Embarrassing Colleagues of Prime Minister

Consecutive gaffes made by the lawmakers with leading Liberal Democratic Party and Ministers of Shinzo Abe Cabinet have caused growing criticisms on Abe’s handling of politics. They included racial discrimination against the top leader of “indispensable” partner of Japan, little knowledge on disputed islands in northeast of Japan or baseless prediction of bankruptcy with higher consumption tax rate. Prime Minister and his staffs have been pretending to have nothing to do with those scandals.

Many Japanese people must be embarrassed by his comment. An LDP lawmaker, Kazuya Maruyama, made a discriminative speech in Commission on the Constitution of the House of Counsillors on Wednesday. “For example, what will be the constitutional problem, if Japan becomes the fifty-first state of America? Then, collective self-defense right or Japan-U.S. Security Treaty does not matter. Congressmen elected in State of Japan, which has the greatest population, will be the greatest group. It is possible for a Japanese to be the President. In America, a black man is the President. He has blood of black people. This is a slave, you know. That is such a dynamic country,” said Maruyama. Everyone was appalled.

After newspapers grilled Maruyama next morning, accusing his careless speech, Maruyama explained that he had not have any discriminative intention. But, who does believe in his words? Surprisingly enough, he even had no knowledge that Barack Obama was not a descendent of African slave. It was also poor that he argued constitutional problem of actual security policy with possibility of being a State of America.

The opposite parties immediately started accusing him. Three parties including Democratic Party of Japan submitted a draft of resolution to recommend Maruyama of his resignation as a lawmaker. Leading party could not support him. A ranking member of LDP, Takeshi Noda, indicated that Maruyama’s gaffe could worth expulsion from the party.

Not only Maruyama, a close ally of Abe caused another problem. Minister of Finance, Taro Aso, said that there would be a hundred or a thousand of bankruptcy in small business along with higher consumption tax rate starting next year. Receiving criticism that he might have approved business collapses, Aso turned down the speech.

Minister in Charge of Northern Territory issue, Aiko Shimajiri, could not pronounce one of four islands, Habomai. “Habo--, well, what was this?” said Shimajiri in her press conference earlier this month. Minister of Environment, Tamayo Marukawa, denied scientific basis of governmental regulation on radiation level in Fukushima. Staffs of Abe administration are too careless on their speech.