hypnotik
15 May 2006, 06:22 PM
The chairman of the U.S. House International Relations Committee, Henry Hyde, has said Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who will be in the U.S. in June, should only be allowed to address both houses of Congress if he voluntarily agrees to pay no further tribute at the Yasukuni Shrine. Koizumi is poised to become the first Japanese prime minister to speak before both houses, but an address to a joint session requires approval from both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In October, Hyde wrote to Tokyo deploring Koizumi's visit to the shrine, which he termed the symbol of Japanese militarism that caused the Pacific War. Michael Green, a former senior director for Asia affairs at the White House Security Council, last week warned that conflicts pitting Japan against Korea and China over their perception of history are likely to negatively impact the U.S.-Japan alliance in the future.
Koizumi a while ago asserted he “can’t understand” why Korea’s and China’s leaders refuse to see him because of the visits, claiming unidentified foreign heads of state agree with him that it is peculiar. He made the remarks in the calculation that Japan can afford to rely on the U.S. alone, however it treats Korea and Japan.
But now senior U.S. legislative and executive figures have thrust yellow cards in Koizumi’s face. The warnings are not given for the nonce. They come because if Japan is continuously snubbed by its neighbors, Washington's plan to develop its Asian strategy with Japan as a foothold is likely to hit a snag.
Koizumi should scrap his plan to visit the militarist shrine again on Aug. 15, before his term ends in September. Otherwise, he will be remembered as a prime minister who, because of his pointless obstinacy, isolated Japan not only in Asia but in the international community as well.
In October, Hyde wrote to Tokyo deploring Koizumi's visit to the shrine, which he termed the symbol of Japanese militarism that caused the Pacific War. Michael Green, a former senior director for Asia affairs at the White House Security Council, last week warned that conflicts pitting Japan against Korea and China over their perception of history are likely to negatively impact the U.S.-Japan alliance in the future.
Koizumi a while ago asserted he “can’t understand” why Korea’s and China’s leaders refuse to see him because of the visits, claiming unidentified foreign heads of state agree with him that it is peculiar. He made the remarks in the calculation that Japan can afford to rely on the U.S. alone, however it treats Korea and Japan.
But now senior U.S. legislative and executive figures have thrust yellow cards in Koizumi’s face. The warnings are not given for the nonce. They come because if Japan is continuously snubbed by its neighbors, Washington's plan to develop its Asian strategy with Japan as a foothold is likely to hit a snag.
Koizumi should scrap his plan to visit the militarist shrine again on Aug. 15, before his term ends in September. Otherwise, he will be remembered as a prime minister who, because of his pointless obstinacy, isolated Japan not only in Asia but in the international community as well.