The following is from the final installment of Yoko Sakurai's regular column in the weekly magazine Shukan Shincho, released today.
This article also proves that she is a national treasure, the supreme national treasure, as defined by Saicho.
It is a must-read for not only the Japanese people but also people all over the world.
Under the leadership of Shigeru Ishiba, the LDP will indeed decline
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba published a book called "The Essence of the LDP's Failures" in April this year with the Takarajima Sugoi Bunko publishing company.
It is a joint work with people such as Seiichiro Murakami, who called former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a "traitor to the nation"; Kihei Maekawa, the former vice-minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, who has publicly stated that his principle is "to obey in public but rebel in private"; and Tatsuru Uchida, who is known for his left-wing ideology.
If you pick it up, you will see the lack of coherence in Mr. Ishiba's policies and his lack of knowledge, which makes it hard to believe that he has tried five times to become the leader of the LDP.
For example, his strategy is to target China.
Our national strategy defines China's military expansion as "the greatest strategic challenge."
China is seen as the greatest threat to Japan and the whole world.
I have never heard Mr. Ishiba express a coherent view of China.
Still, on September 10, just before the presidential election, he suddenly mentioned creating an Asian version of NATO as a strategy for confronting China.
This grand vision met with solid and adverse reactions in Japan and overseas.
When his paper was published by the Hudson Institute, a US think tank, American strategists reacted with comments such as "unrealistic" and "the US would never accept it."
On October 3, India announced that it had no intention of participating in Mr. Ishiba's strategy.
Other Asian countries either expressed negative opinions or remained silent out of fear of China.
Mr. Ishiba's idea is nothing more than a pipe dream because even if Japan were to take the lead in establishing an Asian version of NATO, Japan, which has not even been able to amend its constitution, would not be able to participate in activities within the framework of collective security.
Even if China were to invade India's borders or invade Taiwan, Japan would not be able to send the Self-Defense Forces.
Even if we were to hypothetically conceive of an Asian version of NATO led by Japan, not only would Japan itself be unable to participate physically, but as the concept is hostile to China, it would have to be launched with great care.
However, Mr. Ishiba chose this topic to discuss with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
This was during a meeting on August 12 when he visited Taiwan.
Carrying out insensitive diplomacy
Ishiba probably did not consider how seriously this story would affect the situation.
China is always watching the situation in Taiwan, and if Taiwan shows even the slightest sign of defiance towards China, it will mercilessly strike with an iron fist.
In fact, on October 14, the Chinese People's Liberation Army surrounded Taiwan and, after seizing control of the air and sea, carried out a large-scale military exercise.
The aircraft carrier Liaoning, 125 military aircraft, and 34 ships from the People's Liberation Army and the Coast Guard took part.
This unprecedented large-scale military exercise demonstrated that China could quickly blockade Taiwan, seize its significant ports, and launch an attack if it so decided.
The deployment of Liaoning off the east coast of Taiwan was a warning to the US military.
The think tank "National Institute for Basic Issues" has been reporting on how China's ability to invade Taiwan has been developed, and the situation is strictly as they have reported.
Taiwan has been cautious not to give China, which is using military force to change the status quo, any excuse to invade and has continued to be extremely careful with its words so as not to be seen as a challenge.
Then Mr. Ishiba, who is the president of the Liberal Democratic Party and is aiming to become the prime minister of Japan, came along and talked about the creation of an Asian version of NATO.
Mr. Lai must have been utterly astonished.
He must have thought that Mr. Ishiba had no understanding of the tense situation in which Taiwan finds itself.
Mr. Lai is said to have ignored Mr. Ishiba's question and turned to the other politicians in the group to discuss a new topic.
Mr. Ishiba engages in such insensitive diplomacy in the aforementioned book, as one would expect from a left-leaning commentator, positioning Japan as a "scary country" rather than China.
Why is it a scary country?
He says it is because Japan fought against the United States, a country that it would never be able to defeat if it were to fight it properly.
On the other hand, he writes the following about China
"There are far too many politicians who casually say things like 'China is a threat' (omission)... It would be far too irresponsible for a politician to say things like 'China is scary, so we're going to increase our defense spending.'"
This passage is a criticism of former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's decision to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP.
Mr. Ishiba wrote a book about this.
However, when he visited Taiwan in August this year, he suggested to President Tsai that they should deal with China from the standpoint of "China is scary" and try to deal with it through an Asian version of NATO.
If you follow the chronology, you can see that Mr. Ishiba's perception of China has been vacillating back and forth.
In other words, there is a lack of logic and strategy there.
The fact that he criticizes the Kishida administration's strategy of increasing military spending to deter China as "too irresponsible" is itself too irresponsible when you look at the actions of the People's Liberation Army.
It is foolish to suggest an Asian version of NATO in Taiwan, where tensions continue as China prepares for a full-scale deployment with the aim of annexing the island.
Another point is that during the presidential election, Mr. Ishiba declared that he would continue the economic policies of the Kishida administration, and in his five-minute speech just before the final vote, he said some flattering things about Mr. Kishida that made my teeth hurt.
He would praise Kishida's policies one moment and deny them the next.
I can't trust someone like that.
Hatoyama and Harris
In his book, he wrote with pride:
"What politicians need is the ability to say the right thing for the public, even if it is to their detriment."
If they can't do that, he says, "they should quit being politicians."
He also declares," It is a big problem for me to follow those in power without thorough debate."
A completely different landscape unfolds when you look at Mr. Ishiba's true character.
Even though only about a month has passed since the start of the presidential election campaign, he has frequently changed his policies and arguments.
Almost all of this is a compromise to protect himself and maintain support for himself.
Rather than upholding what is "right for the public," he has simply "followed the powerful."
There are two politicians who are very similar to Mr. Ishiba: Yukio Hatoyama and Kamala Harris, the US presidential candidate.
Putting Mr. Hatoyama aside, an interesting phenomenon is occurring with Ms. Harris.
Once President Biden withdrew his candidacy and Ms. Harris became the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, the Democratic Party supporters were excited.
Celebrities rushed to make large donations, and movie stars expressed their support.
However, as it became clear to everyone that Ms. Harris had no substance, support for the Democratic Party began to waver.
According to a Gallup poll, the Democratic Party, which had consistently outperformed the Republican Party in terms of party support from July to September in election years since 1992, fell behind the Republican Party for the first time in 32 years.
Although the difference was only three points, a similar result was also reported in a survey by NBC.
The Wall Street Journal called it "an unnoticed game-changer in the 24th election".
Like Kamala Harris, Mr. Ishiba, who has little substance or conviction, will significantly weaken the LDP's power.
I see a bleak future for the LDP.
2024/10/1 in Umeda
