Japanese P.M. Apologizes for Wartime Aggression

Rich Bowden
Worldpress.org contributing editor
Sydney, Australia
April 26, 2005

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (left) greets Chinese President Hu Jintao shortly before their meeting at the Asia-Africa leaders summit last week in Jakarta.

Following weeks of bitter protests by Chinese demonstrators remonstrating against Japanese wartime atrocities, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has moved to heal the rift between the two nations by apologizing for Japan's World War II record in a speech at the Asia-Africa leaders summit held last week in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Relations between the two Asian superpowers have plummeted to a thirty-year low following Tokyo's approval of a school textbook that glosses over Japanese atrocities in China during World War II. Touching off a tumultuous few weeks of demonstrations and accusations, Chinese people took to the streets — some say deliberately encouraged by the Chinese administration — to protest their anger over Japanese war crimes.

In a bid to calm tensions, Koizumi used his address before a gathering of Asian and African leaders in Jakarta — an audience which included Chinese President Hu Jintao — to apologize for Japan's wartime past.

"In the past, Japan, through its colonial rule and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations," Koizumi said.

Though expressing "feelings of deep remorse and heartfelt apology," the effect of the apology was diluted somewhat by the visit by some 80 Japanese politicians — including a member of Koizumi's cabinet — to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. The shrine, honored by Japanese nationalists and last visited by Koizumi in January 2004, is the resting place of convicted Japanese war criminals.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry released a statement expressing its dissatisfaction with the visit stating, "China has already expressed its clear position over (visits to) the Yasukuni Shrine. … Given the current serious nature of China-Japan relations, we strongly express our dissatisfaction that some Japanese politicians ignored the interests of both countries and took such a negative move."

According to some observers though, the recent virulent demonstrations against Japan and anti-Japanese comments by high-ranking members of the Chinese leadership have a somewhat deeper purpose. Professor Hugh White, of the Australian National University, has attributed the current tension between the two countries to two factors.

"The first is long-standing irritations, and more than irritations, genuine animosities which go back deep into history — indeed, before the 1930s — but obviously very strongly focused now on the events during Japan's invasion of China during the 1930's and 40's, and that is deep and, I think, quite seriously felt in China," said Professor White on the Australian ABC's Lateline program.

"But we're also seeing a reflection of changing power relativities between China and Japan," White continued, "and in particular, in Japan, growing anxiety about what it's going to mean for Japan to live next door to this huge economically very vibrant and politically very effective outgoing power, building in China's case a kind of a sphere of influence in the region which challenges Japan both economically and diplomatically. There's real anxiety there as well, and so you have the combination of old long-standing historical tensions and real contemporary power-political anxieties, and I think it's the mix between the two which is really quite risky."

Added to these economic and political realities is the push by Japan for a permanent seat on the Security Council in an expanded United Nations, a proposal to which China is vehemently opposed. As one of only five permanent members of the Security Council — along with France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — China has campaigned aggressively against Japan's application.

Japanese leaders, however, believe their country's status as the world's second largest economic power and second largest contributor to the United Nations (both after the United States) entitles them to a permanent seat on the Security Council. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has already commissioned a team of advisors to look into ways in which the Security Council can be expanded and a proposal of an extra five permanent seats has been suggested.

In order for this to occur, the United Nations charter will have to be amended and earlier this month, following an official visit by Premier Wen Jiabao to India, China sent its strongest signal yet that it would use its veto to block Japan's application.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Wen criticized Japan's application saying, "Only a country that respects history, takes responsibility for history and wins over the trust of peoples in Asia and the world at large can take greater responsibilities in the international community."

He went on to express his support for the Chinese protests saying, "Last century the aggression war waged by Japan inflicted huge and tremendous suffering and hardships on people in China, Asia and the world at large."

Meanwhile an Internet petition in China opposed to Japan's application for a permanent Security Council seat has, to date, collected over 20 million online signatures. In a country where dissent is quickly suppressed, the petition's very existence has suggested that it has received implicit approval from Chinese authorities and may be being used by the Government to place further pressure on Japan.

http://worldpress.org/Asia/2070.cfm

J. Thomas Schieffer

BIOGRAPHY

Ambassador, Japan
Term of Appointment: 04/01/2005 to present

John Thomas ‘Tom’ Schieffer was sworn in as the 27th U.S. Ambassador to Japan on April 1st 2005, and presented his credentials to the Emperor on April 11th 2005. Since coming to Japan, he has worked to strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance, increase trade, and facilitate the realignment of U.S. forces stationed in Japan, among other issues.

Before coming to Japan, Ambassador Schieffer served as the U.S. Ambassador to Australia from July 2001 until February 2005. During his tenure in Canberra, he coordinated closely with the Government of Australia on efforts to fight global terrorism and helped to deepen cooperation on rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was also heavily involved in the conclusion of a free trade agreement between the U.S. and Australia in May 2004.

Prior to his diplomatic service, Ambassador Schieffer was an investor in the partnership that bought the Texas Rangers Baseball Club in 1989, with George W. Bush and Edward W. ‘Rusty’ Rose. He served as team President for eight years, responsible for day-to-day operations of the club as well as overseeing the building of The Ballpark in Arlington, Texas. Ambassador Schieffer has also had a long involvement in Texas politics. He was elected to three terms in the Texas House of Representatives and has been active in many political campaigns.

Ambassador Schieffer attended the University of Texas, where he earned a B.A., a M.A. in international relations, and studied law. He was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1979. He is married to Susanne Silber of San Antonio, Texas, and they have one son, Paul.

Released on April 6, 2005

Japan, U.S. mull Futemma chopper unit transfer to Iejima

TOKYO, April 3 Kyodo
Japan and the United States are discussing transferring the U.S. Marine Corps' helicopter unit to the U.S. Iejima Auxiliary Air Field in Okinawa Prefecture from Futemma Air Station, senior Japanese officials said Saturday.

The two governments are also considering having the Japanese Self-Defense Forces take over control of Futemma and dispersing other functions of the Futemma base to other facilities, but allowing U.S. forces to use Futemma to gather supplies in an emergency, the Japanese government and ruling coalition officials said.

The "dispersive" relocation plan being discussed as an alternative to the stalled relocation plan for Futemma includes transferring the midair refueling unit to either the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kanoya Base in Kagoshima Prefecture or the Air Self-Defense Force's Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture.

Observers say the two sides agreeing on the new proposal would lead to an overhaul of the original plan to relocate Futemma's heliport functions to Nago, also in Okinawa Prefecture.

Transferring the helicopter unit would fulfill the Japanese government's hope of removing safety concerns posed by Futemma, located in the center of a residential downtown area, while maintaining U.S. deterrence in the region, the officials said.

But negotiations on moving the helicopter unit to the base on Iejima Island, about 9 kilometers northwest of the main Okinawa Island, are likely to face a rugged path due to water supply problems and past friction between the U.S. forces and local residents there.
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Japan and the United States agreed in 1996 that the U.S. military would vacate the Futemma base in five to seven years on the condition that its heliport functions were relocated within the prefecture.

The Henoko area in Nago was chosen in 1999 as the site for the replacement facility, but construction of the envisioned military-civilian airport has not even begun amid strong opposition from local residents.

The government has begun drilling assessments at the site, but the replacement facility is expected to take more than 10 years to complete.

Back in 1996, Iejima was not considered one of the candidate sites for the Futemma relocation given its distance from the main Okinawa island, poor water supply and the history of friction between residents and the U.S. military, which seized their land after Japan lost World War II.

But in light of the crash of a U.S. military helicopter at a Japanese university campus adjacent to Futemma last August, the two governments now place the highest priority on eliminating the safety problem at Futemma.

Japan and the United States agreed in February at a top-level security meeting to accelerate talks to realize the relocation.

Iejima, which has a 2,000-meter runway operated by the U.S. military, therefore became a candidate site, the officials said. The 8-square-kilometer U.S. air field occupies 35 percent of the island.

Other alternatives that had reportedly been considered include relocating the Marines' helicopters to the U.S. Kadena Air Base or Shimoji Island, both in Okinawa Prefecture.

But there are concerns that the local economy will suffer after the United States hands Futemma back, such as the loss of income for land owners and employees at the base.

The government hopes to solve these problems by having the SDF take over control of the base after U.S. troops' functions are relocated.

Critics say, however, that since Washington is negative on removing the Marines from Japan, the Futemma issue may be further prolonged if the Iejima proposal goes unrealized.

"Transferring the helicopter unit (to Iejima) will be an enormous hurdle politically," a senior Defense Agency official said on condition of anonymity, referring to local residents' anger over recent incidents of falling objects from parachute drills by U.S. troops on the island.

Japan Overrated as US Ally

Saturday, April 2, 2005 Posted: 12:19 AM JST

(by Mindy Kotler) - The United States and Japan have been in the midst of an old-fashioned trade war. For more than 15 months, Tokyo has closed its US$1.4 billion market for US beef because of one case of mad-cow disease discovered in December 2003. Beef exports are just one of many economic and foreign-policy disputes grating at the US-Japan relationship. Until now, the emphasis on military security has helped characterize relations as the "best ever". The recent visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, however, highlights the imprudence of letting one issue control the agenda when dealing with Japan.

Modernizing the security alliance with Japan has been President George W Bush's most important foreign policy in Asia. His administration began in 2000 with a written plan and seasoned experts to draw Japan closer into the alliance. Economic issues were approached gingerly, due to Japan's fragile economy and the desire to reduce diplomatic tensions. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States hardened this Bush administration bias toward Japan.

There has been some modest response from Japan. It has improved its domestic terrorism legislation, made preparations for revising its no-war constitution to permit combat, and sent troops to Iraq. A Japanese oiler now sits in the Indian Ocean fueling US and allied naval ships, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Forces (SDF) did participate in a Proliferation Security Initiative exercise, and Tokyo has signed on to a missile defense plan. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi did all this in spite of substantial domestic opposition.

These developments to the United States' advantage have come at the expense of other potentially contentious issues with Japan. Besides the beef issue, other economic irritants include Tokyo's excessive currency manipulation to sustain the value of the yen, its unwillingness to take a leadership role in the Doha trade round, laxity in financial reconstruction and deregulation, steel dumping, continuing to keep its market closed to apples, and its refusal to extradite a Japanese scientist indicted for economic espionage.

And the scorecard on foreign policy has not been all that great. In contrast to US policies, Japan has refused to halt investment in Iran's Azadegam oilfield or to end aid to Myanmar, and it has held its own negotiations with North Korea despite being part of the suspended six-party negotiations. More troubling has been Tokyo's series of "rock" grabs in the territorial waters of China, South Korea, and Russia and Prime Minister Koizumi's insistence on visiting the Yasukuni Shrine that holds the ashes of Japan's World War II soldiers and convicted war criminals. By aggressively resurrecting these historical disputes, Japan has succeeded in deepening the already many fissures between Tokyo and its Asian neighbors, all of whom are needed by the United States to maintain regional stability.

Even Japan's gesture of sending troops to Iraq is beginning to look hollow. Six hundred-odd members of Japan's SDF are sitting in a custom-built desert bunker guarded, until last week, by Dutch troops and now by the British and Australians. The locals rarely see the Japanese - who had proclaimed they were undertaking a strictly "humanitarian" mission of reconstruction and other aid - and Iraqis express disappointment about the quality of aid offered. Indeed the one time the SDF did venture out, it was to set up a "friendship" monument, which the Iraqis promptly blew up.

If the advantages of Japan's support on Iraq are beginning to diminish, so are those of Japan's alliance support. Japan has balked at concluding a long-negotiated relocation of the US Air Force base at Futema, decided to decrease the "sympathy budget" that supports US bases in Japan, disagreed with US defense transformation plans to move the US Army's 1st Corps Headquarters to Japan, balked at moving US troops to other locations in Japan outside Okinawa, and objected to inter-operability between forces.

Even "resolved", the beef dispute is unlikely to go away. One result of the eventual lifting of the beef-import ban is the likely imposition of high tariffs. By World Trade Organization rules, Japan can increase its beef tariff from 38.5% to 50% if there is a year-on-year increase of more than 17% in imported beef on a cumulative quarterly basis. This "safeguard clause" is certain to be activated once the imports go from zero to anything. In the past, the US Trade Representative called this move "inappropriate" and said it "considers this safeguard to be a right and not a rule, and as such, believes Japan can choose not to exercise it".

Yes, Japan has moved incrementally toward a more contemporary security strategy. How much of this turns into an "alliance" remains to be seen. As Prime Minister Koizumi's veiled threat to have Japan stop buying US Treasuries after President Bush asked him to open up the beef market showed recently, economic issues remain linked to Japan's notion of its national security. Separating trade and financial concerns from what defines a US-Japan alliance was only the White House's wishful thinking.

Mindy Kotler is founder and director of the Japan Information Access Project in Washington, DC. The Project is an independent, non-profit research center studying US policy relationships with Japan and Northeast Asia.

This article was also published at "Speaking Freely", a feature of the Asia Times Online.