The Yomiuri Shimbun
After causing political confusion at home and in the Japan-U.S. relationship, he easily broke his "promise to the people." He apologized but will not take responsibility. These developments show the real nature of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
The Japanese and U.S. governments issued a joint statement that stipulates the Henoko area in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, as the relocation site for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station, also in the prefecture.
Hatoyama then dismissed Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima from his Cabinet after she refused to sign a Cabinet policy document regarding the base relocation because she opposed the Japan-U.S. agreement. Fukushima was the consumer affairs minister.
Even though she was the leader of a coalition partner of Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan-led government, she adamantly refused to approve of the government's relocation plan. It was therefore natural for the prime minister to dismiss her.
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Policy U-turn was realistic
The Hatoyama administration made a realistic judgment when it dropped a plan to move the base outside the prefecture, which was unpromising, and instead made a U-turn to a position very close to the previous plan to construct alternative facilities in the coastal area of Henoko.
But it took too much time for the administration to make this change. Residents in Okinawa Prefecture, who had approved the existing plan until last year, turned against it, an indication that very high hurdles remain before the relocation plan can be implemented. In this regard, the relocation issue should not be considered to have returned to the original point. Rather, the situation is worse than it was before the launch of the Hatoyama administration.
The government should make all-out efforts to persuade the Okinawa prefectural government and the Nago municipal government to cooperate to realize the Japan-U.S. agreement.
The joint statement listed eight areas in which measures could be taken to reduce the burdens on the people of Okinawa, such as relocating the training of U.S. forces and U.S. forces and Self-Defense Forces sharing base facilities.
But the statement merely says many of such measures would be considered in accordance with progress made in completing the replacement facilities. It is unclear to what extent the measures can be materialized.
Taking into consideration the SDP's stance opposing the relocation within the prefecture, the government initially was considering not naming Henoko in a government policy document. But with Fukushima's dismissal, the government stipulated Henoko as the relocation site in the document.
It was reasonable that the government did not apply a "double standard." The DPJ wants to avoid losing the support of the SDP in the upcoming House of Councillors election with the departure of the SDP from the ruling coalition. But it is not a good idea to leave national security issues ambiguous in order to win an election.
The SDP maintains such positions as urging that the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty be turned into a peace and friendship treaty and insisting that the SDF is unconstitutional. It was, from the beginning, unreasonable for the DPJ to form a coalition with a party whose policies significantly differ.
Hatoyama has also caused confusion by declaring he was seeking to wean the nation from its dependence on the United States, making the achievement of national security without a permanent U.S. military presence in Japan his pet policy.
The SDP adamantly opposed the relocation of the Futenma base within Okinawa Prefecture but failed to offer any feasible alternatives. The party in this sense cannot escape responsibility over the meandering course that the government took over the issue.
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Dissolve coalition with SDP
Confrontation over foreign and security policies will continue as long as Hatoyama maintains the coalition with the SDP. The prime minister must not hesitate to dissolve the coalition with the SDP.
Hatoyama set a self-imposed deadline to settle the Futenma issue by the end of May. He loudly proclaimed that he would obtain consent from the Okinawa prefectural government, all municipal governments concerned in hosting replacement facilities, the United States and the ruling coalition partners. Until recently, he also reiterated he would stake his position on the issue.
But the current situation, in which Hatoyama only obtained consent from the United States--while the prefectural and municipal governments and the SDP opposed the relocation plan--should be deemed a betrayal of his own words.
If the head of the government breaks his promise to the people of the nation, he could end public trust in politics.
Hatoyama apologized at a press conference Friday night for his Cabinet's failure to gain the understanding of the people of Okinawa or the leader of the SDP before making a decision on the Futenma issue, saying he was sorry. He also stressed his pledge to settle the issue, saying, "It's my duty to continue to tenaciously work on the base issue." However, this is not something he can simply apologize away.
Confusion over the base issue arose because the Hatoyama administration excluded bureaucrats who are experts on the Futenma issue from the discussions, and also because the prime minister, who lacks knowledge, experience and insight, and his ministers took ad hoc and inconsistent approaches.
It is unfortunate that neither the prime minister or ministers in charge are taking responsibility for their serious mismanagement of government under their "politician-led" handling of government affairs and that no strong criticism of them is being heard within the DPJ.
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Executive ability lacking
This all brings Hatoyama's aptitude for being the nation's leader into serious question. His comments on the issue changed almost every day, and he was not able to demonstrate leadership or decisiveness.
Responsibility for consequences is the issue here. Nobody respects someone who simply says, "I tried, but I couldn't make it."
What is required of the prime minister is not expressing his own peculiar thoughts or pandering to people he is talking to. What is necessary is an executive ability to resolve problems by making a final decision, having a well-defined goal and having a good command of Cabinet ministers and bureaucrats.
The mutual trust among the Japanese government, the United States, Okinawa Prefecture and relevant local governments is seriously damaged because of Hatoyama's lack of competence.
At the same time, the situation on the Korean Peninsula has become tense following North Korea's torpedoing of a South Korean warship in March. Strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance is an urgent task in view of the uncertainty in East Asia, including China's military build-up and demonstrations of its military might.
The government must keep these things in mind and seriously work on resolving the Futenma issue, which is still only halfway completed.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 29, 2010)
(May. 30, 2010)
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