Ozawa in trouble as climate changes in Japan
0 
After just one year of Democratic Party rule in Japan, the "three carriages" - Yukio Hatoyama, Naoto Kan and Ichiro Ozawa - have split in strife.
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) initially adopted a moderately pro-China political position. Ozawa's election strategy and overall policy toward China were largely inherited from his "political father" Tanaka Kakuei, who promoted the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations in 1972.
In December 2009, breaking with the traditional practice of visiting the US first, Ozawa led Japan's largest-ever 643-strong delegation, including 146 members of diet, on a visit to China.
China welcomed the delegation with a 70-table banquet in the Great Hall of the People. President Hu Jintao shook hands and took photos with each member of the delegation.
Hatoyama has always opposed visits to the Yasukuni Shrine and is passionately devoted to building the East Asian Community. His long article "Japan's New Road" published in the New York Times conveyed a clear message to the US: Japan should not forget its identity. We are an Asian nation.
When I interviewed Hatoyama on December 22, he said that, even it takes 50 or 100 years, Japan should have no foreign military bases on its domestic soil; and that he hoped the US military would leave Japan as soon as possible.
Naoto Kan is an independent member of the "China School," who publicly admits the historical facts of Japanese aggression against China and opposes visits to the Yasukuni Shrine.
Although he previously supported Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations, he opposed independence for Taiwan, which is very rare in Japanese politics. After taking office, Naoto Kan appointed Murata Renho as Minister of State for Civil Service Reform, a rare opportunity for a Japanese-Chinese.
However, the good times did not last long. In the "Kan vs. Ozawa" party leader election in September, Hatoyama and Ozawa stood together. But Kan, relying on the emerging young conservative group in the party which includes figures such as Seiji Maehara, successfully portrayed himself as an example of incorruptibility, a person who "cannot afford to purchase a house."
Go to Forum >>0 Comments