I’ve written several posts this year regarding the absurdity of the foreign policy of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). The politicians in the party regularly read off a laundry list of popular positions, with no realistic basis of how these policies would affect Japan’s national interest. This includs the US alliance, Japan’s dispatch of forces overseas, the UN, and relations with Asian neighbors. The cornerstone of this collection of cognitivie dissonance is distancing itself from its primary ally of more than half a century without any alternative security policy — madness, pure and simple.
Here are some examples noted in my previous posts:
We want to move away from U.S. dependency to a more equal alliance… We are only looking for an equal relationship, which we believe the U.S. also prefers.
The DPJ regards the the Japan-US alliance as very important… But we think that Japan should say what it needs to say to the United States. In return, we will be involved at the frontlines in UN activities.
For for all intents and purposes, the DPJ has no foreign policy — only a random collection of popular positions snatched from opinion polls. Yet reality is now catching up to the DPJ as it faces the strong likelihood that it will take power in the election to be held next month. Specifically:
* The party now calls for strengthening the US alliance without conditionals and hesitations previously held in official party policy.
* The DPJ is now silent on its previous opposition to maintain naval ships in the Indian Ocean to refuel US warships used for Afghanistan security.
* Policy concerning the deployment of ships to Somalia remains undecided, but there is no criticism of LDP policy in this regard.
On a sidenote, I also expect there will be a reduced focus on the abstract call that Japan be a more practive “member of Asia.”
Not surprisingly, the DPJ apologist crowd is calling this a welcome move towards realism. I basically agree. But where is this going? More on that as the election date of August 30th approaches.
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Is anyone really super excited about the DPJ? Isn’t it more a matter of being tired of the LDP?
The DPJ don’t have a monopoly on foreign policy incoherence. In the four years in which Chinese influence was really coming into its own and the domestic market going through a major expansion – Japan’s relationship with China was more or less frozen by Koizumi’s decision to visit Yasukuni. As much as we may think that the Chinese reaction was BS – Koizumi seemed to be putting a domestic audience of limited significance (izokukai) ahead of dialogue with an important neighbour and improtant potential market for Japanese exports. That’s not “national interest”, that’s bigger BS.
There is also the matter of foreign wars. Japan was a backer of the Iraq War – the one that Germany, Canada, etc. didn’t want anything to do with. With the “good war” in the Middle East (Afghanistan), it is the LDP that wants to do a bare minimum. What gives? Nobody seems to be able to explain what the party wants to accomplish.
I, for one, do not expect the DPJ to solve all of Japan’s problems. I think that there is a fair chance that they may be a skull”#$% waiting to happen. I do, however, think that they represent a decent chance for a do-over on recent LDP failures that may allow Japan to steady itself. Why not take a chance. I don’t see much potential at all for the LDP to right things, not the way that they have been going lately.
I completely agree with M-bone here. I am not a DPJ supporter and I think they are probably incompetent (but as much as the LDP). I am simply sick with the LDP. I hope that this is a beginning of a major “Seikai Saihen”, which probably consumes several of very precious several years in the middle of a economic crisis, and nuclear problems in North East Asia, but even if it hurts Japan in the short term, Japan needs it in a long term.
DPJ supporter here.
Just shut up and vote for DPJ.Things can be changed and will be changed.
“Just shut up and vote for DPJ.”
I like this better than 政権交代 as an election slogan!
I can’t vote, but I can and will convince at least 5 people to vote DPJ.
Tomojiro, well said — I’ll be covering that in my next post before the election.
Yeah, any Obama-esque like “Change we can believe in” would be far superior than 政権交代, which is as lame as a message can get, and in any other country that had irony, would be a satirical campaign slogan.
Curz,You are my friend.And I love you.
But don’t you underestimate the significance of the next election.This is the first and ever defeat of LDP against opposition.Whether DPJ don’t have concrete political ideas nor unified policy do not matter.What does matter is not only the LDP but the Socialist will be out of the game forever.Meaning there will be more broader bipartisan political consensus over defense and diplomatic strategy in diet.That will definitly help Japan to get re-started.But first and most of all,what is important is politicians to rule over Kasumigaseki and take control of the state craft.
Isn’t no foreign policy better than the one under the LDP?
Can someone please translate that slogan, please? I’m getting more and more curious.
You could translate it several ways, such as “Change Administration”, “Change Cabinets”, “Exchange Governments”, etc. Their slogan is basically, “give OUR GUYS a shot at being in power!”
Pax: No.
“give OUR GUYS a shot at being in power!”
Not really so bad.
The GOP took over the House in 1946 with the simple slogan “Had enough?”
Margaret Thatcher won in 1979 with “Labour isn’t working” — with a picture of a long line of unemployed workers, true.
Sometimes merely voting out the incumbents to clean house has a value all its own.
A party that has never held power will have to come down to earth of its airy-fairy slogans. But that, too, is part of the process.
I say all of the foregoing with virtually no knowledge of Japan.
Maybe in this case voting out the LDP is a terrible idea. But it sounds like the LDP needs some time in the wilderness to get lean and mean again, and to give the other guys a shot.
“You are my friend.And I love you. ”
I thought that was Hatoyama’s new slogan.
Here’s a question. Is it possible that Kasumigaseki will be even more powerful under a DPJ government than an LDP government? The DPJ aren’t exactly tub-thumping Thatcherites who are going to rationalise everything. And as far as I can tell, not many of them are true policy wanks like, say, Yosano Kaoru, who exhibit enough finesse to keep the bureaucrats in line. And yet who do they think are going to implement all of these new policies? I too am in favour of getting rid of the LDP and severing their lines to the finance ministry for four years, but is it at all possible that the bureaucracy will just hunker down and bide their time until a new, traditionally conservative government comes their way?
Whatever. I do know that there are several Japanese bureaucrats pissing themselves at the moment.
政権交代=regime change, or more as it is more blandly translated on the DPJ’s website, change of government. It does sound a lot sexier in Japanese.
Policy wonks. w O!! nks. Freudian keyboard slip.
Time in the wilderness could toughen up the LDP – or it could drive them batshit insane like so much of the current Republican Party.
Becoming batshit insane is just one phase of toughening up in the wilderness.
I don’t think that the LDP has one thing that members could go batshit insane around. Just think about the huge contrast between, say Abe and Fukuda. They would be more likely break up into a variety of parties based around different crazy ideas. The Republican Party has Jesus and guns – never a good combo.
Thank you very much, Curzon.
“Jesus and guns” + low taxes = a terrific combo!
Speaking of slogans, I like this one – http://dokdoisours.blogspot.com/
What’s wrong with 政権交代? It has stuck on, it does this feeling of “let’s try it”.
It was so inspiring to see the “manifest” being talked about on TV, about cracking down on kasumigaseki, and having cabinet meetings decide actual policy.
The answer to that from a LDP old hag being “not enough time during the meetings”. Yeah, good reason.
pretty scary to think of a coalition with those 社民党 witches though.
” having cabinet meetings decide actual policy”
Wow, what a radical notion!
DPJ has to do something to prove that they are not LDP.And that probably won’t be neither defense policy nor diplomacy that has foreign counterpart.
Best way to show the difference is to dump some of the promises that the LDP had made with bureaucrats.Nagatsuma probably wants to clean up the house of Social Welfare Agency and the like.Kan,Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare.Lots of lefts in DPJ wants to take down on Ministry of Education.And Ozawa,Ministry of Justice.I believe there will be some change.
Feel no worry Curz.At least Chosun Ilbo thinks DPJ isn’t just a liberal weakling.
Hope DPJ skeptics share their thoughts.
http://www.chosunonline.com/news/20090729000008