With the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) electing Shinzo
Abe as its new president on Wednesday, Junichiro Koizumi will soon
step down as Japanese prime minister, leaving to his successor a
negative legacy in Japan's ties with its Asian neighbors.
During his over five-year tenure, Koizumi has been pursuing a
"following the United States" foreign policy, and neglected its
Asian neighbors. He insisted on visiting the war-related Yasukuni
Shrine and dragged his country into an awkward isolation in
Asia.
For the new leaders of Japan, to dispel the negative legacy left
by Koizumi will be a wise decision, which will be conducive to
mending Japan's relations with its Asian neighbors, and pulling the
country out of the diplomatic stalemate. It will serve Japan's
national interests.
Bad result of unbalanced diplomacy
Koizumi has been following the United States hardheadedly during
his tenure, trying all out to promote the Japan-US ally and seeking
to elevate it into a "global alliance" which could wield influence
on international affairs.
Koizumi regarded Japan's ties with the United States as its most
important bilateral relations. By describing the Japan-US ties as
"critical" and believing the more intimate they are, the more
easier Japan could build friendly ties with China and South Korea,
Koizumi left Asian countries out of consideration.
Although he has repeatedly expressed to pay attention to the
development of relations with China and South Korea, he did not
take any action to demonstrate his sincerity. Koizumi has paid
visits to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine for six consecutive years,
ignoring opposition and criticism from Asian countries, which have
suffered from Japanese militarism during the World War II.
His shrine visits not only dragged the Sino-Japanese political
relations to the lowest ebb since the normalization of bilateral
ties in 1972, but also led to the suspension of summit meetings
with South Korea, which suffered from the 1910-1945 Japanese
colonization.
Koizumi's wrong historic viewpoint and his crude handling of the
historic issue should be blamed for Japan's isolation in its Asian
diplomacy and the deterioration of Sino-Japan and South Korea-Japan
relations.
Japanese people know what's right and what's
wrong
Koizumi's unwise actions also drew criticism within Japan.
Following his shrine visit on Aug. 15, which marked the 61st
anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, Koichi Kato,
former Secretary General of Japan's ruling LDP, said "actions
regarding diplomacy cannot be resolved with words like 'spiritual
matter.'"
Mizuho Fukushima, head of the Social Democratic Party, said the
prime minister's visit had damaged Japan's present and future
relations with other Asian countries.
Makoto Iokibe, president of the National Defense Academy of
Japan, said in a recently released article that Koizumi's war
shrine visits had led to the exacerbation of negative effects in
its foreign relations, and had harmed Japan's "credit" and "foreign
assets."
Most Japanese hope to remove the negative impact of Koizumi's
shrine visits on its foreign relations.
A survey released by Japan's Foreign Ministry in March showed
that 77.9 percent of the respondents thought that the damaged ties
with China should be repaired.
Recent public surveys by the Japanese media also indicated that
most people were against the shrine visits by the next prime
minister and they hoped that the new leader can endeavor to improve
relations with China and South Korea.
Japanese people have realized that the souring relations between
Japan and its Asian neighbors could finally do harm to Japan's own
interests.
Japan's Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii said damage to
Japan's national interests would be immeasurable, if the shrine
visits by Japan's leaders became a national policy.
Furthermore, most people in Japan's business community also
strongly support the idea that Japan's new prime minister should
solve the shrine visit issue as soon as possible, and help create
favorable political environment for trade and business between
Japan and China.
Clear up political barrier
Japan and China's economies are mutually beneficial and
complementary. The fast development of the Chinese economy is
contributing to Japan's steady economic recovery. In a friendly
political atmosphere, the Sino-Japanese economic ties will be in
the interests of both countries.
China has been attaching great importance to developing friendly
cooperation with Japan. The diplomatic impasse between China and
Japan resulted from the Japanese leader's repeated shrine visits.
It is critical for the Japanese leaders to make a resolute decision
as early as possible, to clear up the political barrier, and put
the bilateral ties back onto the right track.
Even the United States expressed concerns over Japan's relations
with its Asian neighbors. Congressman Tom Lantos said in a recent
hearing that Koizumi's shrine visits not only hurt the feelings of
people of Northeast Asian countries, but also caused a tense
regional situation, which damaged the interests of the United
States. He called on Japan's next prime minister to refrain from
paying visit to the notorious shrine.
The development of Sino-Japanese relations could bring profound
influence on peace and stability in Asia and even the whole world.
The Japanese side should resolve as early as possible to remove the
political barrier and put the development of Japan-China political
relations back on track.
(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2006)
