|
On December 8, a Brown Bag Lunch meeting organized by the DPJ BBL Planning Committee (the 2nd meeting organized by the Committee and the 65th BBL meeting in all) was held inside the Diet building. Professor Gerald Curtis of Colombia University (also a visiting Professor at Waseda University) was the guest speaker, giving a talk on the theme of “Where is Japanese Politics Heading?: the Challenges and Prospects for the Democratic Party of Japan”. DPJ member of the House of Representatives Shuhei Kishimoto served as moderator for the meeting.
At the start of the meeting, the Chair of the BBL Planning Committee Koji Matsui explained the significance of the BBL meetings, saying, “[This meeting] is a forum for discussing issues of a more mid to long-term nature openly, without being limited to discussions occurring in the subcommittees of the Policy Research Committee and the daily business of budget compilation and debate over legislation.” He went on to introduce Curtis, saying, “He has followed the exchange of government achieved by the DPJ with close attention, and observes Japanese politics from an international perspective with a critical yet warm-hearted appraisal.”
During his speech, Curtis said, “The change of government was a good thing. It is a significant and historic event in the history of Japanese politics. I don’t think that the Hatoyama and Kan administrations are running things well, but the change of government itself was a good thing.” He went on to say that Japan is now in a stage of “constructive destruction”. He added the problem is that only destruction seems to be occurring, and constructive events are not visible. Curtis also said that there were problems with the way that the media covers events.
Curtis went on to comment on the Japan-US relationship. He said it was a misconception that Americans were not very interested in Japan, and emphasized that the move to strengthen human exchanges so that more young Americans could study in Japanese high schools and universities would also be of advantage to Japan in the future. Curtis stated that the lack of interest Japanese young people showed toward the outside world and their tendency to be inward-looking was a problem. He emphasized it was vital for the DPJ government to give young people hope for the future.
Curtis further stated that President Obama recognized the importance of the Japan-US relationship, and explained that the Obama administration wanted to strengthen the framework for cooperation between Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States. He added, “The United States, which is now trying to create good relations with Japan, is hoping to undertake the first redefinition of security policies since the Japan-US Joint Declaration of Security issued during the time of the Hashimoto administration.” Curtis also stressed, “What is important is that Japan conveys the impression that it possesses a strategy and philosophy regarding the Japan-US alliance.”
Curtis also commented on the challenges facing the DPJ government and on political leadership. He expressed his expectations for the Kan administration, saying that the most important thing was for politicians to take a leadership role and explain their vision and political philosophy in a way that could be understood and accepted by the Japanese people.
Following his speech, Curtis exchanged opinions with BBL participants, including Diet members. Curtis commented that the intensity of the questions reminded him of one of his university classes. He responded in depth to all the questions and discussions were so lively that the meeting overran its allotted time.
|
