Japanese Talk of Waning US Influence Wishful Thinking..
Japanese financial diplomat Eisuke Sakakibara (once known as Mr Yen because of his influence over the financial markets during his time at the Finance Ministry) argued that the post-War world economic order "led by the United States and focused on the G7, IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO" is beginning to collapse, and he said that "the basis of Japan’s economic diplomacy should focus on closer cooperation with China and South Korea…" He added: "We should change the structure where Japan depends heavily and solely on the United States."
The views expounded by Ishihara in Delhi last week come from the other extreme of Japanese thinking on China. Presenting a lecture to an audience that included India’s Defence Minister George Fernandes, Ishihara argued that China’s economic progress is "illusory" but that it has expansionist designs and is "still a danger to the world". He proposed the creation of a strategic alliance between Tokyo and New Delhi.
Late night talk shows in Japan echo these sentiments just below the surface. The opposition and some within the LDP deem the attitude of North Korea over those who have been returned to Japan after spending 20 years in "exile" in North Korea after being abducted from Japan, and consistently being ignored by successive Japanese governments and the Foreign Ministry. But when challenged about what they would do about it, most Japanese politicians just waffle. The fact is, they can't do anything, and are even dependent on the US for good intelligence on North Korea. For a Japanese citizen, these revelations should be very disturbing indeed. The fact is, as one veteran LDP politician clearly stated on a popular TV program, Japan is a "colony of the US"--a fact that most in Japan and certainly the powers that be in Japan resent.
However, America remains the world’s pre-eminent power and will continue to be so for as far into the future as it is sensible to predict. American poses no threat from Japan other than constant preaching and the expectations that they will docily go with whatever geopolitical policy the US has. Japan has no strategy for North Korea (other than the historical practice of appeasement), nor for China, which Tokyo governor Ishihara is correct in saying pose a serious future threat to Japan. Fact is, Japan is stuck in an uncomfortable relationship with the US, and while enjoying their defense umbrella, would like to think that they have the options for political initiatives in the region. The fact is they don't with the exception of passively providing money and little else. No one in the region really expects political leadership from Japan, and is increasingly despairing of economic leadership as well. China is poised to step into this breach, leaving Japan on the sidelines of history--fuming perhaps, huffing perhaps, but with little real options to do anything about it.
Japan Struggles with Response to China's Rise
