JAPAN: Tokyo Spins a Friendlier Image in Obuchi’s U.S. Visit

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, May 4 1999 (IPS) - For many Japanese, photographs of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, striking a perfect pitch at a Chicago baseball game Sunday as an American audience cheered, marks the highlight of Tokyo’s summit with the United States.

“He is playing an important role,” commented political analyst Minoru Tada here.

“His projection of a friendly and relaxed Japanese leader is an important boost to our efforts to shake-off the reputation of a helpless nation unable to shake away our economic blues,” he added.

Observers here are saying a change in image may yet be Obuchi’s biggest accomplishment in his current visit to the United States.

His trip, which began in Los Angeles and then Chicago, marks the first official tour of the United States in 12 years by a Japanese leader. Obuchi met with U.S. President Bill Clinton in Washington Monday.

Obuchi’s three-day tour of American cities, during which he met with a cross-section of American society, has helped to shift the traditional image of Japan-US summits as courteous meetings nevertheless marked by trade disputes and stern warnings by Washington.

“Tokyo wants the 21st century to mark a new relationship with States, one that is based on an equal partnership and Obuchi’s visit reflects this desire,” says Yoshio Okawara, former ambassador to the United States.

Japan showed its goodwill when the Japanese Diet, on the eve of Obuchi’s visit, passed an new set of defense guidelines with the United States that will pave the way for Japan to play a more active role in maintaining security in Asia.

Local media dubbed the defense package as Obuchi’s “present” to Washington, illustrating Japan’s desire to not allow the summit to be bogged down over trade issues.

Accompanying Obuchi, and marking a debut in Japanese diplomacy, is a group of important businessmen, including Sony Corp head Nobuyuki Idei, a businessman admired for his drastic structural reforms that helped turnaround the company’s limping revenues.

The message is clear. Japan wants to its most important partner, the United States, to know that it is ready for change and is moving away from stodgy manufacturing into sectors like telecommunications and digital cameras that are doing so well, Tada.

Still, the old testy issues between Japan and the US remain, though they are not overshadowing Obuchi’s visit.

Washington blames Japanese bureaucrats for blocking important reforms necessary to improve the nation’s seven-year long economic recession.

And despite the new image projected by this summit between the world’s two largest economies, Clinton on Monday urged Obuchi to assume a greater burden into hoisting the global economy back to recovery.

At a joint news conference with Clinton, Obuchi said Tokyo is “swiftly and boldly taking every measure” in order to turn around its economy.

Obuchi and Clinton also unveiled a joint report aimed at increasing business and investment between the two countries.

The package also included agreements on the pharmaceutical and housing sectors, two thorny issues, and also promised to promote mergers and acquisitions among Japanese and U.S. companies and to improve its tax systems.

Aware of the pressure before him, Obuchi agreed also to easing regulations on land transactions which is expected to lure foreign investment.

Obuchi on Sunday told major US companies at a luncheon that Japan has been implementing economic reform that includes the “reforms about the mentality if the Japanese people”.

Obuchi also tried to project an image of political stability at home, this being a gauge of his ability to lead Japan and push through the government and bureaucracy the reforms he promises.

For instance, he has talked about stepped-up cooperation between his two-party government and Komeito, Japan’s third largest political group. This statement that is geared to boost his ability to pass in the Diet an important bill toward streamlining the central bureaucracy for decentralising power.

“The appearance of stability is crucial for Japan, which must convince the world that it is doing all the correct things towards improving its economy,” explained Tada.

Meantime, Japan’s economic health remains very much a subject of concern. Tokyo announced last week that the jobless rate has risen to a record 4.8 percent — twice the usual level Japanese are used to.

Other figures do not give a healthy picture of the economy. The automobile industry, Japan’s most important export, says it experienced a 7.5 percent drop in output for fiscal 1988.

Adding to the dismal picture is a report by the Japan Supermarket Association of loss of 8 percent for the same period, a clear indication that consumer confidence has not revived despite several packages to boost spending.