Japan's sovereign principles and alliance

By Kim Mi-kyoung

On April 29, 2015, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese politician to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress and the Senate. He delivered a speech in English for 45 minutes. And it was full of admiration for the U.S. and pledges to the U.S.-Japan alliance. His remarks received occasional standing ovations from the floor, and he seemed satisfied when the performance was over. Nothing seemed wrong and everything went smoothly on the surface.

Mr. Abe has proved himself to be a smooth performer over the 28 year-long political career. His hair was wavy with creamy hair mousse and there was a sheen on the dandy suit that he wore while on the Capital Hill podium. He knows how to work up his constituents. Another memorable performance of Prime Minister Abe took place on the rainy winter day in 2013. He made a surprise visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, and managed to live broadcast the scenes of him paying tribute to the fallen soldiers of Japan including Class A war criminals. As his Yasukuni stunt had the theatrical effect of casting him as a lonesome hero, he worked very hard to reach out to the American audience as a savvy cosmopolitan.

One striking thing about his Washington speech was the differences in manner and content from many of those made in Japan. It was personable, evocative and nostalgic. He managed to show his soft side and even a sense of humor. He came across as a different person. Was Mr. Abe his genuine self in America’s capital?

I am not writing this piece to recycle the usual language of Japan-bashing. Just like the increasing number of Japanese citizens who are getting sick and tired of accusatory words on its past wrongs, I am equally sick and tired of revisiting old wounds. There is little disagreement on the danger of politicized utilization of historical animosity in East Asia. We all join the chorus of regional prosperity and peace. The very question we should ask at this point is why we are continuing to play the age-old roles of the accused and the accuser in East Asia? Seventy years have passed since the war ended. As Abe emphasized in his speech, former enemies can form a strong alliance like the U.S. and Japan. Why, then, this has not happened between Japan and its Asian neighbors yet?

Before undertaking the U.S. trip, Abe made it clear that he was not going to apologize for Japan’s past offenses. The forthcoming Abe statement for the 70th commemoration of war’s end will exclude the words of “colonial rule,” “invasion,” and “apology.” He stated in the Washington speech that “Our actions brought suffering to the people in Asian countries. We must not avert our eyes from that.” It is difficult to understand the obvious gap between the remorseful feelings inside and abstinence of apologies outside. Why refuse to apologize if the feelings of remorse are genuine?

Abe’s linguistic austerity has little to do with Japanese aesthetics of shunning noisiness or traditional respect for taciturn masculinity. He was verbalizing personal emotions and acting like America’s sweetheart after all. He furthermore promised and guaranteed many things the U.S. needs to confront China's challenges. Then where does this Dr. Jekyll and Hyde-like dual person come from?

Abe is a shrewd strategist keenly aware of power dynamics in domestic turf and international relations. With his Liberal Democratic Party firmly installed as the ruling majority, he went ahead to agree on the new Defense Cooperation Guidelines with the U.S. He must have felt comfortable to ignore the due processes such as proposing the agenda at the parliament, engaging in debates with the opposition parties, and seeking majority approval of the new Guidelines. It is not surprising that 47 percent of Kyodo Press opinion poll survey respondents disapproved of the new Defense Guidelines.

His zeal to please the U.S. was extended to the guarantee of the expeditious construction of U.S. military base in a rural area of Okinawa prefecture. He did this without the consent of the Okinawan government and its residents. The prefectural government has vowed to make direct appeal to the American government in an attempt to reverse Abe’s upper handedness. The island residents took the streets in impassioned protest.

Prime Minister Abe’s upper-handedness not only violated democratic norms, it also made a compromise on Japan’s sovereign principles. His preoccupation with power is manifesting itself in a rather unfortunate fashion which further aggravates Japan’s Asian neighbors, and deteriorates Japanese citizens’ confidence in his leadership.

It is about time to ask more serious questions than engaging in simple cost-and-benefit analysis. How much the U.S. can gain by working with the self-righteous and over-confident Abe government? How long will this “alliance of hope” last? Will the alliance endure if China’s influence becomes more formidable? It is about gut level trust which often goes beyond the head level calculations. Is Abe for real?

Kim Mi-kyoung is associate professor at Hiroshima City University-Hiroshima Peace Institute in Japan. She can be reached at mkkim_33@hotmail.com.