When Japan tries to say No

Godzilla has been considered a filmographic metaphor for the

United States, as well as an allegory of nuclear weapons in

general. Godzilla represented the fears that many Japanese

held about the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and

the possibility of recurrence.

One can hear many more things from DPJ politicians nowadays

and it' easy to see that something has changed here. If

nothing guarantees that the reform of Japan Prime Minister

Hatoyama party, the Democratic Party of Japan, will work out

if it confines into symbolic destruction of past LDP regime.

Some more straightforward policies are now designed to show

that after all, yes, it happened, Japan can say No. *

For instance Hatoyama party has long advocated tighter US

Japan economic ties and collaboration on nonmilitary areas

such as energy and the environment. "Japan's relations with

the U.S. have been heavily biased toward defense," Hatoyama

recently said. "Now it's time to shift our focus to economic

ties." In other words, message abroad is clear: stop bashing,

from the US, but also the EU, the Chinese.

One example is Afghanistan. After war brought destruction,

it is time to reconstruct and polish. Here is how the

archipelago diversifies its int'l cooperation, huge by the

way, in helping the... Taliban!

First answer to the Obama administration, regarding the war

in Afghanistan, Japan does not want to continue the

refueling in the Indian ocean but offer a comparative

advantage that is less "war machine" motion. Cash and

training, economic push up.

"The Japanese government has decided to provide vocational

training to former Taliban soldiers to support reconstruction

efforts in Afghanistan as an alternative to the refueling

mission by the Maritime Self-Defense Forces in the Indian

Ocean, whose legal mandate will expire in January.

Vocational training has heretofore not been offered to former

Taliban soldiers, and has the benefit of highlighting Japan's

"new contribution to the international community" as a

fitting alternative to its current refueling mission.

While several hundreds of thousands of Taliban soldiers are

said to be in Afghanistan, many join the movement for money.

The purpose of Japan's newly proposed mission is to rectify a

system that forces citizens to join such groups by

alleviating poverty, thereby providing support to the US

which has been troubled by deteriorating public security in

the country."

Instructors are be selected from among Afghans, but how Japan

(NDAG: the MOFA) will secure staff to train the instructors

themselves as well as whether the training will take place

within Afghanistan or a third country has yet to be decided.

"Japan has announced approximately 2 billion dollars' worth

of aid to Afghanistan, which includes half a year's salary

for the 80,000 or so police officers in the country and

support for rice farming. It is also considering expanding

its agricultural support activities based primarily around

Kabul to the country's northern regions, where public order

is relatively stable." (quotes mainichi, agencies, wikipedia,

reports)

✍ It is not the panacea for all insecurity ills but it's a

beginning.

* Reference to the pamphlet "The Japan That Can Say No: Why

Japan Will Be First Among Equals" By Ishihara Shintaro with

contributions by Sony cofounder Morita Akio .

http://tinyurl.com/yfw73w6

"The Japan That Can Say No" is a 1989 essay co-written by

Sony co-founder and chairman Akio Morita and current governor

of Tokyo Shintaro Ishihara, in the climate of Japan's

economic rise. It was famous for its critical examination of

United States business practices, and for advocating Japan's

taking a more independent stance on many issues, from

business to foreign affairs. The title refers to the

authors' vision (Ishihara's in particular) of a Japanese

government that is more than a mere "yes man" to the United

States.