Japan Lacks Political Leadership

As another Japanese government starts circling the drain is there a leader residing within its political class capable of actually leading? Can anyone rise above the usual mendacity of old men lacking in vision and completely captured by the system. Probably not as the old axiom the nail that sticks out gets hammered is really true.

2009 saw an historical change in Japanese politics when for the first time in the post-war era as an opposition party the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won a landside victory replacing the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after more than 50 years in power. Even in this major change Yukio Hatayama President of the (DPJ) who became Prime Minister failed spending less than a year in office. Like any out of power party they made promises that they were unable to keep. Most importantly was Hatayama’s pledge to have the U.S. Marine Corp Air station at Futenma moved out of Okinawa to Guam. Because he staked his political fortunes on this issue when failure became apparent with the U.S. governments complete refusal to even consider the idea his government collapsed.

Naoto Kan succeeded Hatayama as Prime Minister and immediately committed a huge political gaffe when for reasons only known to him proposed an increase in the consumption tax just two months ahead of an Upper House election that was to take place in August. The now opposition LDP trounced the DPJ and regained control of the House of Councilors giving Japan its first divided Parliament. Kan’s problems continued into September when a Chinese trawler rammed a Japanese Coast Guard vessel leading to the arrest of the trawlers captain. China retaliated by detaining Japanese business men accusing them of industrial espionage and cutting off exports of rare earth minerals to Japan. Even though video emerged clearing showing the trawler deliberately ramming the coast guard ship the captain was released having never been charged over the incident. Then came the March 11th earthquake, tsunami and the disaster at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant.

To believe that the opposition Liberal Democratic Party and its leader Sadakazu Tanigaki are any better would be foolish in the extreme. After former Prime Minister Yukio Hatayama gave is first major speech to the Diet Tanigaki compared it to Adolph Hitler speaking at a Hitler Youth rally. It was under the LDP and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that Japan Post was privatized leading allegations that it was done to enrich the board of governors through a public stock offering and the selling Japan Post real estate holdings. Koizumi’s government passed Japan’s temporary worker law at the behest of Japan’s largest employers creating a large pool of workers unable to find fulltime employment living from contract to contract. It was also under the leadership of the LDP that saw what is called Japan’s Lost Decade after the collapse of the Bubble Economy because strong leadership failed to materialize. When intervention finally occurred Japan’s banking sector was near complete failure. As for the current problems at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant look no further than the nuclear industries complete ownership of the LDP.

Japan needs dynamic leadership a person or persons willing too completely overhaul its moribund political system. Without these changes Japan will become a second tier nation unable to reach its full potential.