Actually, they have tried to defraud the electorate - for 50+ years.
They tried all kinds of wacky stunts during the election, even insinuating that an opposition victory could lead to a one-party dictatorship (as if the past half-century under them hasn't been).
While the newly elected opposition will still have to bow to the realities of office (their country has a huge deficit, and can't afford all the populist goodies promised during the elections), they may end up innovating new paths which could strain the US-Japan alliance. For instance, their party favours multi-polarity, and might even favour the stance taken by India-China-Russia on supporting a new global currency to remove dependence upon the dollar.
The Yankees might soon wake up to a changed reality too, one of these days.
The dramatic change in government in Japan carries with it the promise of a new beginning, but the cheers have to be muted for the moment. The venerable Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which ruled Japan virtually uninterrupted since 1955, suffered a crushing defeat, and the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is projected to win more than 300 seats in the 480-member lower house of Parliament.
The leader of the DPJ and presumptive Prime Minister, Yukio Hatayama, faces daunting challenges: the economy, still suffering from the ‘lost years’ of the 1990s after a real-estate bubble collapsed, took a hit due to the global recession. GDP growth resumed in the second quarter, but unemployment is high and rising, and exporters are suffering from the high value of the yen, diminishing demand for their high-tech wonders, and increasing competition from elsewhere in Asia. The DPJ’s center-left thinking, its rather bold manifesto, and its attacks on what it called ‘American market fundamentalism’ may suggest a radical departure from earlier economic policies, but it remains to be seen how socialist they will be in practice.
The political challenges are even more fraught. Under the LDP, Japan was largely content to be tied to America’s apron-strings, as its most trusted ally in Asia. The brains behind the DPJ, former Prime Minister Ichiro Ozawa (then with the LDP), has called for a re-evaluation of this historic relationship. He helped change the pacifist constitution that confined Japanese military forces to a purely defensive posture; consequently Japanese forces now take part in UN peace-keeping missions abroad. This new assertiveness is necessary at a time when an American security umbrella may not be a long-term solution to Japan’s defense needs. Nevertheless, the ‘special relationship’ with the US is likely to continue: their interests converge too often.
The big, unspoken concern is about aggressive China. Given China’s increasingly muscular army and navy, its sponsorship of missile-launching North Korea, long-running territorial disputes (eg. the Senkaku islands), and expansion into many of Japan’s export strongholds, China should loom large in the minds of Japan’s leaders. The conservative LDP, especially under the charismatic former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, defied Chinese political pressure, for instance over symbolic visits to the Yasukuni War Memorial. The left-leaning DJP would be well-advised to not swallow China’s rhetoric over its ‘peaceful rise’. Instead, it might pursue coalitions with others threatened by the dragon: India, Russia and Vietnam. India, in particular, has two advantages: there are no recriminations over World War II issues, and as the Holy Land of the Buddhist faith, it is viewed positively by many Japanese. Circa 400 CE, Bodhidharma went east and established the Zen school. Time to return the compliment, perhaps?
4 comments:
Actually, they have tried to defraud the electorate - for 50+ years.
They tried all kinds of wacky stunts during the election, even insinuating that an opposition victory could lead to a one-party dictatorship (as if the past half-century under them hasn't been).
While the newly elected opposition will still have to bow to the realities of office (their country has a huge deficit, and can't afford all the populist goodies promised during the elections), they may end up innovating new paths which could strain the US-Japan alliance. For instance, their party favours multi-polarity, and might even favour the stance taken by India-China-Russia on supporting a new global currency to remove dependence upon the dollar.
The Yankees might soon wake up to a changed reality too, one of these days.
Next to this story, I read this other one right afterwards:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNWrUxCSWZME
As the Japanese lackey drops out, the Indian lackey is now showing up with an eager smile. Is Kaangress the new LDP?
editorial in the pioneer:
The dramatic change in government in Japan carries with it the promise of a new beginning, but the cheers have to be muted for the moment. The venerable Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which ruled Japan virtually uninterrupted since 1955, suffered a crushing defeat, and the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is projected to win more than 300 seats in the 480-member lower house of Parliament.
The leader of the DPJ and presumptive Prime Minister, Yukio Hatayama, faces daunting challenges: the economy, still suffering from the ‘lost years’ of the 1990s after a real-estate bubble collapsed, took a hit due to the global recession. GDP growth resumed in the second quarter, but unemployment is high and rising, and exporters are suffering from the high value of the yen, diminishing demand for their high-tech wonders, and increasing competition from elsewhere in Asia. The DPJ’s center-left thinking, its rather bold manifesto, and its attacks on what it called ‘American market fundamentalism’ may suggest a radical departure from earlier economic policies, but it remains to be seen how socialist they will be in practice.
The political challenges are even more fraught. Under the LDP, Japan was largely content to be tied to America’s apron-strings, as its most trusted ally in Asia. The brains behind the DPJ, former Prime Minister Ichiro Ozawa (then with the LDP), has called for a re-evaluation of this historic relationship. He helped change the pacifist constitution that confined Japanese military forces to a purely defensive posture; consequently Japanese forces now take part in UN peace-keeping missions abroad. This new assertiveness is necessary at a time when an American security umbrella may not be a long-term solution to Japan’s defense needs. Nevertheless, the ‘special relationship’ with the US is likely to continue: their interests converge too often.
The big, unspoken concern is about aggressive China. Given China’s increasingly muscular army and navy, its sponsorship of missile-launching North Korea, long-running territorial disputes (eg. the Senkaku islands), and expansion into many of Japan’s export strongholds, China should loom large in the minds of Japan’s leaders. The conservative LDP, especially under the charismatic former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, defied Chinese political pressure, for instance over symbolic visits to the Yasukuni War Memorial. The left-leaning DJP would be well-advised to not swallow China’s rhetoric over its ‘peaceful rise’. Instead, it might pursue coalitions with others threatened by the dragon: India, Russia and Vietnam. India, in particular, has two advantages: there are no recriminations over World War II issues, and as the Holy Land of the Buddhist faith, it is viewed positively by many Japanese. Circa 400 CE, Bodhidharma went east and established the Zen school. Time to return the compliment, perhaps?
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