NEW YORK, Feb. 1 2006 KYODOJapanese and U.S. political and economic experts recently expressed optimism about U.S.-Japan ties despite Japan's leadership change in September, while they raised concerns about how this may be challenged by Iran's nuclear issue, and touched on other topics such as Japan's diplomatic problems linked to the Yasukuni issue
The panel discussion, sponsored by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York on Jan. 25, brought together four experts on economic and political affairs.
The panelists were Michael Green, senior adviser and Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Shinichi Kitaoka, a Japanese ambassador to the United Nations; Masato Mori, president and chief executive officer of Nippon Steel USA Inc.; and Motokazu Yoshida, chairman for the Americas and president and chief executive officer of Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.
''No matter how the midterm election will turn out, there is a bipartisan consensus on the importance of the U.S.-Japan security alliance,'' said Green, a former special assistant to the U.S. President George W. Bush for national security affairs and senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council.
Green said both Japan and the United States have come to see their ties as an alliance based on ''common values,'' unlike 15 years ago when the their relations were strained by trade friction.
But nuclear nonproliferation will be a major issue in the future, Green said. ''The Iranian issue will be increasingly difficult. So far, Japan has invested in Iranian oil fields while conducting a strong nonproliferation diplomacy at the International Atomic Energy Agency. But this will be a year in which Japan must choose one -- energy diplomacy or nonproliferation.''
Green said most U.S. government experts agree that Iran is seeking to obtain nuclear weapons.
On North Korea, Green said the agreement reached at six-nation talks last September was an ''important diplomatic step,'' but pointed out that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has yet to make any strategic decision.
He also said North Korea's illegal activities, such as suspected counterfeiting and drug trafficking, are increasing, while diplomacy is making modest progress.
Green also praised the role of Japan's Self-Defense Forces in the international community and said that after the Iraq mission is over in 2006, Japan must think of the SDF's international role.
''It does not have to be Iraq. Personally, I think it is necessary for Japan's SDF to operate somewhere in the world. Sending personnel abroad is becoming an important pillar of the Japanese diplomacy,'' he said.
On Japan's relations with its neighboring countries such as China and South Korea, Kitaoka said that his opinion has not changed since he wrote a dissertation earlier calling for the creation of a secular memorial apart from the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's shrine visits have strained Tokyo's ties with Beijing and Seoul, and have led to a halt in bilateral talks between the countries' top leaders following Koizumi's most recent visit to Yasukuni last Oct. 17.
Koizumi has visited the shrine once a year since taking office in 2001.
''Who is right and who is wrong -- diplomacy cannot be settled like that. Because of this (Yasukuni) problem, I feel that Japan's diplomatic options are being reduced,'' Kitaoka said.
Kitaoka said he used to attend a joint historical committee of Japanese and South Korean scholars, and said while the media's reporting of the committee's achievement was critical, he felt that the fellowship between the researchers was beginning to emerge.
''It was not a wasteful attempt. Different opinions cannot converge that easily. Rather, I strongly oppose such concept as 'integrating' historical interpretations. I believe that intellectual cognitions belong to an individual, and in that spirit, Japan should have a dialogue with China,'' Kitaoka said.
''Japan can take a fair and offensive approach on historical issues based on the deep and democratic freedom of learning. But when the discussion comes to the Yasukuni issue, Japan becomes defensive and cannot discuss any other issues,'' Kitaoka said.
Kitaoka said there are a number of cases in the world where the interpretations of historical events cannot be reconciled, and there are organizations working to resolve such problems, including the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation in Salzburg.
''On the Palestinian issue, for example, the two sides will exchange maps and chronological tables, and that's all. But even such an exchange is better than none,'' he said, adding that the full reconciliation between Germany and Poland began only after the Cold War.
''We need to take a long-term approach on this (historical reconciliation) issue outside of the government framework, and it will be ideal if the government continues to support such an undertaking,'' Kitaoka said.
Green also expressed worry about the simmering tensions between the two Asian giants: ''What we should be concerned about (with) deteriorating relations between Japan and China, is not whether there would be a conflict or war -- these scenarios are not very likely -- but an overall strategic structure in Asia and Japan's diplomatic weight in Asia. This, I think, is directly linked to the national interest of the United States.''
Green said he believes that China's mid- to long-term strategy is to be a bipolar power with the United States -- with China representing Asia and America representing the West.
''If this structure becomes a reality, China does not have to democratize itself much. China can boost its economic and military power at its own pace,'' Green said.
==Kyodo
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