The Japanese Neocon

UPDATE: This is probably the best time to invite those of you more interested in the broader trends of Japanese politics to read this paper by Gerald Curtis (pdf).

ORIGINAL POST: Asia saw two transitions of power today: a military coup in Thailand and the election of Shinzo Abe as president of the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan. As a parliamentary democracy, leadership of the ruling party means Abe is now on track to succeed Junichiro Koizumi as Prime Minister next week. At the tender age of 51, Abe is the youngest person to hold the office. And perhaps more interesting, he is the first Japanese Prime Minister born after World War II.

A few foreign policy positions:

• On China: “We don’t currently see China as a threat… However, military spending has been in double digits for the last 18 years and the lack of transparency on military strength and spending is a concern. We hope China develops peacefully.”
• On Japan-China relations: “During the Koizumi administration, trade has doubled and Japan’s investment in China rose by 20 percent in 2005 from 2004… If relations were bad, this wouldn’t have happened. China benefits from the current economic relations and doesn’t want to destroy it. It’s the same with Japan.”
• On the Iraq War: “I think the US use of force [in Iraq] was judged correctly… There was a reasonable basis to think that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and Iraq had the burden of proof of showing that it did not have these weapons. Considering the Japan-US alliance, there were no mistakes in the decision of the Japanese government at that time to support the invasion.”
• On the US-Japan Alliance: “If Japan is attacked, there is only one country in the world that will protect Japan at the risk of its young soldier’s lives. That country is the United States. This is based in treaty. But a treaty standing alone guarantees nothing. Only if our bilateral relationship is based on mutual trust will the treaty be more than mere paper. Hence the relationship of trust between the two countries is what we strive to achieve.”
• On national defense: “National defense is a national right… If U.S. F-16 fighters take off to intercept 10 missiles headed to Japan and attacking their base, and ask for help from Japanese F-15s, could we say, `no?’ The moment we said, `we cannot go,’ it would be the end of the U.S.-Japan alliance.”

A few more fun facts: he never drinks alcohol and his wife loves “Korean wave” dramas.