Germany, not Japan, as Essential Partner of the United States

By Dr. Lily Gardner Feldman, APP member and Director, Society, Culture and Politics Program, American Institute for Contemporary German Studies/Johns Hopkins University

This essay first appeared as "Der wichtigste Partner" in the special anniversary edition of the Deutsche Welle magazine Weltzeit, no. 3, 2013, p12-13. See HERE English.

As the German-American partnership entered its seventh decade in 2010, German leaders, politicians and analysts began to fear the relationship was undergoing fundamental, negative change: Germany would no longer be the key player for the United States as President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton “pivoted” or “rebalanced” to the Asia Pacific. Resources liberated by disengagement from Iraq and Afghanistan would allow the U.S to be “a diplomatic, economic, and strategic force for the 21st century” in the Asia Pacific region, now “the key driver of global politics.”

The proponents of such policy change argue this will be “America’s Pacific Century” with Barack Obama as “America’s first Pacific president.” At the center is a revival of Cold War thinking, restructuring the alliance with Japan to contain an ascendant China.

German and American critics of the new orientation cite the continued centrality of Europe for the U.S.: the EU constitutes the biggest trade partner for the U.S.; the EU and the U.S still represent 50% of the world’s GDP; mutual foreign direct investment amounts to some $3 trillion. Despite differences in approach, the EU continues as America’s most reliable partner in key international challenges from Afghanistan to the Balkans to the Middle East. Japan, by contrast, is a security partner only if Cold War concepts restore Japan’s role as a bulwark against Asian communism.

Since President Obama’s re-election, the administration also has begun to downplay the “pivot,” arguing against an either-or proposition economically or politically: “this cannot and will not come at the expense of Europe” (Undersecretary Hormats); “President Obama and I continue to believe that Europe is the cornerstone of our engagement with the rest of the world (Vice President Biden).” Secretary Clinton revised her initial proposition to suggest that, as partners, the U.S. and Europe must pivot together to Asia. The Administration has matched reality to rhetoric, balancing the Trans- Pacific Partnership negotiations by proposing negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, an idea warmly endorsed by Chancellor Merkel.

Many observers point to “soft power” values that bind the U.S., Germany and Europe: “open markets, freedom, tolerance and democracy” (Ambassador Murphy). Many of these values are shared, as well, with Japan, but Germany has made a unique contribution to tolerance and international friendship, which Japan cannot replicate. Germany was able to emerge as a trusted ally due in large part to its comprehensive, complex and successful policy of reconciliation with its former enemies that has defined its foreign relations for the last 7 decades and is absent in Japan.

As U.S. Military Governor in Germany in July 1949, John McCloy intoned: “The world will carefully watch the new West German state, and one of the tests by which it will be judged will be its attitude towards the Jews and how it treats them.” The new German state heeded the American advice and successive German governments developed a “special relationship” with the Israeli government and Israeli society. At the same time, Germany was pursuing a policy of reconciliation with France, the “hereditary enemy,” at both the official (Aussöhnung) and non-governmental (Versöhnung) levels. Later, especially after the end of the Cold War, Germany pursued similar policies with Poland and the Czech Republic. Germany’s political and moral foreign policy of reconciliation has enabled its return to the “family of nations” and its place as respected regional and global leader.

Japanese society and some Japanese governments have made sporadic, tentative, and infant steps toward reconciliation with former Asian subjects of a Japanese Empire, but these pale in comparison with Germany’s consistent, committed initiatives. Today conservative forces in Japan are rethinking even these modest efforts. The territorial disputes Japan has with both China and South Korea are ultimately explosive because the populations in these two countries feel Japan has inadequately faced its past as an aggressor and perpetrator. As a result, despite its economic importance, Japan cannot enjoy the regional and global stature and reputation conferred on Germany.

As a boy in Berlin, John Kerry, the new American Secretary of State, witnessed first-hand the remarkable path to rehabilitation Germany began to pursue in the early 1950s. When he returned in February 2013, there was both personal and political reflection in his words: “Germany is without doubt one of our strongest and most effective allies in the world, and we are very, very grateful for your leadership, the leadership of your government, and the sustaining friendship of your people because it has made a difference.” Secretary of State Clinton had chosen Asia as her first foreign trip. Kerry chose Europe.

Abenomics Explained

The catchy, clever phrase "Abenomics" is being marketed hard by the Abe team. The new Japanese Administration is trying to position its economic policy as something new and distintive; as more of a catch phrase than a fragile complex of monetary maneuvers. They want it to be a "movement" where the voters feel invested in Abe's success in handling the economy.

Thus, it is no surprise that the economic program is being boiled down for the masses through various popular culture mediums. The new J-pop, girl band Machikado keiki Japan [“Street Corner Conditions JAPAN”] is a prominent part of this trend. The girls raise and lower their skirts along with the stock market--the objective appears to be underwear.

They have just released their first single Abeno☆MIX where they literally sign the praises of Abenomics. The music video is above. You can follow the girls at their website that has the links to their Facebook and Twitter.

These new pop idols are another brainchild of the Alice Project. One needs to ask now what are the politics of the owners of the Alice Project.

Monday in Washington

REDUCING GLOBAL WEAPONS DANGERS: BOLSTERING THE NPT AND BUILDING THE NEW ATT REGIME. 5/6, 9:00am -1:30pm. Sponsor: Arms Control Association. Speakers: Ellen Tauscher, former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security; Leon Sigal, director of the Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Project at the Social Science Research Council; Joel Wit, visiting scholar, U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS; Rachel Stohl, Stimson senior associate and ACA board member and consultant to the president of the talks; Frank Jannuzi, head of the Washington office of Amnesty Intl. USA.

THE DRONE NEXT DOOR. 5/7, 9:00am-1:45pm. Sponsor: New America Foundation. Speakers: Will Saletan, National Correspondent, Slate; Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Arizona's 4th Congressional District; Rosa Brooks, Bernard L. Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation, Former Special Coordinator for Rule of Law & International Humanitarian Policy, U.S. Dept. of Defense; Missy Cummings, Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT; Michael Toscano, President and CEO, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International; Shane Harris, National Security Writer, Washingtonian; Konstantin Kakaes, Bernard L. Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation; Joseph Hall, Senior Staff Technologist, Center for Democracy & Technology; Matthew Waite, Journalism Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Founder, Drone Journalism Lab; Don Roby, Captain, Baltimore County Police Department; Carter Roberts, President and CEO, World Wildlife Fund; Robbie Hood, Director of Unmanned Aerial Systems, NOAA; Suzanne Goldenberg, US Environment Correspondent, The Guardian; Daniel Rothenberg, Professor of Practice; Executive Director, Center for Law and Global Affairs, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University; Catherine Crump, Staff Attorney, American Civil Liberties Union; Del. Ben Cline, 24th District, Virginia House of Delegates; Matt Wald, Technology Reporter, New York Times.

AMERICA'S NATURAL GAS: SHOULD EXPORTS BE RESTRICTED? 5/7, 10:00am-12:30pm. Sponsor: AEI. Speakers: Claude Barfield, AEI; Ken Ditzel, Charles River Associates; David Montgomery, NERA Economic Consulting; Wallace Tyner, Purdue University; Benjamin Zycher, AEI; Arthur C. Brooks, AEI; Nirupama Rao, Indian Ambassador to the United States.

INDIA’S MARITIME SECURITY CHALLENGES. 5/7, 10:30am-Noon. Sponsor: SAIS’s South Asia Studies Program and East West Center (EWC). Speaker: Commodore (Ret.) C. Uday Bhaskar, Indian Navy; National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi, India.

DIVIDED NATIONS: WHY GLOBAL GOVERNANCE IS FAILING AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT. 5/6, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: World Bank. Speakers: Ian Goldin, author, Director of the Oxford Martin School, Oxford University; Otaviano Canuto,Vice President and Head of Network, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network, World Bank.

THE VIEW FROM GERMANY: PIVOT TO REALITY -- NEW STRATEGIES FOR THE WEST. 5/6, 5:00-7:00pm. Sponsor: Elliot School, GW. Speakers: Hans-Ulrich Klose, Member of German Bundestag; Pia Bungarten, Director, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung's Washington, D.C. Office; Hope M. Harrison, Associate Professor of History and International Affairs, GW.

A CONVERSATIONON INDONESIA’S FOREIGN AND ECONOMIC POLICIES. 5/6, 6:00-8:00pm. Sponsor: Women’s Foreign Policy Group (WFPG). Speaker: H.E. Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Ambassador of Indonesia to the United States.

Abe in the Tank

Americans snickered this week at the viral photo of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a tank wearing a helmut. It recalled a similar image of failed presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.

Above is the full event of Abe boarding and then disembarking from the tank. TBS has already removed its video, but there are many personal videos of the visit. The still does not do the event justice.

As you can see, the Abe photo was not taken at a military base or at a JGSDF tank exercise. On April 27, he was visiting Nico Nico Douga, Japan’s popular video-sharing website's, second Nico Nico Chokaigi fan event at the Makuhari Messe center. Geeks, gamers, and cosplayers came out in record numbers.

click for synopsis

Near the Japan Self-Defense Force and U.S. Forces booth, a Type-10 MBT tank was on display for fans of the new tank-based anime Girls und Panzer. Teenage school girls apparently service and command tanks as a required school sport. In this alternative universe, Sensha-dō (戦車道, lit. "Way of the Tank"), the art of operating combat tanks has become a traditional martial art. Third Reich imagery pervades.

Abe's minister without portfolio for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Tomohiko Taniguchi, although familiar with American politics, ignored one of its critical rules. Never, ever let your candidate wear a hat, any hat, ever. But geek (otaku) culture is part of today's Japan and it is among these disaffected that Abe is turning to for support in his quest for constitutional change. Play-acting is natural for those potential voters.

This not the first time that Abe appealed to Japan's otaku. On election eve in December 2012, Abe gave a speech from a van in Akihabara. As reported on Kotaku, an English-language website for serious gamers, some found the flag waving amidst the displays for video games and girl bands disturbing.

The other golden PR rule in American politics is not to be seen with clowns. But Japan is not the United States.

Japan speaks in Washington

In Japan, this is Golden Week. For Washington this means that there will an influx of official visitors from Japan.

The following Cabinet ministers are expected in Washington this week:

Foreign Affairs Minister Kishida Fumio
Education Minister Shimomura Hakubun*
Economics and Trade Minister Motegi Toshimitsu
Defense Minister Onodera Itsunori
Public Safety Commissioner Furuya Keiji* (visited Yasukuni 4/21/13)
Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy Yamamoto Ichita
Senior Vice Minister of Cabinet Office Nishimura Yasutoshi

*signed ad criticizing the validity of Comfort Women claims in the November 4, 2012 New Jersey Star Ledger. Minister Furuya also visited Palisades Park, New Jersey in May 2012 to ask the mayor to remove a memorial to the Comfort Women.

Here are the public events on Japan we know of and will update as needed:

ABENOMICS AND THE FUTURE OF U.S.-JAPAN RELATIONS: JAPAN’S GROWTH STRATEGY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE U.S. ECONOMY. 4/29, 5:00-6:00pm. Sponsor: US-Japan Research Institute. Speaker: The Honorable Yasutoshi Nishimura, Senior Vice Minister of Cabinet Office.

US-JAPAN ADVANCED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SYMPOSIUM: LINEAR COLLIDER COLLABORATION (LCC). 4/30, 1:00-5:30pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: KEK, the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization; Government of Japan. Keynote Speakers: Minister of Education Hirofumi Shimomura; Member of the House of Representatives Takeo Kawamura, Chair of Diet League to Support ILC; Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman; Japan Innovation Conference Chair Hiroshi Masuda; Executive Office of the President, Physical Sciences Deputy Jerry Blazey; ILC U.S. Regional Chief Mike Harrison . Location: Willard Intercontinental Hotel, 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. (location given as not mentioned on agenda)

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC GROWTH: A US –JAPAN PUBLIC-PRIVATE FORUM. 4/30, 3:00-5:00pm. Sponsor: Carnegie. Speaker: John P. Holdren, assistant to the president for science and technology, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology; Hakubun Shimomura, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, and Science and Technology; and Ichita Yamamoto, Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy; Dr. Michiharu Nakamura (President, Japan Science and Technology Agency); Dr. Hidetoshi Kotera (Executive Vice-President for External Strategy, Knowledge & Technology Transfer and Innovation, Kyoto University); Mr. Mitsuhiko Yamashita (Member of the Board and Executive Vice President, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.);Dr. Keiji Kojima (Vice President and Executive Officer/General Manager, Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Research Laboratory); Dr. Keith R. Yamamoto (Vice Chancellor for Research, UCSF and Executive Vice Dean, School of Medicine); Dr. Charles M. Vest (President, National Academy of Engineering and President Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

INDIA-JAPAN PARTNERSHIP: ITS CHANGING DYNAMICS IN THE POST-COLD WAR YEARS. 5/1, 12:30-1:45pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Sigur Center, George Washington University. Speaker: Dr. K.V. Kesavan, specialist in the field of Japanese Studies, distinguished fellow at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.

ELEVEN PLUS ONE: JAPAN'S BID TO JOIN THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP. 5/1, 8:00am-2:00pm. Sponsor: Global Business Dialogue (GBD). Speakers: Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, Acting United States Trade Representative; The Hon. Clayton Yeutter (invited) of Hogan Lovells, Wendy Cutler from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Everett Eissenstat from the Senate Finance Committee staff, Nick Giordano of the National Pork Producers Council, Bill Lane of Caterpillar, Paul Neureiter of Amgen.

INNOVATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: JOINT DEVELOPMENT WITH THE U.S. AND JAPAN. 5/1, 10:30am-12:40pm, lunch, Washington, DC. Sponsor: US-Japan Research Institute. Speaker: Hakubun Shimomura, Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

ABDUCTIONS OF JAPANESE CITIZENS BY NORTH KOREA. 5/2, 2:30-5:00pm. Sponsor: Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC), Embassy of Japan. Speakers: Keiji Furuya, Japan’s Minister of State for the Abduction Issues; Ambassador Robert King, US Special Envoy, North Korean Human Rights Issues; Dr. Victor Cha, Senior Advisor and Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS).

THE MAUREEN AND MIKE MANSFIELD FOUNDATION 30TH ANNIVERSARY CAPITOL HILL SYMPOSIUM. 5/3, 9:00am-Noon. Sponsor: Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. Speakers: Walter F. Mondale, former Vice President of the United States and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan; J. Thomas Schieffer, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan; Susan Pharr, Professor of Japanese Politics, Harvard University; Robert Kimmitt, former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and Under Secretary of State; Kenichiro Sasae, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States of America; Kurt Campbell, Founding Partner, Chairman and CEO, The Asia Group, LLC.

GROWTH, ENERGY, AND ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP: JAPAN’S CURRENT OBSTACLES AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES. 5/3, 3:00-3:50pm. Sponsor: CNAPS Brookings. Speakers: Toshimitsu Motegi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan; Mireya Solís, Senior Fellow and Philip Knight Chair in Japan Studies, Brookings.

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule March 23-31

March 23, 2013 (Sat)

AM
08:36 Three Hundred Club, a golf course in Chigasaki City, Kawanagawa; Golf with relatives and secretaries

PM
04:56 Home in Tomigaya
06:36 Dinner with Mr. Tatsunori Hara, Manager of Tokyo Yomiuri Giants (baseball team); Mr. Amari, Minister of Economic Revitalization; and Mr. Matsushita, Parliamentary Secretary of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation
09:14 Home

March 24, 2013 (Sun)

Visit Fukushima Prefecture

PM
06:11 French Restaurant Hotel du Mikuni; dinner with the family of Ms. Kin Birei, an analyst
08:19 Home in Tomigaya

March 25, 2013 (Mon)

AM
09:02 Office
09:11 Mr. Sekou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
09:52 Parliament
10:01 Upper House Plenary Session
11:21 Office
11:37 Mr. Hiromitsu Takezaki, Supreme Court Chief Justice

PM
12:02 Mr. Takezaki leaves
02:01 Deputy Foreign Minister Saiki; and Mr. Kouzuki, MoFA European Affairs Bureau Director General
02:37 Mr. Amari, Minister for Economic Revitalization; Mr. Matsumoto, Administrative Vice Minister of Cabinet Office; and Mr. Matsuyama, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Office
03:01 Mr. Furuya, Minister of Disaster Prevention
03:21 Mr. Dick Costolo, President and CEO of Twitter
03:51 Administrative Vice Defense Minister Kanazawa
04:25 Mr. Yamamoto, Minister of Okinawa and Northern Territory Affairs
04:59 LDP Headquarters
05:02 LDP Executives meeting
05:35 Mr. Kouichi Sugiyama, Music Composer
05:50 Office
05:55 Mr. Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Katou, Mr. Sekou, and Mr. Sugita, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries
06:25 Conference call with President Van Rompuy and President Barroso of European Commission
07:17 Conversation with Mr. Shigeo Kitamura, Mr. Tadayoshi Nagashima, and other LDP members who were elected for the Lower House for the first time in 2005 election; LDP Secretary General Ishiba attends
07:43 Conversation with PM’s beat reporters
09:39 Home in Tomigaya

March 26, 2013 (Tue)

AM
07:39 Office
07:47 The Central Disaster Prevention Council
08:09 Ministerial Meeting
08:32 Ministerial Council on the Promotion of Japan as a Tourism-Oriented Country
09:39 Mr. Ihara, MoFA North American Affairs Bureau Director General; and Mr. Nishi, MoD Policy Bureau Director General
10:39 Both leave
10:55 Ambassador Roos of the US; and Senator Bob Corker of the US
11:30 Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Kawai; Deputy Foreign Minister Saiki; and Mr. Sugiyama, MoFA Asia and Oceania Affairs Bureau Director General
11:58 Reconstruction Promotion Committee

PM
01:11 Attend “Joint Memorial Ceremony for Those Who Died in Algerian Plant Terrorist Attack” hosted by Nikki
02:41 LDP headquarters
02:50 Ms. Takaichi, LDP Policy Research Council Director; Mr. Miyazawa, her deputy; and Mr. Mitsuya, Vice Chair
03:25 Office
04:07 Courtesy Call from the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, Mr. Guillaume Soro
04:32 Mayor Tomoaki Nakao of Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture
04:44 Mr. Kitamura, Director, Cabinet Intelligence
05:09 Administrative Vice Defense Minister Kanazawa
05:30 Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy
06:40 Meeting ends
07:02 Dinner with Mr. Suga, Mr. Kunio Hatoyama, LDP Lower House member, and others at Restaurant Sagagyu Ginza Kiraku
09:14 Home in Tomigaya

March 27, 2013 (Wed)
PM
08:24 Office
08:31 Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting
08:49 Mr. Sekou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
09:29 Mr. Sekou leaves
08:54 Parliament
10:00 Meeting of the House of Councillors Committee on Financial Affairs

PM
12:00 Leave the meeting
12:04 Office
12:05 Mr. Yasuo Kawakami, Board Chair of Chofu Seisakujo
12:17 President Kousuke Obata of Japan Youth Committee
12:26 Mr. Shigetada Inouye, Chief Editor of Mainichi Shimbun
01:20 Mr. Suga, Mr. Katou, Mr. Sekou, and Mr. Sugita, Chief and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries
01:44 Courtesy Call from the External Affairs Minister of India, Mr. Salman Khurshid
02:09 Courtesy Call from the Representatives of the Boy Scouts who Received the Fuji Award
02:25 Courtesy Call from the Head of the Linear Collider Collaboration, Lyn Evans, an International Organization for Linear Colliders
02:40 Mr. Ootani, Deputy Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare
03:20 Observe the Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering and Science
03:55 Tokyo Women University; exchange opinion with patients
04:22 Press interview
04:40 Office
05:22 Mr. Yamamoto, Minister of Science and Technology
05:40 Foreign Minister Kishida; Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Kawai; Deputy Foreign Minister Saiki; and Mr. Sugiyama, MoFA Asia Oceania Affairs Bureau Director General
06:14 Courtesy Call from His Royal Highness Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
06:37 Mr. Shoutarou Yachi, Cabinet Office Councilor
06:54 Mr. Wataru Wataru, Justice of the International Court of Justice
07:08 Residence; Dinner with Mr. Masayoshi Shintani, LDP Lower House member and others
08:56 Home in Tomigaya

March 28, 2013 (Thu)

AM
07:43 Office
08:17 Mr. Katou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
08:55 Parliament
08:59 Lower House Budget Committee

PM
12:11 Office
12:12 Courtesy Call from Yokozuna Sumo Wrestler Hakuho
12:56 Parliament
12:59 Lower House Budget Committee
03:01 Lower House Plenary Session
03:11 Leave the session in the middle
03:14 Office
03:39 Defense Minister Onodera
03:55 Courtesy Call of Mr. Bregier, President and CEO of Airbus
04:23 Mr. Amari, Minister of Economic Revitalization
04:37 Mr. Katou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; Deputy Foreign Minister Saiki; Mr. Sugiyama, MoFA; Mr. Yamazaki, Ministry of Finance International Bureau Director General; and Mr. Ueda, METI Trade Policy Director General
05:24 Mr. Katou, Mr. Sugiyama, Mr. Yamazaki, and Mr. Ueda leave
05:27 Mr. Saiki leaves
05:37 Mr. Sugita
05:56 Strategic Headquarters for the Promotion of an Advanced Information and Telecommunications Network Society
06:17 Deputy Prime Minister Aso; and Mr. Furuya, National Public Safety Commission Chief
06:24 Council for Science and Technology Policy
06:32 Receive Recommendations on a Draft Proposal to Revise the Electoral Districts for House of Representatives Members Elected from Single-Seat Constituencies
07:30 Dinner with Mr. Yutaka Asahina, President of Mainichi Shimbun at Japanese Restaurant Kinsui
10:21 Home in Tomigaya

March 29, 2013 (Fri)

AM
07:14 Office
07:15 Mr. Sekou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
07:48 Parliament
07:57 Ministerial meeting
08:16 Mr. Sekou
09:00 Upper House Budget Committee

PM
12:36 Office
01:24 Parliament
01:31 Upper House Plenary Session
01:45 Office
02:31 LDP Headquarters
02:31 Photo taking with Upper House election candidates and Saitama Mayoral Election; Mr. Ishiba and Mr. Kawamura election affairs committee chair
03:08 Mr. Kawamura, LDP Election Affairs Committee Chair
03:19 Mr. Ishiba, LDP Secretary General
03:28 Office
04:00 Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Kawai; Deputy Foreign Minister Saiki; and Mr. Miyakawa, MoFA Middle East and African Affairs Bureau Director General
04:30 Mr. Miyakawa leaves
04:31 Mr. Sugiyama, MoFA Asia and Oceania Affairs Bureau Director General, joins
04:40 All leaves
04:45 Mr. Kitamura, Cabinet Intelligence Director
05:11 Mr. Rupert Murdoch, President and CEO of News Corporation
05:47 All leave
06:23 Advisory Council on the Establishment of a National Security Council
07:25 Leave the meeting
07:26 Industrial Competitiveness Council
08:25 Dinner with his secretaries at Restaurant Origami, The Capitol Hotel Tokyu
10:03 Home in Tomigaya

March 30, 2013 (Sat)

First Day of the Prime Minister's Visit to Mongolia

March 31, 2013 (Sun)

Second Day of the Prime Minister's Visit to Mongolia

PM
04:46 Arrive at Haneda Airport
05:20 Home in Tomigaya

Monday in Washington

MOMENTUM BUILDS FOR TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY. 4/29, 11:30am-1:00pm. Sponsor: Women in International Trade (WIIT). Speakers: Rachael Leman, Deputy Staff Director, House Rules Committee, Office of Congressman Pete Sessions (TX-32); Nicole Venable, Bockorny Group; Amie Ahanchian, Managing Director, KPGM LLP.

WHY THE UNITED STATES SHOULD ERR ON THE SIDE OF TOO MANY (NOT TOO FEW) NUCLEAR WEAPONS. 4/29, Noon-1:30pm. Sponsor: Elliott School, George Washington University. Speaker: Matt Kroenig, Assistant Professor of Government at George Washington University.

PROSPECTS AND PITFALLS: THE ARAB WORLD TWO YEARS ON. 4/29, Noon-2:00pm. Sponsor: World Bank. Speaker: Marwan Muasher, Vice President for Studies at Carnegie, author, The Arab Center. 

DEALING WITH NORTH KOREA'S INCREASED BELLIGERENCE. 4/29, Noon-2:00pm. Sponsor: Carnegie. Speakers: L. Gordon Flake, executive director of the Mansfield Foundation; Paul Haenle, director of the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy based at Tsinghua University in Beijing; Jin Canrong, vice president of international relations and a professor at Renmin University’s School of International Studies; Zhang Chuanjie, resident scholar at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy; Zhu Feng, professor at Peking University’s School of International Studies. 

TAIWAN'S RESPONSE TO AN EVOLVING SECURITY ENVIRONMENT. 4/29, 2:00-4:15pm. SponsorS: CSIS’s Freeman Chair in China Studies and Brookings’ CNAPS. Speakers: Richard Bush, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution; Bonnie S. Glaser, Senior Adviser for Asia, Freeman Chair in China Studies, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Andrew N.D. Yang, Vice Minister of National Defense for Policy, Ministry of National Defense, Republic of China (Taiwan); Chia-Sheng Chen, Director, Defense Net Assessment Division, Department of Integrated Assessment, Ministry of National Defense, Republic of China (Taiwan); Phillip Saunders, Director, Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University.

CONSERVATION, CIVIL SOCIETY AND TIBET: A VIEW FROM BEIJING. 4/29, 3:00-4:30pm. Sponsor: Elliot School, GW. Speaker: Liu Jianqiang, Beijing Editor, Chinadialogue.net. 

CHINA’S FOREIGN POLICY AND CHINA-US RELATIONS. 4/29, 3:00-4:00pm. Sponsor: Sigur Center and Confucius Institute, GW, Chinese Embassy’s Education Office. Speakers: David Shambaugh, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs; Jingxing Zhou, Political Counselor, Political Office, Chinese Embassy in the U.S.

FUTURE OF U.S.-INDIA RELATIONS: BEYOND THE PLATEAU. 4/29, 3:00-4:00pm. Sponsor: Heritage Foundation and Observer Research Foundation. Speakers: H.E. Nirupama Rao, Ambassador to the United States from India; C. Raja Mohan, Head, Strategic Studies and Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation; Vikram Sood, Vice President, Center for International Relations, Observer Research Foundation; Derek Scissors, Senior Research Fellow for Economics, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation; Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow on South Asia, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation; Sunjoy Joshi, Director, Observer Research Foundation; James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., E.W. Richardson Fellow and Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation.

CHINA’S DEVELOPMENT FINANCE TO AFRICA: A MEDIA-BASED APPROACH TO DATA COLLECTION. 4/29, 4:00-5:30pm. Sponsor: Center for Global Development (CGD). Speakrs: Andreas Fuchs, Post-doctoral Fellow, Princeton University; Brad Parks, Executive Director, AidData; Vijaya Ramachandran, Senior Fellow, CGD; Yan Wang, Former Senior Economist, World Bank, Member, ECD-DAC China Study Group; Lawrence MacDonald, Vice President, Communications and Policy Outreach, CGD.

ABENOMICS AND THE FUTURE OF U.S.-JAPAN RELATIONS: JAPAN’S GROWTH STRATEGY AND ITS IMPACT ON THE U.S. ECONOMY. 4/29, 5:00-6:00pm. Sponsor: US-Japan Research Institute. Speaker: The Honorable Yasutoshi Nishimura, Senior Vice Minister of Cabinet Office. 

Finally the Washington Post Speaks Out

Prime Minister Abe

Reflecting the increasing dismay and exasperation of the Obama Administration with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Editorial Board of the Washington Post on Saturday, April 26th hectored Abe about his retrogressive views of the Pacific War, Imperial Japan, and patriotism. 

Most important, this editorial signals a significant public shift of governmental attitudes toward Japan. American officials are now willing to  point out Japan's historical revisionism as destabilizing to the region and insulting to Americans and Chinese alike. Expect more messages this coming Golden Week to Japan that these values and behaviors are unacceptable for an American ally. For example, appointments and pubic meetings with Japanese Cabinet members will be downgraded or canceled.

Confucius' lesson of the day: Men of totally different principles can never act together.

Shinzo Abe’s inability to face history
By Editorial Board, Published: April 26, 2013

FROM THE MOMENT last fall when Shinzo Abe reclaimed the office of Japanese prime minister that he had bungled away five years earlier, one question has stood out: Would he restrain his nationalist impulses — and especially his historical revisionism — to make progress for Japan?

Until this week, the answer to that question was looking positive. Mr. Abe has taken brave steps toward reforming Japan’s moribund economy. He defied powerful interest groups within his party, such as rice farmers, to join free-trade talks with the United States and other Pacific nations that have the potential to spur growth in Japan. He spoke in measured terms of his justifiable desire to increase defense spending.

This week he seemed willing to put all the progress at risk. Asked in parliament whether he would reconsider an official apology that Japan issued in 1995 for its colonization of Korea in the past century, Mr. Abe replied: “The definition of what constitutes aggression has yet to be established in academia or in the international community. Things that happened between nations will look differently depending on which side you view them from.”

Officials in South Korea and China responded with fury, and understandably so. Yes, history is always being reinterpreted. But there are such things as facts. Japan occupied Korea. It occupied Manchuria and then the rest of China. It invaded Malaya. It committed aggression. Why, decades after Germany solidified its place in Europe by facing history honestly, are facts so difficult for some in Japan to acknowledge?

We understand that South Korea and, to an even greater extent, China at times stoke anti-Japan sentiment for domestic political purposes. China distorts its own history and, unlike Japan, in many cases does not allow conflicting interpretations to be debated or studied. But none of that excuses the kind of self-destructive revisionism into which Mr. Abe lapsed this week.

An inability to face history will prejudice the more reasonable goals to which South Korea and China also object. Mr. Abe has valid reasons, given the defense spending and assertive behavior of China and North Korea, to favor modernization of Japan’s defense forces. He has good reason to question whether Japan’s “self-defense” constitution, imposed by U.S. occupiers after World War II, allows the nation to come to the aid of its allies in sufficient strength. But his ability to promote reform at home, where many voters remain skeptical, and to reassure suspicious neighbors plummets when he appears to entertain nostalgia for prewar empire.

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule March 11-22

March 11, 2013 (Mon)

AM
08:03 Office
08:05 Mr. Katou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
08:53 Parliament
09:00 Lower House Budget Committee

PM
12:07 Office
12:09 Foreign Minister Kishida; and Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Kawai
01:04 Mr. Ginanjar, Indonesian Presidential Committee member
01:17 Mr. Hisashi Yamaura and mr. Hiroyuki Shigematsu, New and Old Board of Audit Chair; Issue an appointment letter to Mr. Yamaura; Mr Sugita, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, attends
01:30 Mr. Ooishi, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications
02:15 National Theater, Hayato-chou; The Ceremony to Commemorate the Second Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake
03:42 Office
04:10 Mr. Katou and Mr. Sekou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries
04:30 Press Conference by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Commemorate the Second Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake; Reconstruction Minister Nemoto accompany
04:59 Parliament
05:01 LDP Executives Meeting
05:26 Mr. Ishiba, LDP Secretary General; Mr. Hosoda, Deputy; and Mr. Kawamura, Election Affairs Chair
05:43 Office
06:19 The Prime Minister Receives a Courtesy Call from Winners of the High School Speech Contest on the Northern Territories; Okinawa and Northern Territory Minister Yamamoto attends
06:46 Mr. Shoutarou Yauchi, Cabinet Office Councilor
07:03 Residence; Dinner with Professor Motoshige Itou of Tokyo University Graduate School and other members of Economic and Financial Policy Council; Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga and Economic Revitalization Minister Amari attend
08:59 Home in Tomigaya

March 12, 2013 (Tue)

AM
07:13 Office
07:15 Mr. Katou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
08:10 Mr. Katou leaves
08:18 Parliament
08:21 Ministerial meeting
09:00 Lower House Budget Committee
11:56 Office
11:58 Mr. Isozaki, Special Advisor For PM

PM
12:52 Parliament
12:59 Lower House Budget Committee
04:51 Mr. Kanazawa, Administrative Vice Defense Minister
04:59 Mr. Yonemura, Cabinet Crisis Management Director
05:09 Mr. Yonemura leaves
05:10 Mr. Nishi, MoD Defense Policy Bureau Director General; and Mr. Kinomura, Mr. Kinomura, Director of Defense Intelligence Headquarters
05:32 Mr. Kitamura, Mr. Nishi, and Mr. Kinomura leaves
05:44 Mr. Kurt Campbell, former Assistant Secretary of State; and Mr. Yoichi Funabashi, Chair of Japan Reconstruction Initiative
06:10 Mr. Mogi Tomozaburou, President Emeritus of Kikoman and Chair of Japan Germany Forum; Mr. Kinouchi, Parliamentary Secretary of Foreign Affairs
06:26 Courtesy Call from the Participants of the Japan-ASEAN Vice-Ministerial Level Meeting on Defense
06:46 Mr. Matsumoto, Administrative Vice Minister of Cabinet Office
07:13 Dinner with the first term LDP members at Chinese Restaurant Akasaka Shisen Hanten; Mr. Ishiba, and Mr. Kimura, Special Adviser for PM
08:45 Home in Tomigaya

March 13, 2013 (Wed)

AM
07:55 Office
07:59 Mr. Katou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
08:53 Parliament
08:59 Lower House Budget Committee

PM
12:03 Office
12:53 Parliament
01:00 Lower House Budget Committee
05:01 Office
05:10 Issue an appointment letter for Mr. Yasunori Yoshimura, Professor of Keio University to be Cabinet Office Councilor
05:23 The Ministerial Meeting on Strategy relating Infrastructure Export and Economic Cooperation
05:29 Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean Senior Minister Emeritus; and Singaporean Ambassador for Japan CHIN Siat Yoon
05:44 All leave
06:33 Advisory Council on the Establishment of a National Security Council
07:20 Dinner with press people at Arc Hills Club in Akasaka
09:25 Home in Tomigaya

March 14, 2013 (Thu)

AM
08:32 Office
08:42 Mr. Furuya, Minister in charge of Nation's Infrastructure Resilience
09:09 Mr. Kitamura, Director, Cabinet Intelligence
09:37 Mr. Nemoto, Minister of Reconstruction
09:56 Report from the Ruling Parties' Project Team on Ensuring the Safety of Japanese Nationals Abroad
10:35 Foreign Minister Kishida; and Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Kawai
11:06 Mr. Amari, Minister of Economic Revitalization
11:25 President Akio Toyota of Toyota Motors

PM
12:01 Mr. Toyota leaves
12:57 Parliament
01:02 Lower House Plenary Session
03:01 Leave the session in the middle
03:04 Office
03:35 Deputy Foreign Minister Saiki
03:45 Mr. Sugiyama, MoFA Asia Oceania Affairs Bureau Director General, joins
04:19 Mr. Sugiyama leaves
04:22 Mr. Saiki leaves
04:23 Mr. Furuya, Minister in charge of the Abduction Issue and Minister of State for Disaster Management
04:54 Mr. Ishihara, Minister of Environment
05:11 Defense Minister Onodera; MoD Administrative Vice Minister Kanazawa; and Mr. Iwasaki, JSDF Joint Staff Head
05:45 All leave
06:20 Japan-Sri Lanka Summit Meeting, Signing Ceremony for the Joint Statement and Joint Press Conference
07:19 Dinner hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Abe
08:31 See of Sri Lankan President
08:46 Liberal Democratic Party's Request on TPP
09:33 Home in Tomigaya

March 15, 2013 (Fri)

AM
07:53 Parliament
07:59 Global Warming Prevention Headquarters
08:14 Ministerial meeting
08:32 Ministerial Council on Monthly Economic Report and Other Relative Issues
09:04 Mr. Ishiba, LDP Secretary General; Ms. Noda, LDP General Affairs Chief; Ms. Takaichi, LDP Policy Research Council Chief; Mr. Seishirou Etou, LDP Foreign Policy and Economic Partnership Managing Director; Mr. Kimiya Nishikawa, LDP TPP Affairs Committee Chair
09:20 Mr. Etou and Mr. Nishikawa leaves
09:27 Meeting ends
09:31 Office
10:38 The Prime Minister Receives a Courtesy Call from the Japanese American Leadership Delegation
11:34 Mr. Ishiba, LDP Secretary General
11:46 Meeting with Mr. Yamaguchi, President of New Komei Party; Mr. Ishiba and Mr. Inouye, Komei’s Secretary General, attend

PM
12:11 Lunch with President Yamaguchi of New Komei Party; Mr. Ishiba and Mr. Inouye
01:10 Lunch ends
01:12 Ms. Noda and Ms. Takaichi
01:54 Mr. Kanazawa, Administrative Vice Defense Minister
02:32 Mr. Kanazawa leaves
03:23 Mr. Sugita, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; and Mr. Inouye, Cabinet Office Policy Planning Director General
03:41 Both leave
05:16 Economic Revitalization Headquarters
06:00 Press Conference
06:33 Industrial Competitiveness Council
07:10 Dinner with Hisashi Hie, President of Fuji TV at French Restaurant Crescent
08:50 NHK
09:00 Appear on news program
09:52 Home in Tomigaya

March 16, 2013 (Sat)

AM
Home in Tomigaya

PM
03:04 LDP Headquarters
03:10 Issue Endorsement Letters to Upper House Election candidates
03:44 LDP youth and women national assembly
04:14 LDP national secretary generals assembly
04:38 Haircut at Hair Guest in Shibuya
06:38 Office

March 17, 2013 (Sun)

AM
09:13 Office
09:19 Leave the office on a GSDF helicopter
09:37 National Defense University, Yokosuka
09:44 Defense Minister Onodera and Mr. Yoshinari Kokubu, Chancellor of the university
10:06 Gave a keynote speech for commencement

PM
12:34 Leave the university on MSDF helicopter
12:49 Arrive at the office
01:07 Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa
01:30 LDP International Politics・Diplomacy Contest award ceremony; LDP Vice President Koumura; and Mr. Sihiba attend
01:37 “LDP President Abe・Secretary General Ishiba Character Contest” award ceremony
01:47 Photo taking with LDP long-service employee
02:04 LDP National Conference
04:00 Conference ends
04:12 LDP reception
04:54 Leave the reception
05:30 Home in Tomigaya

March 18, 2013 (Mon)

AM
07:47 Office
07:48 Mr. Katou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
07:56 Parliament
07:59 Lower House Budget Committee

PM
12:04 Office
12:55 Parliament
12:59 Lower House Budget Committee
05:03 LDP Executives meeting
05:32 Office
05:42 Mr. Suga, Mr. Katou, Mr. Sekou, and Mr. Sugita, Chief and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries
06:06 Courtesy Call from Director of the League of Residents of Chishima and Habomai Islands
06:18 Mr. Ryotaro Sugi, an Ambassador of Japan・ASEAN
06:30 Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Kawai; and Deputy Foreign Minister Saiki
06:56 Tokyo Economic Forum hosted by LDP Tokyo Office at Tokyo Prince Hotel; Dinner with LDP Vice President Koumura, General Affairs Director Ms. Noda, Policy Research Commission Chair Takaichi, and Parliamentary Affairs Director Kamoshita.
09:10 Home in Tomigaya

March 19, 2013 (Tue)

AM
07:52 Office
08:02 Ministerial meeting
08:21 Okinawa Policy Council
08:56 Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, Japanese Government Representative for Myanmar reconciliation
09:17 Mr. Sasakawa leaves
10:57 Mr. Kousuke Hori, Lower House Constitution Deliberation Committee Chair
11:41 Mr. Toshiharu Furukawa, LDP Upper House member
11:59 Mr. Furukawa leaves

PM
01:10 Mr. Suga, Mr. Katou, Mr. Sekou, and Mr. Sugita, Chief and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
01:45 All leave
03:00 Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Kawai
03:23 Mr. Amari, Minister in charge of Total Reform of Social Security and Tax
04:01 Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Kawai; and Deputy Foreign Minister Saiki
04:53 Foreign Minister Kishida and Mr. Makoto Itou, the 5thInternational Conference on African Development Ambassador
05:13 Video recording for Africa Development Conference
05:18 Recording ends
06:15 Mr. Kitamura, Director, Cabinet Intelligence; and Mr. Shimohira, Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center Director
06:25 Mr. Shimohira leaves
06:35 Mr. Kitamura leaves
08:31 The Healthy Society Award Presentation Ceremony
08:58 Home in Tomigaya

March 20, 2013 (Wed)

AM
09:36 Imperial Palace; Spring Ritual Ceremony
11:07 Home in Tomigaya

PM
03:38 Grand Hyatt Tokyo; Exercise in Nagomi Spa and Fitness
6:30 Stake House Oak Door; dinner with friends from his study abroad
08:46 Home

March 21, 2013 (Thu)

AM
09:39 Office
09:56 Receives a Request from the National Governor's Association
10:29 Courtesy Call from Professor Joseph Eugene Stiglitz of Columbia University; Mr. Kouichi Hamada, Cabinet Office Councilor, attends
10:56 Issue appointment letters to Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, Mr. Kikuo Iwata, and Hiroshi Nakaso, Governor and Vice Governor of the Bank of Japan
11:31 Mr. Sugita, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary

PM
03:08 Mr. Masaaki Shirakawa, Mr. Hirohide Yamaguchi, and Mr. Kiyohiko Nishimura, Former Governor and Vice Governor of the Bank of Japan
03:32 Mr. Nemoto, Minister of Reconstruction
03:53 Dr. Arthit Ourairat, President of Rangsit University, Thailand; Mr. Toshiaki Endo, Lower House member also attends
04:18 President Takehiko Kiyotake of Sankei Shimbun
05:17 Meeting with His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain
06:48 Meeting with Toshiaki Endo, Mr. Kimura, Special Advisor to PM, and Defense Minister Onodera, at Japanese Izakaya Restaurant Nihon Kai Shouya in Akasaka; Mr. Furuya, Minister for Abduction Issue was also in the restaurant.
08:24 Meeting with Dr. Joseph Stiglitz at Roppongi Hills Club
09:45 Home in Tomigaya

March 22, 2013 (Fri)

AM
07:30 Office
07:31 Mr. Katou, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
08:03 Parliament
08:07 Ministerial meeting
08:25 Meeting amongst Main Ministers on the TPP
09:01 Meeting of the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Affairs
11:38 Office
11:40 Mr. Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary
11:42 Former Prime Minister Mori

PM
12:54 Parliament
01:02 Lower House Plenary Session
03:42 Office
03:55 Mr. Ikeda, Nuclear Regulatory Agency Director
04:07 Mr. Suga
04:18 Courtesy Call from Harvard Kennedy School Graduate Students
04:37 Education Rebuilding Implementation Council
05:10 Mr. Kitamura, Director, Cabinet Intelligence
05:31 Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Kawai
06:13 Japan-Papua New Guinea Summit Meeting and Signing Ceremony
06:43 Signing Ceremony
06:55 Press interview
07:02 Hotel Okura, Toranomon, Tokyo; Attend the gathering of Fuji TV “Prime News”
07:18 Residence; Dinner with Mr. Hiroshi Hayakawa, President of TV Asahi; and Mr. Toori Mishiro, President of Gentosha Publishing company
09:11 Home in Tomigaya
09:39 Finance Minister Aso
11:19 Mr. Aso leaves

Japan's TPP decision

Not everyone is happy

On Saturday, April 20th, the 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries -- which include Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam -- approved Japan to join the TPP negotiations upon completion of current members’ respective domestic processes.

On Wednesday, April 24th, during the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan's annual Washington visit, the USTR announced that the Obama Administration has notified Congress of its intent to include Japan in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks. This notification triggers a 90-day consultation period with Congress and the public on U.S. negotiating objectives with respect to Japan.

Here is an April 8, 2013, Congressional Research Service report on  Japan's Possible Entry Into the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Its Implications.

APP Senior Fellow William L. Brooks wrote the following analysis for APP's April 22nd Asia Policy Calendar, which is sent weekly to its members.

Abe’s Risky Decision on TPP to Pay Off?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s go-for-broke decision to have Japan join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, despite strong opposition in his own Liberal Democratic Party, seems to be paying off. Japan will now join full-fledged talks most likely in July. The hope is of being able to influence rule-setting to Japan’s advantage by the time that negotiations among the 12 member nations wind up late this year.

The support rate for the Abe cabinet in the polls continues to rise, with the Nikkei’s April survey giving it a heady 76%, a seven point jump from March. Kyodo’s poll gave the Abe cabinet a 71.1% approval rating. On TPP, a solid 62.1% of the public approve Japan’s participation in the Kyodo poll. Nikkei’s survey found 47% in favor of joining TPP, with only 30% opposed.

After deciding to join the TPP, Prime Minister Abe set up under his lead a TPP headquarters of 100 senior officials with relevant expertise. They are to prepare the government’s strategy and specific positions when Japan formally joins TPP rule-setting negotiations in July, as well as build domestic support for the effort. Though the public remains unsure as to whether TPP will really create new wealth in the Japanese economy, it is willing to go along with Abe’s bold decision on TPP because of strong expectations that Abenomics to end the long economic slump.

Experts seem to support such optimism. A steady stream of pro-TPP books and magazine articles has hit the market in recent months. Such opinion agrees that although some parts of the agricultural sector may suffer under TPP – requiring government countermeasures and reforms to be introduced quickly – other parts may grow, countering a long-term trend of decline. Moreover, the manufacturing and services sectors are likely to reap the bulk of the benefits, adding jobs and growth to the economy.

With Japan now welcomed by the U.S. and all 11 TPP participants, the debate in Japan has turned to what impact a TPP agreement might have on the economy at the macro and micro levels and what to do about it. In a Nikkei interview on April 12, Itochu Corporation Chairman Eizo Kobayashi championed TPP by stressing that joining it will not only make Japanese exports more competitive in member-nation markets, it will also usher in a wave of direct investments in the Japanese market. He pointed out that the share of the labor force engaged in manufacturing had dropped over the years from a peak of 25% to 16%. If foreign investment significantly increased in Japan’s domestic production base, it would boost domestic and external demand for the products and lead to much-needed job creation and a recovery of the labor force.

Even popular magazines, like the weekly Shukan Shincho, are starting to come around to the logic that the massive free-trade agreement that is TPP will produce benefits to Japan’s national interests that far outweigh the negative side. Even the now highly-protected rice market, the popular weekly argues, will survive liberalization. The premium grade strains such as koshihikari will be able to hold their own domestically. The best Japonica rice grown in the U.S. and now selling for about $20 or more for five kilograms is about the same as the retail price of premium grades in Japan. Adding shipping and distribution costs, U.S. premium rice will be an expensive commodity in Japan. Lesser U.S. grades, again adding shipping and distribution costs, will likely sell for about the same price as comparable strains in Japan. Lesser grades of domestic rice admittedly will not be able to compete with cheap imports, particularly from China or Southeast Asia. But users of such rice, such as the family restaurants and beef-bowl franchises, are already importing a significant amount.

In the U.S., at present, only approximately 300,000 tons of Japonica rice are produced and consumed almost all domestically, the Shincho report continues. Even if all of that was exported to Japan, it would only amount to 3-4% of the annual 8 million tons of domestic rice sold in Japan. Moreover, Japanese consumers are remarkably fussy about the rice they serve at the dinner table, preferring short-grain “sticky rice” instead of medium to long-grained strains, which are produced cheaply and abundantly around the world. Short-grained rice remains in short supply. The magazine concludes that there is no immediate threat to the market for high-quality domestic rice in Japan.

On the other hand, Japanese vegetable and fruit growers, who receive neither government subsidies nor protection, see TPP as an ideal means for exporting high-quality fresh products to the world, according to a Nikkei report on March 31. Thus, the image of all Japanese farmers as being weak and uncompetitive has been exacerbated by the anti-TPP forces. Agricultural reforms aiming at modernizing the farm sector can help it survive the challenges of liberalization that will soon come. Of course, some products, such as sugar, may be wiped out once the 328% tariff on imported sugar is removed. This is a politically sensitive issue since most of the sugar cane grown in Japan is the sole cash crop of small islands near Okinawa. A government rescue package for those inhabitants seems likely.

There is a tendency to see TPP negotiations as focused mainly on trade in goods, but trade in services is also a key component. In 2010, for example, international transactions in financial and other services reached approximately 20% of global trade. Japan is no exception to that trend, so joining TPP will allow it to join another bandwagon for the country’s economic future, the liberalization of services markets among TPP members.

April 22, 2013

Times echoes American frustration with Japan

Masakaki Offering

The New York Times
April 23, 2013

Japan’s Unnecessary Nationalism
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Since taking over as Japan’s prime minister in December, Shinzo Abe and his conservative Liberal Democratic Party have been juggling a packed agenda of complicated issues, including reviving the country’s economy, coping with the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and managing prickly relations with neighbors like North Korea. Stirring up extraneous controversy is counterproductive, but that’s exactly what he and his nationalist allies in Parliament have done.

On Tuesday, a group of 168 mostly low-ranking conservative lawmakers visited the Yasukuni Shrine in central Tokyo, which honors Japan’s war dead, including several who were executed as war criminals after World War II. It was the largest mass visit by Parliament in recent memory. The Japanese news media said that Mr. Abe didn’t visit the shrine, instead sending a ritual offering, but his deputy prime minister and two other ministers made a pilgrimage there over the weekend. He has a record of defending Japan’s conduct during World War II.

Mr. Abe and his allies know well what a deeply sensitive issue this is for China and South Korea, which suffered under Japan’s 20th-century empire-building and militarism, and the reaction was predictable. On Monday, South Korea canceled a visit to Japan by its foreign minister and China publicly chastised Japan. On Tuesday, tensions were further fueled when Chinese and Japanese boats converged on disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Japan and China both need to work on a peaceful solution to their territorial issues. But it seems especially foolhardy for Japan to inflame hostilities with China and South Korea when all countries need to be working cooperatively to resolve the problems with North Korea and its nuclear program.

Instead of exacerbating historical wounds, Mr. Abe should focus on writing Japan’s future, with an emphasis on improving its long-stagnant economy and enhancing its role as a leading democracy in Asia and beyond.