DPJ to forge new links with Obama government as Lower House win looks more likely

December 29, 2008

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will begin periodic meetings with U.S. officials, party officials announced, with an eye towards building a mutual rapport as the DPJ looks more and more likely to win the next Lower House election.

U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission James P. Zumwalt and Director of the International Bureau of the DPJ Tetsundo Iwakuni finalized the agreement on Dec. 16 in Tokyo, along with Kuniko Tanioka, deputy director of the International Bureau of the DPJ, and Kenzo Fujisue, shadow vice minister of economy, trade and industry.

During an exchange of opinions on Afghanistan, the U.S. emphasized that they sought not support for the U.S., but a contribution to the international community, urging the DPJ to propose the types of aid they can provide. The DPJ explained the party's proposed plan for the eradication of terrorism, in which the Self-Defense Forces would be dispatched to Afghanistan after the fighting ends, to focus on irrigation and infrastructure support.

While DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa places an emphasis on "the construction of equal and stronger Japan-U.S. relations," and as party policy, supports revisions of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement and the transfer of the Futenma U.S. air base to a location outside Okinawa Prefecture, specific avenues of negotiation on these issues had yet to be established. Tanioka's appointment on Dec. 11 was designed to raise the number of staff working to create a relationship with Barack Obama's new administration.

There has been increasing contact between the DPJ and the U.S. since Obama's election in November. In most instances, the U.S. side made visits to DPJ officials specializing not only in security issues -- which had been common in the past -- but also those with expertise in environmental, agricultural, and economic issues. The DPJ, in turn, explained the party's policies, such as the proposed plan for income compensation for individual farming households.

"The U.S. probably wants to open avenues of negotiation on various topics," said a senior official in the DPJ's International Bureau. "But their main focus appears to be the issue of Afghanistan."

(Mainichi Japan) December 29, 2008