Prime Minister’s Historical Perspective Is a Thorn in Wavering Japan-US Relations

The Japan-U.S. axis, at the center of the Abe administrations’ diplomatic strategy, has been shaken. It is because his aides have been repeating controversial remarks, causing ripples at home and abroad, over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Yasukuni Shrine. It is no longer at the level of “verbal slip.” The danger of the historical perspective held by the Abe administration has been exposed, to say the least.

The Obama administration issued a statement about the prime minister going ahead with a visit to Yasukuni Shrine despite the U.S. government’s request to refrain from such a visit, saying “The United States is disappointed that Japan's leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japan's neighbors.”

In response, the prime minister’s special adviser and close friend Seiichi Eto criticized the U.S. government this month in a national report posted on a video site, saying that it is Japan that should be disappointed in its ally. Eto then called its support into question, asking, “Why doesn’t the U.S. think much of its ally Japan? Their statement was nothing more than excuses directed toward China.”

Eto then withdrew the remark at the direction of Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. Suga emphasized that these were not the views of the prime minister, but a special adviser to the prime minister who is a cabinet member. There is no room for remarks about “personal views.”

Before the Yasukuni visit, Eto reportedly communicated to the U.S. ambassador, “I want you to pledge your support if possible, but if not, I would like you not to object to it.”

It is easily assumed that the prime minister’s Yasukuni visit provoked China and South Korea’s backlash. If he could not foresee the attitude of the U.S., which is concerned about situations that might harm the stability of East Asia, then that calls into question Eto’s qualifications as special adviser to the prime minister. Although the government’s intended course of action doesn’t matter, let’s demand the prime minister’s unequivocal accountability.

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That’s not all. At the party meeting in January, special adviser to the prime minister Hagiuda Koichi, of the Liberal Democratic Party, responded critically to America’s “disappointed” statement, saying, “The Republican administration has never found fault with us this much. I’m saying it’s because the administration is led by Democrats, by President Obama.”

An article was published in The Wall Street Journal reporting that adviser to the cabinet secretariat Honda Etsuro, who serves as the prime minister’s economic adviser, said of the prime minister’s visit to Yasukuni Shrine, “Somebody had to do it. I applaud his courage.” Moreover, the same newspaper also pointed out that “Mr. Honda … is perfectly open about what he perceives to be the nationalistic goals behind the policy overhaul known as Abenomics.”

NHK management committee’s Naoki Hyakuta questioned the Tokyo Tribunal that tried class-A war criminals, and his remarks denying the Nanjing Massacre caused discomfort for the U.S. Why are these kinds of remarks coming one after another from the prime minister’s personal contacts? The prime minister’s own historical perspective has been called into question.

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President Obama hopes to use his visit to Japan in April as an opportunity to rebuild strained Japan-U.S. relations. However, remarks by the prime minister and his aides over historical perceptions have deepened the rift between both Japan and the U.S.

The Washington Post published an article warning against the possibility that Japan could trigger a crisis in Asia with the prime minister’s visit to Yasukuni Shrine. If the Abe administration repeatedly presses its luck with such words and deeds, it could lead to its isolation from the international community.