Looking Back in Regret

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday made a key address in each houses of National Diet. Being the first major speech after he took office last December, it is recognized as his inauguration address. Although he was careful not to be excessive, the speech was fully based on Abe’s own ideology. The key concept is “recovering the past.”

"The greatest crisis facing Japan lies in the Japanese people having lost confidence. --- Above all, I would say why don’t we restore pride and confidence of our selves,” told Abe in the address. The greatest question to this phrase is “Have we lost our pride and confidence, Mr. Prime Minister?” Though the economy has not recovered from long deflation, Japan still is the third largest economy in the world. It also is one of the models for peaceful reconstructions from war devastate.

The man who lost pride and confidence is himself. His career as a politician is filled with regrets. He has been regretting the nation wide movement against revision of Japan-US Security Treaty in 1960, when his grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, was prime minister. He also has been sorry about his Father, former Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe, died without making a prime minister. Among all, he was disappointed to himself stepping down as the prime minister due to stomachache six years ago.

Abe becomes powerful when he tries to recover the past. He worked hard as a member of his political group to elect Jun-ichiro Koizumi in LDP presidential election. That was motivated by resentment against a defeat in the 1972 election, when former boss of the group, Takeo Fukuda, had lost to another distinguished leader, Kakuei Tanaka. The election in 2001 was a struggle for taking back their pride of the group Abe’s grandfather established.

Now he is enthusiastic to take back “real Japan.” Is this unreal Japan? Yes, in his mind. He insists that the constitution of Japan was made by Americans, and to establish new independent constitution is a struggle for winning true independence, according to his book. That’s why he is trying to make a large majority of legislators supporting constitutional amendment. He expects to form two-thirds of majority in both houses after the Upper House election this July.

Other than real Japan, he appeals that he is recovering strong economy and the tie of Japan-US alliance, and letting the sufferers of the great earthquake take back their hope of life. But one needs to mind that the most things what he wants to recover are his own pride, confidence and lost cause in politics.