Foreign Minister visits Okinawa; US offers Kadena Air Base facilities

Date Posted: 1999-05-29
Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura met with Okinawa Governor Inamine and U.S. military officials over the weekend and visited sites shortlisted as possible venues in preparation for next year's G-8 summit to be held in Nago City.

During his two-day visit to the prefecture, the Foreign Minister said he would consider Governor Inamine's proposal for a meeting between G-8 summit leaders and local citizens. Inamine hopes the meeting would provide G-8 leaders with some understanding of the concerns many Okinawans raise over the large U.S. military presence on the island.

AFP reported Sunday Komura understood the difficulties Okinawans face "due to the concentration of bases."

Komura, who visited Nago and other sites, including Kadena Air Base, under review for the summit, also revealed he had received an offer for the use of the giant U.S. facility during the summit. According to a report Monday in the Asahi newspaper, facilities at Kadena would be at the disposal of the Japanese government if required.

With such a high volume of air traffic expected next July, Japanese government officials are concerned Naha International Airport may not be large enough to adequately cope with the expected number of planes needing to park at the airport, the Asahi said. However, Komura told reporters at a news conference Sunday "no decision has been made."

New Komeito plays up role as fickle ally

Tuesday, May 18, 1999
By YOKO HANI
Staff writer

New Komeito appears to be edging closer to the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition, but it's still uncertain about how far it will go.

Should it fully commit itself to the LDP-Liberal Party bloc and enjoy the status and power of the coalition, or retain a freer hand as an outside voting force that can influence the current alliance, which lacks a majority in the Upper House?

Reporters tag along with New Komeito chief Takenori Kanzaki around the Diet building in the hope of getting him to divulge his party's intentions. But Kanzaki remains noncommittal.

"We are collecting various ideas to reach a conclusion on the matter by our party convention scheduled for July 24," is his only reply. Many other members of the party remain similarly tight-lipped.

New Komeito, backed by Soka Gakkai, the nation's largest lay Buddhist organization, has long called itself a middle-of-the-road party.

Over the past decade, its relations with the LDP have changed back and forth. At crucial points, the party played the role of a reliable ally to make up for the LDP's lack of a majority in the Upper House, but on other occasions it joined the rest of the opposition camp in forging an anti-LDP front.

During the current regular Diet session, the LDP-Liberal coalition and New Komeito, the No. 2 opposition force, established close ties when they joined hands to push bills through the legislature to cover updated Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines. The controversial wiretapping bill also cleared the Lower House after the coalition agreed on amendments by New Komeito -- amid fierce resistance from the rest of the opposition camp.

But New Komeito's wavering position toward a government-proposed bill to legally recognize the Hinomaru as the national flag and "Kimigayo" as the anthem -- also a sensitive issue -- illustrates the precarious nature of their ties.

The bill, which the government initially tried to submit to the Diet in March, was at the time believed certain to be approved during the current session with New Komeito's support. But that scenario later unraveled when the party, due to concerns raised by its rank and file as well as its supporters, turned cautious and called for more time for discussion.

At one point, the government and the LDP, out of consideration for its would-be partner, appeared to have given up submitting the bill during the current session.

However, the government eventually adopted the bill and submitted it to the Diet Friday. It is widely believed that LDP leaders wanted to avoid casting the impression that the coalition cannot do anything without New Komeito's endorsement, even though the fact remains that the bill will need New Komeito's support to clear the upper chamber.

Now the LDP hopes to put the ties on a more solid footing.

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi reportedly plans to ask New Komeito to join his Cabinet as a full coalition partner when he reshuffles the Cabinet as early as this summer.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka has also said New Komeito's entry as a full Cabinet ally would be easier to sell to voters.

Soka Gakkai is believed to have backed the party's entry into the coalition, a move that "may be an option if New Komeito can share its policies (with the LDP)," Einosuke Akiya, president of Soka Gakkai, was quoted as saying in a recent interview with a daily paper.

New Komeito has its own reasons to be desperate.

Its leaders are reportedly worried that the midsize party could suffer a serious setback in the next Lower House elections under the current electoral system, based on single-seat constituencies, which favor major parties at the expense of smaller forces.

Although New Komeito succeeded in setting up an interparty panel to discuss electoral reforms, it appears unlikely the current system will change before the next Lower House elections, which must be held no later than October 2000.

The current system was introduced in 1994, replacing a multiseat constituency system. When the last Lower House elections were held in 1996, New Komeito's members belonged to the now-defunct Shinshinto, a powerful opposition force that had the potential to squarely confront the LDP in elections.

So the next elections will be the first for New Komeito to fight on its own under the current system. To survive as a sizable presence, it needs to either have the electoral system changed or seek campaign cooperation with major parties like the LDP.

By joining the coalition, the party may also be able to influence the timing of the next elections, urging Obuchi to delay a Lower House dissolution and give New Komeito time to prepare.

Still, New Komeito's rank and file say they have mixed feelings toward entering a tripartite alliance with the LDP and Liberal Party.

"It is true that we have achieved several of our policy objectives by cooperating with the LDP and the Liberal Party in the current Diet session, and we can have a positive view toward the alliance," one party member said.

But he said some colleagues doubt whether New Komeito's policies would be accepted by the LDP as generously as they are now once the party officially joins the coalition.

Some also worry that the party will lose its individual color if it is absorbed in the coalition, he said.

New Komeito's leaders are apparently trying to smooth over the divergent opinions of its ranks by placing importance on electoral reforms, which would help the party survive, according to Yoshiaki Kobayashi, professor of politics at Keio University.

"If so, the party should maintain a consistent position over the issue," he said. "If it strikes a (compromise) deal over the matter after joining the coalition, New Komeito will be unable to explain the reason for becoming a part of it."

For the LDP, it makes good sense to have New Komeito join the alliance. A tripartite bloc would have 357 seats in the 500-seat lower chamber and 141 in the 252-seat upper chamber.

Although the degree of New Komeito's commitment is uncertain, its close ties with the coalition will continue at least until the next Upper House elections in 2001, Kobayashi said.

However, it remains unclear whether joining the LDP-Liberal coalition will benefit New Komeito in terms of voter support.

"If the three parties form a coalition, they can secure a majority in Nagata-cho, the nation's political center," Kobayashi said. "But it does not necessarily mean they can obtain support from a majority of voters.

"New Komeito's decision, as well as how it explains its decision to the public, are certain to draw great attention."

Soka Gakkai warms to coalition plan

Wednesday, May 12, 1999

Soka Gakkai, the nation's largest lay Buddhist organization and supporter of New Komeito, appeared to welcome on Wednesday New Komeito's move to form a coalition with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, sources said.

Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, secretary general of New Komeito, met with Isao Nozaki, deputy chairman of Soka Gakkai, in Tokyo to discuss basic policy matters.

Fuyushima briefed Nozaki on the latest talks with LDP officials about cooperating with the ruling party on a new electoral system for the House of Representatives and other matters, the sources said.

Nozaki reportedly told Fuyushiba he understands the situation and asked him to work on reaching an agreement on basic policy issues.

Meanwhile, Ichiro Ozawa, head of the Liberal Party, said that if his party, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito can agree on basic policy, the three parties should establish an alliance.

"Because we are different parties, we cannot agree on every basic policy beforehand," Ozawa said. "But we should at least have policy agreement."

In a sign the parties may be narrowing their differences, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi indicated Tuesday he hopes to hold policy talks with an eye toward a larger coalition that would include "participation" by New Komeito. "I'm not sure whether the alliance would take the form of a coalition government," Obuchi said. "But I think it is good for parties and people that recognize (common) basic policy to cooperate."

The LDP, Liberal Party and New Komeito are already cooperating in the Diet on bills to implement the new Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines and reorganization of the nation's financial administration.

Late last week, New Komeito leader Takenori Kanzaki disclosed a plan to hold a convention in July to decide on the party's basic stance for the next Lower House elections and possible cooperation with the LDP.

The LDP-Liberal Party alliance still lacks a majority in the Upper House, but New Komeito's addition to the coalition would secure a government majority.

Ozawa also said differences over security policy are unlikely to be a major issue in forming an alliance with New Komeito.

"I don't know exactly what kind of security policy New Komeito holds, but I don't think it would be a big problem," he said.

The Liberal Party leader, however, said his party cannot accept New Komeito's proposal to change the current single-seat district election system to a multiseat one. "If New Komeito presses on electoral system reform, it would be completely different from our stance," said Ozawa, who is a strong advocate of maintaining the single-seat election system to establish a two-party political system in the future.

Meanwhile, Kanzaki said he hopes to hold policy talks with Obuchi after the party convention in July. "We must first establish our basic policy for the 21st century," he said, "and then begin talks for cooperating with the coalition government."

But Kanzaki affirmed that New Komeito will not seek Cabinet portfolios as it places policy goals, such as social welfare changes, above the prestige of ministerial posts.

Okinawa summit to help settle base issues: Campbell

WASHINGTON
May 4, 1999 Kyodo

The selection of Okinawa as the venue for the 2000 summit of the Group of Eight (G-8) major nations will provide a boost to settling base issues in the southernmost Japanese prefecture, a senior Pentagon official said Tuesday.

The selection "puts added emphasis on our work in easing the burden on the people of Okinawa," Kurt Campbell, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told reporters. He said holding a G-8 summit in Okinawa is "extremely important." "I think that one of the important consequences...is that it allows and, indeed, forces people to acknowledge both in Japan and the world the critical role that Okinawa plays." Campbell said Okinawa plays a unique role in Japan's security and the security of the western Pacific. But that role has been overlooked for too long not only by Japan but also by the international community, he said.

Campbell, meanwhile, declined explicit comments on the proposed joint use of the U.S. Yokota Air Base in Tokyo. Shintaro Ishihara, who was elected Tokyo governor in April, promised during his election campaign to seek the return or joint use of land in western Tokyo on which the U.S. military's Yokota Air Base is located.

"I don't want to get into a discussion of specific proposals but I will say that, for any situation, we will look very carefully at any serious proposal that preserves our operational requirements," Campbell said.