Japan worries as Abe takes over
(From The Japan Times September 21 issue)

安倍新首相の課題

    Abe will inherit daunting problems from his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi. These include the nation's financial reconstruction and swelling social-security costs, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, and Japan's deteriorated relations with China and South Korea caused by Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine.

    While Abe must tackle these problems, a grander theme will establish the character of his administration: a departure from the postwar regime and revision of the Constitution.

    Abe's perception of Japan's modern wars forms his basic political orientation. Because this orientation is closely related to diplomacy and the fundamental shape of Japan's polity, including the basic relationship between the government and the citizenry and education policy, its effect on the future of the country and the region must be closely scrutinized.

    Although constitutional revision has been one of the main planks of the LDP's platform since the party's establishment in 1955, for many years the LDP accepted the postwar Constitution without making a big political fuss over it.

    Only last autumn did the LDP come up with a concrete proposal for revising the Constitution.

    Abe may simply be trying to live up to the party's platform. But his basic orientation will greatly affect Japan's position in the international community and may invite strong criticism and suspicion from other nations, including Japan's neighbors and even countries that are regarded as close friends.

    This is because constitutional revision under the leadership of Abe, if realized, would lead to Japan's discarding a pillar of its postwar development -- self-restraint on military activities -- that has helped the nation gain trust and a respected position in the international community.

    Abe does not hide his dislike of the war-renouncing Constitution. He views with disdain the core part of the Preamble of the Constitution, which sets forth Japan's determination to "preserve our security and existence, trusting in the justice and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world." He calls it a degrading "signed deed of apology (wabi jomon)" from Japan to the Allied Powers.

    It appears that Abe does not want to admit Japan's war responsibility. He refuses to clarify whether he accepts the statement delivered by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama on Aug. 15, 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, in which the Japanese government formally apologized for the damage and suffering Japan's colonial rule and aggression caused to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations.

    Subsequent administrations, including Koizumi's, issued similar statements, making it Japan's official stance on its wars of the 1930s and 1940s.

    Abe refuses to disclose his views on Japan's actions in those years when asked, saying judgments on such matters should be left to historians.

    Abe said the first summits he will have as prime minister will be with Asian leaders. But he has been a strong supporter of Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni, and he himself paid a secret visit to the shrine in April. He has not made clear whether he will visit the shrine when he becomes prime minister, but says Japan-China relations should be pursued under the principle of keeping political and economic matters separate.

    This can be interpreted as meaning Abe thinks that Japan-China relations can be improved even if he visits Yasukuni as prime minister. It is highly questionable whether such an attitude can help Japan establish trustful relationships with its neighbors.

    Abe's nationalism and hawkishness may be attractive to a segment of Japanese people who feel Koizumi's focus on deregulation has deprived them of vital social bonds and stability. But such a development is unhealthy for our nation and will likely only rekindle nationalism in neighboring nations, leading to a further deterioration in Japan's relations with them.

    Abe must come up with a grand policy to rectify the economic gap between the nation's haves and have-nots. As the basis for various economic measures, including financial reconstruction, Abe stresses the importance of Japan achieving high economic growth. But he has yet to announce specific means for attaining this goal.

The Japan Times Weekly: September 30, 2006
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    さらに大きな課題は、戦後体制からの脱却と憲法改正だ。自民党は1955年の結党以来、憲法改正を主要な柱としており、昨秋、具体的改正案を発表した。この問題への安倍氏の基本姿勢は国際社会における日本の立場に大きく影響し、近隣諸国、友好国などから批判を招きかねない。

    安倍新首相の下で憲法改正が実現すれば、日本は国際社会の信頼の基になってきた軍事行動自制の原則を放棄することになる。安倍氏は憲法前文を連合国への「詫び証文」と称し反感を隠さない。

    戦後50周年の1995年8月15日に、当時の村山富市首相が発表した政府談話は、日本の植民地支配と侵略が多くの国家、特にアジア諸国にもたらした多大の損害と苦痛について痛切な反省の意を表したが、安倍氏はこれを認めるかどうか明らかにしていない。当時をめぐる歴史認識については、歴史家の判断を待つと述べている。

    また、小泉氏の靖国神社参拝を強く支持していた安倍氏は、自身が首相として参拝するのかどうか明らかにせず、日中関係は政経分離方式で進めたいとしている。首相として靖国参拝をしても、日中関係の改善は可能と考えているように解釈できる。これでは近隣諸国と信頼に基づく関係を構築するのは難しかろう。

    国民間で経済格差が拡大している問題について、安倍氏はこれを是正する大規模な政策を策定せねばならない。

    また、財政再建などの経済政策を成功させるために、安倍氏は高度成長を持続させる重要性を強調しているが、目標達成のための具体策は発表していない。