. Japan has much to gain from balancing relationships with China and America, because being well placed in the middle of two giants has its advantages.

The appointment of Cheng as the representative of Beijing in Tokyo will be another positive step in the direction of Japanese-Chinese relations and the ultimate out-come of such moves will bring about a net benefit for both Japan and China.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa are under constant criticism by the Japanese media, regarding some allegedly sketchy financial deals and some questionable election funding. The continued probes are limiting the ability of the Democrats to govern effectively. As of Monday the DPJ will be beginning their first ordinary Diet session and will be under increased attack from the Liberal Democrats regarding the financial affairs of the both Hatoyama and Ozawa.

The Democrats have been battling with the problems for quite sometime now, and the subsequent investigations into some of the funding has led to arrests and ruined political careers inside the ruling party. Tomohiro Ishikawa a DPJ Lower House member was arrested on Friday in connection with financial irregularities, in connection with Ozawa's political funding. Ishikawa, is only the latest political victim of the Ozawa scandal. Two former Ozawa aides are facing the justice system over the 2004 Tokyo land deal when a reported ¥400 million changed hands without being registered. (1)

Currently, the members of the Democrat's coalition government are urging Ozawa to come clean on his financial dealings. According to an article on the front page of Saturday's edition of The Japan Times, the Secretaries General of both the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) are calling for an explanation from Ozawa. “I expect (Ozawa) to make efforts to dispel public doubts,” said SDP Secretary General Yasumasa Shigeno. (2)

Prime Minister Hatoyama's financial dealings are also under a cloud of suspicion, but the Prime Minister has demonstrated a better ability than Ozawa to rise above the criticism. Hatoyama's financial donations in the lead up to his campaign and election last summer are under scrutiny and will be viciously challenged by the Liberal Democrats in the coming months. Hatoyama faces questions arising from his list of campaign contributors. It has become apparent that the Prime Minister's secretary had attempted to spread Hatoyama's family donations to a larger base of individual contributors. Hatoyama's family is extremely wealthy, due to the fact that his maternal grandfather was the man behind Bridgestone Corp. The Prime Minister's secretary apparently took large family donations and attributed them to a broader base of individuals, thus appearing that Hatoyama had a broader support base than he actually did. Some of the listed contributors were in fact no longer physically able to make donations, as they currently reside in the grave-yard. “It was only with media reports that deceased people had been falsely listed in Hatoyama's political fund reports as funding donors, and subsequent accusations from a citizens' organization, that the murky flow of vast amounts of funds surrounding the prime minister came to light.,” (3) reported the Mainichi Daily News in December.

The funding issues surrounding two of the Democrat's biggest political names could possibly have negative consequences in the upcoming House of Councilors election slated for July. Both Hatoyama and Ozawa will have to successfully deflect growing criticism from the media, the Liberal Democrats, the public and coalition partners in order to take full control of the governance of Japan.

(1) http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100116a1.html
(2) Kyodo. "Come Clean, DPJ's partners tell Ozawa." The Japan Times [Tokyo] Saturday, January 16th, 2010 , 3rd Edition, Front: A1.
(3) http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20091225p2a00m0na014000c.html

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan is an institution. The party had controlled the government of Japan for fifty years, relatively uninterrupted. However, with a bitter defeat in last year's election by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the once long serving party is in transition. The Liberal Democrats will not be returning to power, unless they restructure internally and provide some direction for the country.

The LDP had been guiding Japan's economy and foreign policy with a tried, tested and true philosophy that collapsed with the global economy a few years back, and most recently led to the embarrassing defeat in last summer's House of Representatives election. The loss was more of a referendum on the LDP leadership and ruling mentality, than it was a vote of confidence in the DPJ's ability. With voters disenfranchised, the polling numbers were drastically low, in an election that would re-shape the Japanese economy and global outlook. Voter turnout was estimated at roughly 50% in the election, but strong weather conditions and swine-flu (N1H1) apparently also kept voters from turning up. (1)

After so long, what went wrong for the Liberal Democrats?

Domestically, many news sources have attributed the fall of the LDP to the economic troubles that have recently rocked so many economies. This is no doubt a major factor in the defeat of the LDP. However, another reason that is less apparent was also at work when voters decided to hand the reigns to anyone other than the LDP. The Liberal Democrats had become a legacy party with a sense of entitlement, offering very few fresh ideas and little or no convincing arguments as to how they should, or even why they should fix the problems that had developed under their leadership. Rather, it was not only the economic plunges of the past few years that doomed the LDP, but it was also the lack of vision that the party displayed.

Kazuo Inamori, founder of Kyocera Corp, made the argument against Japan's virtual one party leadership in an October interview. Inamori believes that healthy debate and a government that shifts between parties is essential as Japan moves forward in the coming decade. "If government mismanagement provoked sharp criticism from the public and led to changes in power, political parties would naturally be imbued with a sense of tension, recognizing that only by delivering good government could they continue to rule."(2)

Current LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki has to truly lead his party into a new era, in order to reaffirm the Liberal Democrats place as the institutional government of Japan. The recreation and transformation into a new and healthy party will take time and effort on the part of the LDP senior leadership. The party does have one strong advantage; they have the know-how and experience to govern. According to today's Japan Times, "Tanigaki has launched a council within the LDP to redefine the party's political ideals and devise strategies to retake power from the DPJ-led coalition." (3)

It is yet to be seen if this council can reshape the party or the policies in any meaningful way. There is serious doubt that the new party will be anything different than the same old Liberal Democrats in new clothes. The party needs to go shopping in the private sector and attract a few stars to the fold. It also needs to learn tough lessons from their only major source of competition, the DPJ. One such lesson is to take an increased interest in the Asian community and to continue to develop and foster closer relations with China. The future success of the LDP heavily rests on their ability to promote a few fresh ideas while balancing this change with the policies that have made them a success in the past. In the past the LDP has been conceived as a fairly good financial steward and must principally regain this perception. As a few fresh ideas, they could offer increased funding of Japanese defence and ring the patriotic bell, they could focus on popular environmental issues, diplomatically, they could support increasing relations with China and South Korea.

(1) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8228278.stm
(2) The Statement as written appears in Inamori, Kazuo. "Finally, a True Change of Government." Japan Echo Dec. 2009: pg. 11. The original Japanese version apparently comes from "Hatoyama Minshu yo, katte kabuto no o o shimeyo," Bungei Shunju, October 2009, pp.106-113.
(3) "LDP stumbles along the comeback trail." The Japan Times 9 Jan. 2010: A3.