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November 28, 2012

[SSJ: 7863] Re: Abe, Senkakus and the Public View of Manifesto Promises

From: Richard Katz
Date: 2012/11/28

Michael Cucek wrote:

> Section 132 of the LDP 2012
election manifesto promises to re-examine

> the current policy of leaving the islands uninhabited
and to study


> the possible permanent stationing of civil servants
(komuin) on
the

> islands [emph. added--rk]


Michael,

Thanks for the correction. I'm relieved on susbtantive grounds. Wondering how I got it so wrong, I rechecked my original sources and found that I had the same problem as that other Rick: you know, the one who went to Casablanca for the waters? I, too, was misinformed.

The first place I read about this was in the Nov. 21 Asahi editorial which wrote:

> "The LDP's manifesto also promises
to permanently station public

> servants in the disputed Senkaku Islands [emph.
added]."

The Nov. 22 Mainichi editorial writes:

> "In its manifesto, the LDP pledged
to permanently station public

> servants to the Senkaku Islands [emph added]"


The Nov. 23 Nikkei, on the other hand--which I read after seeing your note--got it right:

> The Liberal Democratic Party said
in its manifesto for the Dec. 16

> lower house election that it wants to consider
stationing
public

> officials on the Senkaku Islands...It is unclear
whether the LDP
is

> truly serious about the idea of stationing public
servants on the

> Senkaku Islands, even at the risk of further ramping
up tensions
with

> China....The LDP needs to understand its
responsibilities and

> clearly explain its Senkaku policy, to avoid turning
off voters.
It

> has lashed out at the ruling Democratic Party of
Japan for backing


> away from promises it made prior to the 2009 general
election,
after

> all. LDP President Abe has also said that the LDP
will
'deliver on

> its promises at any cost.' [emph. added]"


All of this raises a couple questions:

1) Are the English-language translations of the Asahi and Mainichi editorials correct?. If so, then we have at least some of mass media telling the voters (who are unlikely to be as fastidious as Michael in checking the original, very long manifesto) that Abe made a promise.
How widespread is this? What is the public understanding of Abe's stance? How are LDPers presenting this in speeches, etc?

2) Abe was widely--and deservedly--criticized for some of his radical proposals on monetary policy. These included the possibility of revising the BOJ Law in a way that would, in effect, rescind the independence it was granted in 1998; having the BOJ directly underwrite all new issuances of deficit-covering JGB bond (a violation of the Public Finance Law introduced shortly after WWII in response to the postwar hyperinflation:
and having the BOJ proclaim a completely non-credible inflation target of 3%. Not just DPJ politicians, but many newspaper articles and some business leaders piled on in the criticisms. Abe was peppered with questions on this by reporters. In response, Abe has back-pedaled on some of the proposals and used weasel words to claim he was misunderstood on others.

I have yet to see a similar flood of comments, criticisms, and tough reporter questions about the Senkakus idea. Why is that? Does that mean people agree? That they are afraid to be seen going against a public mood? They they don't take it seriously?
Inquiring minds want to know. The DPJ has elliptically criticized it by calling for a "cool-headed" approach.
But why the frontal assault on his BOJ ideas but precious little on the Senkakus notion.

BTW, did anybody notice Abe's proposal to set up a "My grandfather was not a war criminal" institute re:
Japan's actions in WWII? So much for calming the waters on history issues with Korea and China.

Richard Katz
The Oriental Economist Report

Approved by ssjmod at 11:12 AM