THE ASAHI SHIMBUN2009/1/22
There was admiration but also concern among Japanese watching Tuesday's inauguration speech by U.S. President Barack Obama, in which the new leader stressed the need for change to resolve mounting global crises.
Hiroshi Kawauchi, a Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) Lower House member, who at 47 is the same age as Obama, said he was particularly impressed by Obama's use of the collective "we" in referring to problems and moves to solve them.
"That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood," Obama said.
Kawauchi said, "The fact that the subject 'we,' and not 'I,' is used frequently shows the world cannot change unless a message calling on all to roll up their sleeves is sent."
Currently serving his fourth term as a lawmaker, Kawauchi was stunned that a politician his age could become president.
"I can't sit idle. I have much to learn from him," said Kawauchi, who has kept a photograph of Obama in his office for two years.
Kawauchi said he hoped to become a politician who could connect with the wider public after visiting his Kagoshima Prefecture constituency on New Year's Day. He was shocked to meet an elderly voter slurping instant noodles whose children living far away could not afford to visit.
"I'm sure that if one knows what the people really want, then the nominative 'we' will come naturally in speeches," Kawauchi said.
Mitsuji Fukumoto, secretary-general of Peshawar-kai, an NGO assisting in Afghanistan, was less generous about Obama's promise to hand over the reins in Iraq and shift emphasis to peace-building in Afghanistan.
"He proclaimed an end to 'worn-out dogmas,' but in fact, he, too, remains bound to the old dogma inherent to Americans, that they alone are correct," Fukumoto, 60, said.
"It's true that the real battlefield lies in Afghanistan," Fukumoto said. "That battle is not an armed strife, but a battle against drought and starvation. I hope Obama realizes that."
A 44-year-old middle-ranked employee at Toyota Motor Corp., who watched live coverage of the president's inaugural speech early Wednesday, expressed concerns about a possible recurrence of protectionism in Washington, a common feature of previous Democratic administrations.
"I hope Obama transcends party lines and creates a market environment where fair competition is assured for foreign automakers," he said.
A 59-year-old farmer in Toyako, Hokkaido, near the venue of the Group of Eight summit last July, said he believed Obama's greener policies would spur the United States "to send a more assertive message to protect the environment."
In that case, Japan would also be forced to examine its own policies.
"Japan, too, must change to be able to assume leadership by speaking clearly and addressing the problem with data."(IHT/Asahi: January 22,2009)
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