J@pan Inc Newsletter<br><br>The 'JIN' Japan Inc Newsletter<br>A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>in Japan.<br>Issue No. 433 Wednesday September 26, 2007 TOKYO<br><br>****OUT THIS WEEK:
J@PAN INC MAGAZINE'S****<br>LEGAL SPECIAL (SEPT/OCT 2007)<br>Intellectual Property-Jury System-Arbitration-ALB Awards<br>PLUS Failed Businesses in Japan & Women in the Workplace<br>Read for FREE online at <a href="http://www.japaninc.com">
www.japaninc.com</a><br>____________________________________________________<br><br>Meet Mr Fukuda<br><br>Yasuo Fukuda, the new Japanese PM, is grey, sober, unexciting. <br>Recently dubbed as the Japanese John Major after the former
<br>British PM, they are both restrained, austere and dare we say <br>it, boring. Encouraged by a supporter to 'express his <br>personality,' he merely replied 'I have no personality.' This <br>sounds similar to another former British party leader, Ian
<br>Duncan Smith, who described himself as the 'quiet man of <br>politics,' inciting mock "shushing" in the Houses of Commons <br>whenever the leader tried to speak. <br>(<a href="http://timesonline.typepad.com/times_tokyo_weblog/">
http://timesonline.typepad.com/times_tokyo_weblog/</a><br>2007/09/politics-update.html)<br><br>The second Japanese PM in a row to not have been elected by the <br>nation, critics would say that his government cannot have
<br>legitimacy and would call on a general election to be held by <br>March 2008. Like Abe his predecessor and Aso his would-be <br>competitor for the top post, Fukuda is a 'thoroughbred' <br>political blue-blood and although his career is impressive,
<br>it is hard to find anything spectacular among his achievements <br>to date.<br><br>Other more positive descriptions would say that Fukuda is <br>reliable, realistic and has undemonstrative good sense. His soft<br>'dove' approach to international relations may mean more
<br>positive links with Japan's neighboring countries; this week <br>we look at some of the key international relationships that he <br>will have to engage with.<br><br>CHINA<br>Fukuda has vowed to never visit Yasukuni shrine as long as he is
<br>PM. Koizumi sparked anger and riots in China and South Korea <br>over his controversial visits to the shrine and during that <br>time, Fukuda had expressed his private opposition to the visits.<br>Now, Fukuda has pledged that he will take the issue of Yasukuni
<br>seriously and follow the Abe approach--staying well clear of <br>angering the neighbors. According to one senior research analyst<br>at Okamoto Associates, Michael Cucek, the only important issue <br>between China and Japan was the Yasukuni visits and now that it
<br>is off the tables, relations between the two countries should <br>improve. <br><br>Fukuda has shown in his past that he is a keen advocate of <br>improving relations with China and South Korea. Jiro Yamaguchi, <br>professor of political science at Hokkaido University, says that
<br>Fukuda will make 'cooperative relations with China and Korea a <br>litter tighter, compared with Abe's nationalistic approach.'<br>Fukuda is strongly associated with China, heading the support <br>group for the Beijing Olympics. Although he hasn't scheduled an
<br>Abe-style 'China Gate-way' trip just yet, he will no doubt <br>visit the country in the near future.<br><br>KOREA<br>Although not as strongly associated with South Korea, during <br>his tenure as Chief Cabinet Secretary under Koizumi, he oversaw
<br>bilateral relations with South Korea during the 2002 World Cup. <br>Fukuda will remain hesitant to comment on his policy towards <br>South Korea as Koreans are still waiting to elect a new <br>government and therefore cannot give specific strategic plans.
<br>Even though Fukuda won with a 63% lead, one issue that lost him <br>many votes is his "softer" stance on North Korea by starting the<br>normalization process. He has stated that his policy of dealing <br>with the volatile state is through a multi-lateral approach.
<br>Cucek argues that the anti-abductees approach taken by Abe was <br>not effective, isolating Japan in the Six-party talks. Cucek <br>also thinks that Fukuda would 'want the country to have some <br>breathing space'-–rather than carrying on Abe's more aggressive
<br>and hard-line approach to Pyongyang.<br><br>[Continued below...]<br><br>----------------------------------------------------------<br>Take a bite!<br><br>T/K Hamburger Inn, Tokyo's elite burger chain seeks investment.
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<br><br><br>EUROPE<br>It is still unknown what stance Fukuda will take on relations <br>with Europe. So far, it appears that Abe's attempts to get <br>closer to NATO are not on the cards–unless it means that the <br>deployment of Japanese forces in Iraq becomes more UN based.
<br>We can most likely expect relations to continue with the same <br>dullness and niceties seen in the past.<br><br>AUSTRALIA – INDIA<br>One of Abe's notable achievements during his tenure was to <br>improve links with Australia and India, often referred to
<br>together with Japan as the 'Arc of Democracy.' During March of <br>this year, Abe signed a security pact with Howard, which <br>although seen by many to have more of a symbolic value rather <br>than any tangible components, did continue to socially
<br>construct this emergent trilateral alliance. The Australian <br>(an Australian national newspaper) called Abe's departure <br>'shattering' after the most actively pro-Australian Japanese <br>leader of modern times resigned. Canberra must now wait to see
<br>how Fukuda will take over relations. <br>(<a href="http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/">http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/</a><br>0,,22467612-28737,00.html%3Ffrom%3Dpublic_rss)<br><br>India and Japan have also been pursuing a much tighter
<br>relationship with security treaties and free trade agreements <br>being signed. Japanese companies such as Hitachi Ltd and <br>Bridgestone Corp would have greater access to India—the world's<br>second-fastest growing major economy. However, some critics
<br>argue that for Fukuda to continue with this trilateral <br>relationship would be 'naïve.' All three countries can be said <br>to view China as a security threat and are weary of rousing <br>Chinese suspicions. As Fukuda has not specifically mentioned
<br>his policy for Japan's relations with Australia and India yet, <br>we can only assume that there will be no major change from Abe's<br>(or Koizumi's?) program. <br>(<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news">http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
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www.innosoft.co.jp</a><br>or contact Andrew Larson at 050-6860-3194<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>[...Article continues]<br><br>SOUTHEAST ASIA:<br>Southeast Asia will be waiting to see whether the new PM will
<br>revive the Fukuda Doctrine—-a policy adopted by Fukuda Senior to <br>upgrade ties with Southeast Asia—-focusing more on close ties <br>with countries such as Indonesia. The doctrine pledged <br>that Japan would remain a country committed to peace and would
<br>not become a military power, building up trust and mutual <br>confidence with Southeast Asian countries. Although Japan's <br>relations with ASEAN seems unbalanced due to the country's <br>greater economic power, Indonesia is positive about Fukuda,
<br>especially as he chairs the Japan-Indonesia Association?<br>(Japinda). <br>(<a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/">http://www.thejakartapost.com/</a><br>detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20070925.E01)<br><br><br>US<br>Fukuda will also (perhaps obviously), keep up a strong alliance
<br>with the US. Although some say that he will take a less US-<br>centric approach, Fukuda has already promised to try for a <br>continuation of a strategic alliance with the US through the <br>Indian Ocean counter-terrorism mission in support of US-led
<br>forces in Afghanistan. However, critics say that a concern for <br>Fukuda would be if the US requires Japan's support to go further<br>than what the post-war security treaty/constitution will allow. <br><br>Koizumi was Bush's best friend but, although Fukuda's wife
<br>apparently go on well with Laura Bush when the US President <br>visited Japan in 2001, it remains to be seen whether Fukuda will<br>keep up such a strong relationship. He probably leans more <br>towards a future Democrat president than the fading George W.
<br><br>FOREIGN INVESTMENT<br>Foreign investors faced difficulties during Abe's government—<br>Steel Partners being a good example of the difficulties foreign <br>investors faced in the past year. <br><br>Although one of 'Koizumi's children'(the nick-name given to
<br>ministers committed to Koizumi reforms), Fukuda will not have <br>the time to fight for more foreign investment as he will be too <br>busy dealing with internal problems-—namely reducing the <br>disparities in Japan's rural areas—-a backlash against Koizumi's
<br>focus on economic liberalization. Cucek summarizes Fukuda's <br>predicament as: 'If the country's economy improves under Fukuda,<br>then Japan will not like foreign investors coming in. If the <br>economy goes down, Japan will seek for foreign investors but
<br>foreign investors won't want to invest. It's a 'Catch 22' <br>problem.' <br><br>Fukuda will be torn between choosing to follow in the footsteps <br>of Koizumi reforms and carrying out his pledges on rural <br>development.
<br><br>Critics of Fukuda believe that he will only last for six months <br>to a year and believe that his policies will not be thinking in <br>the long term. 'Fukuda will be more difficult opponent to tackle<br>than Aso, but DPJ will resist the government in the Upper House
<br>so that national politics falls into stalemate' says Professor <br>Yamaguchi. It appears that apart from a few divisive issues,<br>both in the party and nationally, Fukuda is keen to keep <br>everybody happy--often a short route to failure as Abe found
<br>out. <br><br>By Anna Kitanaka<br>Journalist <br><br>Want to comment? It is now even easier to voice your opinion<br>than ever before! Simply visit <a href="http://www.japaninc.com/jin433">www.japaninc.com/jin433</a> and
<br>post a comment below the article. Alternatively, you can email<br>it directly to the author at <a href="mailto:anna@japaninc.com">anna@japaninc.com</a><br><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------
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<br><br>++EVENTS<br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>YMCA Foreign Community Support Committee (FCSC) Charity Ball<br>on September 28th at Hilton Shinjuku. Donation of 25,000yen<br>person. Table of 10 = 10% discount.
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<br>Please contact: 03-5367-6640 <a href="mailto:fcsc@ymcajapan.org">fcsc@ymcajapan.org</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>-- Entrepreneur Association of Tokyo-Tuesday, October 2nd --
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</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>- J@pan Inc Magazine IT Feature-November/December 2007 issue -<br><br>Are you in the IT Business?
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