Should I call it a midsummer night's dream? The other day, a jazz session led by master alto saxophonist Sadao Watanabe, 78, accompanied on the piano by Gerald Curtis, 70, a Columbia University professor and political scientist specializing in Japanese politics and Japan-U.S. relations, was held at the official residence of U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos.
Should I call it a midsummer night's dream? The other day, a jazz session led by master alto saxophonist Sadao Watanabe, 78, accompanied on the piano by Gerald Curtis, 70, a Columbia University professor and political scientist specializing in Japanese politics and Japan-U.S. relations, was held at the official residence of U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos.
Curtis is a skillful pianist who aspired to become a pro as a young man. Last year, the two formed a quartet along with two others and the ambassador offered to host a session.
With a wry smile, the professor explained that he was throwing himself into jazz because of the gloom he would feel if he discussed the current political situation in Japan. Each time he visited areas hit by the quake and tsunami, as he has on a number of occasions, Curtis said he felt more disillusioned at the politicians. The next day the quartet was due to perform in a charity concert for children in the stricken areas.
HATRED AND DISTRUST
Japanese politics is filled with a sense of gloom. The brightness of two years ago, when the Democratic Party of Japan came to power in a historic regime change, has completely gone.
Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who spoke of his dreams back then, closed the curtains on act one all too soon. Now, act two is also hanging by a single thread. Still, Prime Minister Naoto Kan is clinging to power in a desperate attempt to keep the curtains open.
Japan is facing a serious crisis after disasters of extraordinary scale--a giant earthquake, tsunami and a nuclear power plant accident. The political scene is seething with hatred and distrust. In these circumstances, the outlook for politics in this country is dark and there appears little prospect of it getting brighter.
It is as if the whole world is against Kan. His enemies can be roughly divided into four groups. 1) The Liberal Democratic Party and other opposition parties. 2) The group within the DPJ supporting scandal-tainted heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa. 3) Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which are trying to protect nuclear power generation, and politicians close to them. 4) Close aides and influential politicians, including Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, who are trying to oust him.
It is my guess that Kan saw the move in May to submit a no-confidence motion against his Cabinet as a coordinated effort by the first three groups. He weathered that crisis by saying he was planning to step down "once certain measures are in place for reconstruction." But, with his resignation regarded as a foregone conclusion, his distrust of the last group must have also grown stronger.
In the event he actually resigns, wouldn't the situation allow Ozawa to influence a DPJ presidential election and give him the upper hand over the party again? No matter who becomes prime minister, wouldn't he or she reverse the trend away from nuclear power generation? Apparently, Kan's determination to hold on to power is being driven by such fears.
INTERNAL STRIFE
Be that as it may, I can't stand to watch the pathetic way he is steering the administration.
The appointment of Ryu Matsumoto as state minister in charge of the rebuilding process following the Great East Japan Earthquake was a colossal blunder on the part of Kan. Matsumoto was soon forced to resign after a series of gaffes including verbally abusing the governor of Miyagi Prefecture and threatening journalists. Did Kan aim at deliberately infuriating the LDP when he suddenly poached Kazuyuki Hamada from the LDP to appoint him as parliamentary secretary for reconstruction? The appointment invited criticism within the DPJ as well as the LDP.
While the introduction of stress tests to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants and Kan's comment that Japan should eventually break with nuclear power generation were positives, he has exposed the confusion and internal strife within his Cabinet with abrupt moves reminiscent of the tactics he employed when he was an opposition lawmaker.
Or maybe Kan, who does not seem to care about criticism of his failure to ensure smooth implementation of policies, is pleased with himself for fighting the industry ministry and other groups that oppose him. When he was health minister, Kan was lauded for digging up documents that proved patients had contracted AIDS from tainted blood products. He is now prime minister, but perhaps he cannot part with the guerrilla mentality and drive to fight the establishment that he demonstrated when he belonged to the opposition. Ever since the nuclear accident, I have the feeling that such thinking has become increasingly pronounced.
If so, it's about time he stepped down. Prime ministers need the willpower and capability to look at the big picture and skillfully move the government as a whole. They cannot expect always to rely on guerrilla tactics.
In the stricken areas, there has been little progress in disposing of the rubble and with getting employment for people who lost their jobs after the disaster. How painful it must be for people who are unable to return home because of radioactive contamination. Damage has also spread to beef and worries about power shortages are also seriously affecting western Japan. The economic crisis in Europe and the United States is also so serious that it could aggravate the suffering of Japan. This is no time for politicians to indulge in grudge fights within the administration.
Mr. Kan, I advise you to step down once and for all in the current Diet session. You should pass the baton to younger generations of politicians who hold no grudges. Why not go back to being a guerrilla lawmaker and devote yourself to the cause of phasing out nuclear power? I believe that is the best course for you to follow at this juncture.
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Yoshibumi Wakamiya is editor-in-chief of The Asahi Shimbun.