Japan Times :: Sunday, May 30, 2010

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• [NATIONAL NEWS]
  SDP pushed to quit coalition
  Kyodo News
  Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima says she intends to propose to her fellow party members that the SDP leave the ruling coalition led by the Democratic Party of Japan.
  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100530a2.html
  
  
• [NATIONAL NEWS]
  New offshore runway at U.S. Iwakuni operational
  Kyodo News
  The U.S. military begins operation of a new offshore runway at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture, replacing an existing runway located closer to nearby residential areas.
  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100530a3.html
  
  
• [NATIONAL NEWS]
  U.N. queries Japan about Korean schools, parental child abduction
  GENEVA (Kyodo) A U.N. panel questioned Japan on Thursday and Friday about children's rights issues, including whether ethnic Korean schools will be excluded from a newly introduced high school tuition waiver program.
  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100530a5.html
  
  
• [NATIONAL NEWS]
  Commodore Perry clock ticks again
  YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) A clock given to a samurai in Shizuoka Prefecture by Commodore Perry in 1854 went on display at a museum in Yokohama on Saturday after being returned to working order.
  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100530a8.html
  
  
• [JT EDITORIAL]
  Futenma outcome disappoints
  In a joint statement Friday, the foreign and defense ministers of Japan and the United States declared that the replacement facility for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, will be relocated to the Henoko area of Camp Schwab and adjacent waters in Nago, the northern part of Okinawa Island. It also mentioned bilateral efforts to move more U.S. military training drills to areas such as Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, Guam, and Japanese Self-Defense Forces' bases on mainland Japan. The Cabinet later confirmed the statement and adopted its policy on the relocation of Futenma.
  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ed20100530a1.html
  
  
• [OPINION]
  THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
  Does democracy still count if it's conditional?
  By HIROAKI SATO
  NEW YORK — With Barack Obama's military policy in the Middle East getting murkier by the day, his predecessor George W. Bush's stated goal of democratizing the region through violence has to be judged to have failed. The thought prompts the reflection that forced democratization could entail considerable duplicity even after the violence.
  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/eo20100530hs.html

Editorial :: Hatoyama responsible for base relocation chaos

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.

===

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.

===

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.

===

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)

Daily Yomiuri Online :: Sunday, May 30, 2010

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• Click 基地移設 Base Relocation

• Fukushima's dismissal shakes coalition (May.30)


• Fukushima: SDP may withdraw from coalition (May.30)


• SDP head's departure may force DPJ to change election strategy (May.30)


• Editorial :: Hatoyama responsible for base relocation chaos (May.30)

SDP to debate departure from ruling bloc

May 30, 2010
Click for Video

On Sunday, the Social Democratic Party is due to discuss whether to remain in the governing coalition, following the dismissal of its leader as a Cabinet minister over the relocation of a US air base in Okinawa.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama dismissed Mizuho Fukushima as Minister in Charge of Consumer Affairs and other matters on Friday, after she refused to sign a Cabinet document on the relocation of the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station. The document included transferring some functions of the Futenma base to the Henoko district in Nago City, Okinawa.

On Sunday, the Social Democratic Party plans to hold a meeting of Prefectural Secretaries General, where Fukushima will explain the developments leading up to her dismissal.

Fukushima indicated on Saturday, that it is difficult for her party to stay in the ruling bloc. She said her firing is tantamount to abandoning the Social Democratic Party.

Calls are growing within the party to leave the governing camp, after Hatoyama flatly rejected the party's stance on the base relocation issue. On Saturday, the party's Okinawa chapter held an emergency meeting and decided to ask the leadership to quit the ruling coalition.

However, some party members say the impact on the Upper House election scheduled for this summer should be considered. The leadership plans to make a final decision after studying opinions from local chapters.

Meanwhile, Hatoyama is under fire from within his Democratic Party over his handling of the relocation issue.

On Saturday, former lower house Deputy Speaker Kozo Watanabe demanded the voluntary resignation of Hatoyama as Prime Minister, saying he is losing public trust. Other party members are voicing concern that the relocation issue may adversely affect the Upper House election. The leadership plans to discuss what to do early this week.

2010/05/30 06:26(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)

Cabinet Minister Mizuho Fukushima fired over Futenma decision

Date Posted: 2010-05-30

Consumer Affairs Minister Mizuho Fukushima has been fired by the Prime Minister after she refused to support a decision to relocate Futenma Marine Corps Air Station from Ginowan City to a sparsely populated area in northern Okinawa.

Fukushima, who also is head of the Social Democratic Party, was adamantly opposed to the Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s agreement with the United States to keep the controversial base in Okinawa. She refused to sign a cabinet resolution endorsing the government’s policy announced by Washington and Tokyo earlier Friday. “The SDP and I will not betray Okinawa,” Fukushima told reporters after being sacked by the Prime Minister.

Holding his own news conference, Hatoyama said he “deeply regrets” having to remove Fukushima from her post, but said he’d failed to win her support. Fukushima’s ouster is the second dismissal of a Cabinet Minister. Yoshinobu Shimamura was canned in August 2005 by then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi because of Shimamura’s disagreements over privatizing Japan’s postal system. Within Hatoyama’s administration, Fukushima is the second to leave, but the first involuntarily. Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii resigned in January due to health issues.

Fukushima and the SDP have strongly opposed the plan to have Futenma’s replacement in Okinawa. She and her party have been adamant on their position. “I never imagined that the deals that began with Henoko would name it again,” she said.

The big question now is what the SDP will do. Earlier, Fukushima had threatened to pull her 10 Diet members out of the coalition with the ruling Democratic Party of Japan. The DJP operates in tandem with the SDP and another junior coalition partner.

Yasumasa Shigeno, the SDP Secretary General, says his party will not make any hasty decisions about whether to withdraw from the coalition. Fukushima had in recent days been more vocal about stepping away. The expectation now is that the SDP will make a decision on staying or leaving the coalition when its party regional chapter chiefsf convene on Sunday.

Okinawans angry with new base accord

Date Posted: 2010-05-30

Okinawa residents reacted angrily Friday after learning that Japan and the United States had signed a formal agreement to move Futenma Marine Corps Air Station to the Henoko area and Camp Schwab in northern Okinawa.

Nago City’s mayor, Susumu Inamine, continued to be defiant about the new base being built in his community, declaring there’s “zero” chance it will ever happen. “I will not engage in negotiations,” he said. Word spread quickly as the news was broadcast on television, most expressing both anger and disappointment that the agreement was approved despite Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama knowing the sentiments of the Okinawan people.

“I get the impression that it was reached over our heads,” said Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima. “Implementing it is extremely difficult.” Nakaima, who in the past had endorsed moving Futenma north with the proviso the U.S. and Japan agree to move the two V-shaped, 2,500-meter runways further into reclaimed land in Oura Bay as a safety measure that would also have reduced noise pollution. Nakaima has the authority to approve the land reclamation measures necessary to make the base’s runways a reality. “I’m not at the point where I should say it yet,” is how he responded to questions about whether he would grant the needed permit.

Local groups opposed to the move were angry, too. One, Hiroji Yamashiro, muttered “this kind of scam can’t pass. Nago City’s mayor Inamine, who was elected largely through is opposition to moving the Marine airbase to Henoko, said “returning to Henoko after raising expectations so much among the people of the prefecture amounts to a betrayal of them, and can’t be accepted.”

Roughly 1,200 people gathered at Nago City Hall to protest, while another 1,500 gathered at the Prefecture Headquarters in Naha City. Activist Muneyoshi Kayo, who’s been leading sit-in demonstrations against the Futenma move to Henoko for years, criticized Hatoyama, saying “the ancestor of the Hatoyama family will be crying, saying ‘the grandson is a liar’”. He was referring to Hatoyama’s father, former Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama.

Hatoyama not qualified to be state leader: Mataichi

May 29 10:39 PM US/Eastern

TOKYO, May 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Social Democratic Party deputy chief Seiji Mataichi said Sunday that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is not qualified to be a state leader.

On the premier's call for the SDP to remain in his tripartite coalition government, Mataichi told reporters in Tokyo that it is "incoherent, and that he is not qualified to be a state leader as he has lost his perspective."

His remarks came after Hatoyama dismissed the party's leader Mizuho Fukushima Friday from the post of consumer affairs minister, as she refused to sign a Cabinet resolution on the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station.

Mataihchi also said it would be difficult for the SDP to cooperate with Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan in the upcoming upper house election unless the premier resigns.

The premier expressed hope Saturday at a hotel on the South Korean island of Jeju, where he attended the trilateral summit involving him and the leaders of South Korea and China.