Word: ozawa
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Japan's missions in support of U.S. operations abroad, however, are about to become a political football in Japan, with potentially damaging consequences for alliance. Ichiro Ozawa, the leader of opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), announced on Aug. 7 that he might try to end the Japanese military's participation in Iraq, and possibly in Afghanistan as well - the law that authorizes the Indian Ocean mission is up for renewal this fall. Nor was this just idle talk: Thanks to the DPJ landslide victory in elections for the Japanese Diet on July 29 that gave it control...
...Ozawa was echoing the Japanese public's general unease with the U.S. war on terror - a poll in May found that only 22% of Japanese believed the military should support reconstruction activities in countries still in conflict, such as Iraq and Afghanistan. But the politician Ozawa has in his sights isn't Bush; it's beleaguered Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has long pushed for greater participation by Japanese forces in the war on terror. After losing control of the Upper House in stunning fashion, Abe is under intense pressure to resign as Prime Minister, even from members...
...Ozawa's game may be a dangerous one for his party, and for Japan as well. Though the DPJ is currently basking in the glow of electoral success, beneath the surface the opposition is deeply divided on a number of issues, none more so than Iraq and the role of the military. Though most of the party's newer representatives in the Upper House side with Ozawa on Iraq, there's a hawkish faction within the DPJ that supports military action abroad. Should Ozawa push too hard, he could see his fragile party fall apart. At the same time...
...Meanwhile the U.S. can only watch and worry as one of its most important regional allies endures political uncertainty. U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer told reporters last week that he had never met Ozawa, the man who could well be Japan's next Prime Minister. The two finally met Wednesday, only after Ozawa had previously snubbed the ambassador - and he made clear that he would continue to oppose continuing Japan's participation in Afghanistan operations. Bush forged a solid relationship with Abe, and both men supported the idea of a Japan that takes a much more assertive role within the security...
...mistake for a party that has yet to earn the full trust of many Japanese. A welded-together assortment of disparate ideologies, the DPJ can barely agree with itself, let alone present a coherent platform to voters. Once the standard-bearer for young urbanites and reform, under Ozawa the party has styled itself as a defender of rural Japan, promising subsidies and protectionism for farmers. That was a winning strategy - in the July 29 election, the DPJ swept the countryside, once an LDP stronghold - but it contradicts the beliefs of reform-oriented DPJ members. The party is riddled with such...