Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule May 6-19

May 6, 2013 (Mon)

AM
07:11 Fujisakura Country Club; Golfing with Mrs. Abe; Mr. Kouichi Hagyuda, LDP Lower House member; Mr. Honda, Councilor of Cabinet Secretariat; and secretaries

PM
03:49 JR Ootski Station
04:07 Leave the station
05:16 Arrive at JR Shinjuku Station
05:34 Dinner with Mrs. Yoko Abe, Mother; and Mrs. Abe
08:20 Home in Tomigaya
09:02 Deputy Prime Minister Aso
10:46 Mr. Aso leaves

May 7, 2013 (Tue)

AM
08:54 Office
08:56 Former Prime Minister Yoshirou Mori
09:33 Ministerial Meeting
09:58 Imperial Palace; report of return

10:14 Office
10:54 Defense Minister Onodera; Mr. Kuroe, MoD Operation and Planning Bureau Director General; Mr. Iwasaki, SDF Director Joint Chiefs
11:34 Education Minister Shimomura; Deputy Education Minister Yamanaka; Mr. Nunomura, MEXT Elementary and Secondary Education Bureau Director General
11:43 Economic Revitalization Minister Amari
11:44 Mr. Matsumoto, Administrative Vice Minister of Cabinet Office, joins
11:47 Mr. Matsumoto leaves
11:53 Mr. Amari leaves
11:55 Mayor Kazuo Morishita of Ogasawara, Tokyo Prefecture

PM
12:04 Government・Ruling Party Liaison Meeting
12:55 Parliament
01:00 Upper House Budget Committee
05:15 Office
05:23 Courtesy Call from Minister of Foreign Affairs of the French Republic Mr. Laurent Fabius
05:47 Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy
06:45 Mr. Yachi, Councilor of Cabinet Office
06:54 Mrs. Junko Kawaguchi, Upper House Environment Committee Chair
07:13 Hotel New Ootani, Attend LDP Nikai Faction Party
07:33 Dinner with Yutaka Nishizawa, President of Jiji Press; and Mr. Shirou Tasaki, Jiji’s editorial writer, at Japanese restaurant Wadakura
09:36 Home in Tomigaya

May 8, 2013 (Wed)

AM
07:43 Office
08:52 Parliament
09:12 Governor Haruhiko Kurada of the Bank of Japan
09:39 Upper House Budget Committee

PM
12:01 Office
12:54 Parliament
12:57 Mr. Masuzoe, President of New Party Reform (Kaikaku)
01:12 Upper House Budget Committee
04:39 Dentist
04:56 Office
05:01 Mr. Kitamura, Director, Cabinet Intelligence
05:08 Foreign Minister Kishida
05:24 Education Rebuilding Implementation Council
06:16 Education Minister Shimomura
06:37 Residence; Dinner with Mr. Shigeo Nagashima, former Manager of Yomiuri Giants; Mr. Hideki Matsui, former baseball player for the New York Yankees; and Mr. Tsuneo Watanabe, Chair of Yomiuri Group; and Mr. Yoshio Okubo, President of Nippon TV; Mr. Suga attends
08:42 home in Tomigaya

May 9, 2013 (Thu)

AM
09:16 office
09:17 Mr. Sugiyama, MoFA Asia Oceaninan Bureau Director General
10:11 Imperial Palace;
11:15 Office
11:48 Economic Revitalization Minister Amari; METI Minister Motegi; Mr. Ishiguro, METI Industrial Policy Bureau Director General; and Mr.Sugawara, Manufacturing Industry Bureau Director General

PM
01:20 Imperial Palace
01:52 Office
02:34 Mr. Kitamura
03:14 Interview with the Huffington Post Japanese Version, Arianna Huffington, Japan Editor-in-Chief Shigeki Matsuura and International Editor Nicholas Sabloff
03:38 Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery Minister Hayashi; and Mr. Minagawa, Administrative Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishry
04:09 Defense Minister Onodera; and Mr. Tokuchi, MoD Policy Bureau Director General
04:33 Mr. McNerney, CEO of Boeing
05:12 Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Kawai; Deputy Foreign Minister Saiki; and Mr. Kouzuki, MoFA European Affairs Bureau Director General
05:35 Advisory Council on the Establishment of a National Security Council
06:35 Residence; Dinner with Mr. Kouichi Sugiyama, Composer; Ms. Michiko Hasegawa, Professor Emeritus of Saitama University; and others
08:01 Mr. Oota, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and transportation; and Mr. Arai, New Party Reform Secretary General at a Japanese Bar Restaurant Yottegansho
09:19 Home in Tomigaya

May 10, 2013 (Fri)

AM
08:07 Office
08:09 Mr. Shindo, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications
09:53 Parliament
10:01 Upper House Plenary Session
11:15 Office
11:47 Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Chair of “Beijing-Tokyo Forum"

PM
12:11 Mr. Ichirou Aisawa, Chair of LDP Election System Reform; Mr. Takuya Hirai, Net Media Director; and Mr. Shigeki Satou, Acting Policy Research Council Chair
12:52 Parliament
12:54 Mr. Tamura, Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare
01:02 Lower House Plenary Session
03:26 Office
03:45 Deputy Foreign Minister Saiki
04:52 Fuji TV
05:00 Appear on News Program
06:19 Office
06:22 Defense Minister Onodera; Mr. Tokuchi, MoD Policy Bureau Director General; and Mr. Ihara, MoFA North American Bureau Director General
07:06 Residence; Dinner with Mr. Minomonta, TV Show Host; and Mr. Toshihiro Nikai, Acting LDP General Affairs Chair
08:40 Mr. Mino Leaves
08:49 Mr. Nikai leaves
09:05 Home in Tomigaya

May 11, 2013 (Sat)

AM
10:35 Exercise in Nagomi Spa and Fitness at Grand Hyatt Tokyo in Roppongi

PM
01:25 Lunch with Mr. Taniguchi, Cabinet Office Councilor; and secretaries at French Kitchen
02:13 Watch Movie “Lincoln” with his secretaries in Roppongi Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills
05:09 Interview with Foreign Affairs
06:23 Join concert of Mr. Kousetsu Minami in Hibiya Outdoor Music Hall; Sing some songs
06:46 Dinner with his classmates at Seikei University
10:30 Home in Tomigaya

May 12, 2013 (Sun)
Visit Miyagi Prefecture, earthquake affected areas, SDF base to ride on a fighter get

APP on Huffington Post Live!

Today, April 4, APP director Mindy Kotler joined APP member Ms. Shihoko Goto of the Wilson Center Asia Program, Ms. Yuki Tatsumi of the Stimson Centers, and Professor Thomas Berger of Boston University on Huffington Post Live to discussion whether Japan is moving away from pacifism.

Ms. Kotler was hesitant to characterize Japan as pacifist. The country has substantive defense forces. Even during the discussion of the postwar constitution there was a strong emphasis on maintaining self-defense. Today, Japan's defense forces are sophisticated and capable. It's Maritime Self Defense Force is a potent blue water fleet. What is true is that Japan has refrained from using its defense forces and has been a free rider on the United States. The "alliance" is a linguistic construct designed to legitimatize the American defense of Japan.

Today's Asia is economically and politically stronger than after WWII. Independent democracies with feisty publics exist. What is happening is threefold: 1) the United States no longer wants to carry the full burden of Japan's defense; 2) Japanese politicians want to test the American commitment to the country's defense; and 3) Japan's neighbors are asserting their own nationalism and question Japan's rhetoric of change. 

The new Abe government, abjectly  unapologetic about Japan's aggressive wartime past, worries its neighbors. It is not that the self-defense forces will get any stronger, but the Japanese leaders making the decisions are viewed as militarists with retrogressive views of Asian history and culture. The judgement of Japan's leaders is what worries many. Unilateral actions and militarist rhetoric further undermine trust. This is the danger ahead.