Good Gain in Kickoff Return

Receiving a kickoff ball from former DPJ administration, the Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe marked a pretty good return in diplomacy. By sending a special envoy to South Korea, Abe got a positive response from next President, Park Geun-Hye, of her willingness to visit Japan. Making clear contrast with former DPJ administration, Abe appeals his ability to build stable relationship with crucially important countries.

The reason why Abe sent the first envoy of his new administration to South Korea was because he might regard the country as the closest neighbor. Catching the timing of changing leaders in both countries, Abe tried to build a new relationship without being affected by mishandlings of former administrations.

To have sent a skilled politician, Fukushiro Nukaga, a former Defense Minister, was a successful choice to show LDP’s ability, because former DPJ administration had little progress by sending envoys to neighbor countries. He is also planning to send special envoys to China and Russia. China is a country, with which Japan has a lot of problems to fix. From the time of businessman in a steel company, which products included steel pipe to send petroleum, Abe has been interested in improving the relationship with Russia. He is sending other skilled politicians as special envoys.

Reiterating the importance of Japan-US alliance, PM Abe chose the United States as the first country to visit after his inauguration. Reflecting the failure in his first administration on making close relationship with US President, George. W. Bush, Abe is determined to show credibility to Barack Obama as an allied leader. If he insists on his longtime standpoint on denying responsibility of the government of Japan on comfort woman, however, the relationship with Obama will not be as preferable as what he wants to build.

Basic element that Abe’s diplomacy looks successful is contrast with the failure of DPJ administration. The reason why former PM, Yukio Hatoyama, decided to move Futenma Air Base out of Okinawa was based on wrong assessment about US intention on the issue, which was brought by an unofficial envoy to US just before DPJ administration started. Former PMs, Naoto Kan and Yoshihiko Noda, were diplomatic novices. Kan could not face eye-to-eye manner to Hu Jintao at Yokohama on October, 2010, just after the accident of collision of ships from both countries around Senkaku Islands. Noda misunderstood Hu’s seriousness about China’s domestic situation over the Senkaku issue and escalated the tension between Japan and China by buying Senkaku Islands.

Compared to those rough handlings of diplomacy by DPJ administration, Abe looks like experienced leader of Japan. But his viewpoint on history of wartime Japan and conservative policies are not popular in Asian countries. He will suffer from a dilemma of worsening foreign relationships, when he tries to take strong and hawkish position in domestic politics.