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Koizumi's Japan in Bush's World: After 9/11

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

Gavan McCormack
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Half a century ago, General Douglas MacArthur, proconsul in the US occupation, was acclaimed as a benevolent liberator even while patronizing the Japanese people, whom he described soon after leaving Japan as “12-year old children.” Today, proconsuls from Washington fly regularly in to Tokyo to inspect and instruct, as if Japan were a peripheral dependency, even though its economy now is roughly equal in scale to those of Germany, France and Britain combined. Japan's leadership basks in the glow of such patronage, seemingly satisfied with the role of satrap, for all the world like the one-time leaders of East European satellite states in the Soviet empire.

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Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 2 , Issue 12 , December 2004 , e12
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
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Copyright © The Authors 2004

References

Notes

1. “‘Kokuren wa sukutte kurenei’ shusho ga domei jushi riyu shimesu,” Asahi shimbun, 28 January 2004.

2. Gavan McCormack, Target North Korea, New York, Nation Books, 2004, chapter 6.

3. “Bush lauds strength of Japan-U.S. alliance,” Japan Times, 4 July 2004.

4. Armitage to Japanese ambassador in Washington, Yanai Shunji, on 15 September, and (“head in sand”) to Asahi shimbun on 5 October. (“Nihon no zenmen kanyo o motome, jirai tekkyo mo kitai Bei kokumu fukuchokan,” Asahi shimbun, 6 October, and in Toshiaki Miura, “All or nothing, says U.S,” Asahi shimbun, 9 October 2001.

5. “Iraq to jieitai, tokuso hoan wa tou,” part 1, “Bei tsuiju to dokujisei no aida de,” Asahi shimbun, 25 June 2003.

6. “New era in defense policy wins praise from U.S,” Yomiuri shimbun, 11 June 2003.

7. “‘Kokuren yori Bei’ no meian,” Asahi shimbun, 19 March 2004.

8. “US demands Japan send troops to Iraq early,” Kyodo, 15 September 2003.

9. “Jiki, chiiki de niten santen, taibei kyoryoku o yusen – rikujo jieitai no Iraq haken,” Asahi shimbun, 9 October 2003.

10. Okamoto Susumu, “Donna kokkai ga haken o shonin shita ka,” Sekai, April 2004, pp. 20-24, at p. 23.

11. Ex-posts minister sues over SDF dispatch to Iraq,” JapanTimes,30 January 2004.

12. Minowa Noboru, “Koizumi-kun, jieitai ho o benkyo shinasai,” Shukan kinyobi, 13 February 2004, p. 15.

13. Amaki Naoto, “Jieitai Iraq haken wa torikeshi no tsukanai ayamari da,” Sekai, February 2004, pp. 60-65.

14. Quoted in Amaki, p. 64.

15. Reiji Yoshida, “Fukuda refuses to budge on WMD,” Japan Times, 30 January 2004.

16. Quoted in Okamoto, p. 24.

17. “Online,” PBS, 18 March 2004

18. J. Sean Curtin, “Japan's ‘Fortress of Solitude’ in Iraq – plus karaoke,” Asia Times, 19 February 2004.

19. Nao Shimoyachi, “SDF vs. NGO – an Iraqi tale of cost effectiveness,” Japan Times, 16 May 2004.

20. NHK television, 17 June 2004.

21. The UN term toitsu sareta shiki was rendered as togo sareta shireibu. “Kokusai koken ga yugande iru,” editorial, Asahi shimbun, 18 June 2004.

22. On 28 May, however, two other Japanese journalists were attacked and killed in their car just south of Baghdad.

23. Kumaoka Michiya (of JOVC), “Hahei hantai messeji,” Shukan kinyobi, 16 April 2004, p. 16.

24. For details: Glenn D. Hook and Gavan McCormack, Japan's Contested Constitution, London, Routledge, 2001.

25. Article 3 of the Self-Defense Law, 1954.

26. Kishi Nobusuke, Prime Minister 1957-1960, addressing the lower house of the national Diet on 30 September 1958. (Hayano Toru, “Kishi shusho mo idai na hato-ha datta!?” Asahi shimbun, 14 January 2004.)

27. “Critics slam Koizumi's take on constitution,” Japan Times, 13 December 2003.

28. Quoted by Maeda Tetsuo, Maeda et al, “Tohoku Ajia no anzen hosho to kempo 9-jo,” Sekai, October 2003, pp. 44-64, at p. 46.

29. Koizumi speaking on 23 October 2001, quoted in Amaki Naoto, “Jieitai hitei wa higenjitsuteki gomakashi wa genkai da,” Ronza, February 2004, pp. 28-33, at p. 31.

30. Quoted in Asahi shimbun, 22 February 2004.

31. Quoted in “Horokobiru Koizumi seiji,” Asahi shimbun, 17 July 2004.

32. Glenn D. Hook and Gavan McCormack, Japan's Contested Constitution, London and New York, Routledge, 2001.

33. “Shusho, TV bangumi de ‘jieitai o kokugun to aratameta ho ga ii’,” Yomiuri shimbun, 2 November 2003.

34. Asahi polls reported opposition falling to 55 per cent in December, 48 per cent in January when the SDF was dispatched, and 41 (vs 42 in favor) in March. Yomiuri found 53 per cent in favor of dispatch by January, and 58 by February. Mainichi found a low of 16 per cent pro-dispatch rising to a high of 50 per cent by March 2004. (Asahi shimbun, 23 February and 21 March, 2004; Yomiuri shimbun, 27 February 2004; Mainichi shimbun, 8 March 2004).

35. See table at Maeda Hisao, “2004 nendo boei yosanan o kiru,” Gunshuku mondai shiryo, April 2004, pp. 40-47, at p. 47.

36. Terashima Jitsuro, “21 seiki Nihon ginko no kosoryoku Iraq senso o koete,” Ronso, January 2004, pp. 20-27, at p. 24 puts the figure of 10 trillion (ca $90 billion) on Japan's post September 11 “rear support”. However, the source of the figure is not clear.

37. Maeda, p. 47.

38. “Bei – Iraq shiensaku ni shai,” Asahi shimbun, 18 October 2003.

39. Berkofsky (op. cit.) refers to a recent World Bank estimate that Japan might end up paying up to 30 billion US dollars by 2010.

40. “Japan considers waiving half of Iraq's $7 billion debt,” Kyodo, 5 March 2004.

41. “Iraku saimu, susumanu sakugen,” Asahi shimbun, 11 June 2004.

42. Takao Hishinuma and Eiji Hirose, “US official says Japan ‘not just some ATM’,” Daily Yomiuri Online, 10 October 2003.

43. “Kawase shijo, doru-yasu tsuzuku mitoshi, nebukai ‘futago no akaji’,” Asahi shimbun, 31 December 2003.

44. “Kawase kainyu 3 cho 3420 oku en-2 gatsu,” Asahi shimbun, 28 February 2004.

45. Matt Wade, “Global fears as US goes into the red,” Sydney Morning Herald, 9 January 2004.

46. Fukuda Kunio, “Busshu no senso to keizai hatan,” Gunshuku mondai shiryo, April 2004, pp. 22-27, at p. 27.

47. Handa Shigeru, “Misairu boei tonyu giman o abaku,” Gendai, March 2004, pp. 70-79, at pp. 73, 77.

48. Michael Swaine, Rachel Swanger, Takashi Kawakami Japan and Ballistic Missile Defense, Rand Corporation, 2001, p. 67.

49. “Misairu boei e Nihon kasoku,” Asahi shimbun, 18 September 2003 and “North Korean missile threat spurs missile defense action,” Asahi shimbun, 20-21 December 2003.

50. Handa, p. 74.

51. Leo Sartori, “Bush's Missile Defense System: Does it Pass Muster?” Washington, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, 3 December 2003.

52. Handa, p. 75.

53. Philip S. Golub, “US the world's deepest debtor,” Le Monde Diplomatique, October 2003.

54. Asahi shimbun, 12 February 2004. Also Takashi Kitazume, “Diagnosing what really ails Japan, Germany,” The Japan Times, 12 March 2004.

55. US national debt as of beginning of 2004: $7.58 trillion, or ca Y804 trillion (Fukuda, p. 26). Japanese central and local government debt as of beginning 2004: 719 trillion yen ($6.76 trillion at the same day's exchange rate). “Kokusai hakko, kako saidai ni,” Asahi shimbun, evening, 20 December 2003.

56. Asahi shimbun, 29 February 2004.

57. Hayano Toru, “Koizumi kassai no toki wa sugita,” Ronza, August 2004, pp. 24-29 at pp. 28-9.

58. See, for example, The Economist cover story for 14-20 February 2004: “At last, Japan is flying again.”

59. The Long-Term Credit Bank, sold off to a foreign “vulture fund” in 2000, was then reborn as Shinsei Bank. It swallowed 8 trillion yen (ca $70 billion) of public funds in the process, half of it irrecoverably, and its reincarnated form was beyond the reach of Japanese tax authorities. (“Gaishi mokesaseta seifu,” Asahi shimbun, 3 March 2004.) The Resona Bank was rescued by an infusion of two trillion yen in May and the Ashikaga banking group was nationalized at the end of November 2003.

60. Yanagida Kunio, “‘Koizumi izen’ to Koizumi igo’,” Bungei Shunju, November 2003, pp. 94-107.

61. “Kokusai hakko, kako saidai ni,” Asahi shimbun, (evening), 20 December 2003.

62. See my The Emptiness of Japanese Affluence, New York, ME Sharpe, 2nd revised edition, 2001, and “The End of Japan's Construction State?” New Left Review, 13, January-February 2002, pp. 1-19.

63. Konya Fumiko, “Buchikowashita no wa Nihon keizai da,” Sekai, November 2003, pp. 85-91.

64. This point is well made by Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based Arab newspaper, al Quds, in an interview published in the Asahi shimbun, “Chuto seisaku, bei wa tenkan seyo,” 18 March 2004.

65. Recommendation 3 of the Rand report of June 2001 reads, “Support efforts in Japan to revise its constitution, to expand its horizon beyond territorial defense, and to acquire capabilities for supporting coalition operations.” (Zalmay Khalizad et al, “The United States and Asia: Toward a New U.S. Strategy and Force Posture,” June 2001. The “Britain of the Far East” is from the “Armitage Report” of October 2000: Institute for National Strategic Studies, “The United States and Japan: Advancing toward a Mature Partnership,” Washington, National Defense University, 11 October 2000.

66. Zalmay Khalilzad et al, p. 15.

67. “Political pulse: Govt missing boat on U.S. bases,” Daily Yomiuri Online, 18 September 2004.

68. On “Israelization” of US combat doctrine, and the instruction of US armed forces in Gaza and West Bank techniques of urban suppression: Mike Davis, “The Pentagon as global slumlord,” Tom Dispatch, 19 April 2004.

69. Yoichi Nishimura, “Armitage expects ‘generous’ Japanese assistance to rebuild Iraq,” Asahi shimbun, 26 September 2003.

70. “‘US will assist SDF in Iraq,’ Armitage pledge to Ishiba,” Japan Times, 3 February 2004.

71. Funabashi Yoichi, “Beigun seihen – Nihon no ‘domeiryoku’ takameru koki,” Asahi shimbun, 23 September 2004.

72. Asahi shimbun, 19 February 2003. Kyuma was appointed General Council Chairman of the LDP in the September 2004 cabinet reshuffle.

73. The word used was “zokkoku.” Interview, Asahi shimbun, 21 September 2004.

74. Hamish McDonald, “Howard's blank cheque for Washington may come with a hefty surcharge,” Sydney Morning Herald, 18 September 2001.

75. For a comprehensive list of the legislation: Richard Tanter “With eyes wide shut: Japan, Heisei Militarization and the Bush Doctrine,” Peter Van Ness and Mel Gurtov eds, Confronting the Bush Doctrine: Critical Views From the Asia-Pacific, London, Routledge, forthcoming December 2004.

76. “Kin soshoki wa atama no tenkai hayai hito,” Asahi shimbun, 28 May 2004.

77. On his departure for Pyongyang, 22 May 2004, NHK TV.

78. “Nicho no kokko seijoka, shusho ‘ichinen inai ni’,” Asahi shimbun, 3 July 2004.

79. Cheney in December 2003, quoted in Jim Lobe, “Realism takes root in Washington,” Asia Times, 26 June 2004.

80. Sakakibara Eisuke, “Japanese nationalism: Conservatives have derailed,” Japan Times, 2 May 2004.

81. For recent discussion on the theme of reviving nationalism: Eugene Matthews, “Japan's New Nationalism,” Foreign Affairs, November-December 2003, and Steven C. Clemons, “Nationalism – Old News or New Worry?” Daily Yomiuri, 9 December 2003. For my recent assessment, Gavan McCormack, “New Tunes for an Old Song: Nationalism and Identity in Post-Cold War Japan’, in Roy Starrs, ed, Nations Under Siege: Globalization and Nationalism in Asia, New York, Palgrave, 2002, pp. 137-167.

82. See Gavan McCormack, ‘“Introduction” to Second Revised edition, The Emptiness of Japanese Affluence, New York, ME Sharpe, 2001. Also Ishida Hidenari, Ukai Satoshi, Komori Yoichi, Takahashi Tetsuya, “21 seiki no manifesuto – datsu ‘parasaito nashonarizumu’,” Sekai, August 2000, pp. 189-208.

83. Wada Haruki, Tohoku Ajia kyodo no ie, Heibonsha, 2003, p. 166.

84. “Nichibei shuno no ‘gensoku kakunin’ dake,” Asahi shimbun, 23 September 2004.

85. See, for example, the analyses by the military affairs specialist Maeda Tetsuo, “Kyusoku ni rinsen josei totonoeru jieitai,” Sekai, April 2004, pp. 20-24, at p. 24, and Kang Sangjung, in Kang Sangjung and Kato Shuichi, “Rekishi no bunkiten ni tatte,” Ronza, April 2004, pp. 10-23, at p. 11.

86. Kang Sangjung, op. cit., p. 11.