Toshio Matsuda, Commentator & Intl Economist

Straight from the Shoulder No.543

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From the Showa era up to now, the Heisei era, Hideki Tojo, Shigeru Yoshida, and Kakuei Tanaka can be said to have left their marks on history.
While prime ministers such as Yasuhiro Nakasone, who promoted administrative reform, and Junichiro Koizumi, who championed privatization of the postal services, will be remembered for their particular accomplishments, it is difficult to say that they represented their times.
Hideki Tojo turned Japan, which since the Meiji era had followed a basic path of developing into a modern country through cooperation with the West, into a militaristic nation that opposed the West. Shigeru Yoshida worked to return Japan to its pre-war path of cooperation with the West by working with General MacArthur of the GHQ, who temporarily governed Japan after its defeat in the war, and, in particular, to resurrect the pre-war Japan under the protection of the U.S, creating the foundation of present main-stream conservative Japan.
Then Kakuei Tanaka broke from the morals and ideals of Japan and led the country into an era that was centered on economic growth.

Demanding change, the Japanese people voted into power the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). (DPJ President) Yukio Hatoyama will (strive to) end Japan’s deference to the U.S. and opposes bureaucrat-led politics, the foundation of conservative politics. If Hatoyama is successful, this will without doubt bring about a new era, and Hatoyama will go down in Japanese history as a prime minister whose impact was surpassed only by Yoshida’s.

Although the gap between ideals and reality may block Hatoyama’s progress, if Ichiro Ozawa abandons his personal desires and fully supports Hatoyama, a new political era is not a dream. This new era will need organizations composed of the best minds (think tanks, etc.) that will support a leader burning with ideals, good Machiavellian advisers, and good adversaries.
My opinion is that the Japanese economy is recovering, and I hope Hatoyama “rides the wave and swims well”, the rule of my house.


Demanding change, the Japanese people voted into power the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). (DPJ President) Yukio Hatoyama will (strive to) end Japan’s deference to the U.S. and opposes bureaucrat-led politics, the foundation of conservative politics. If Hatoyama is successful, this will without doubt bring about a new era, and Hatoyama will go down in Japanese history as a prime minister whose impact was surpassed only by Yoshida’s.


Although the gap between ideals and reality may block Hatoyama’s progress, if Ichiro Ozawa abandons his personal desires and fully supports Hatoyama, a new political era is not a dream. This new era will need organizations composed of the best minds (think tanks, etc.) that will support a leader burning with ideals, good Machiavellian advisers, and good adversaries.
My opinion is that the Japanese economy is recovering, and I hope Hatoyama “rides the wave and swims well”, the rule of my house.

The main stream of conservatism is based on logrolling between politicians and bureaucrats and maintaining the status quo. During the 20th century, an era of wars and fiercer international competition, it is clearly evident that based on the ideas of conservatism, Japan avoided risks and consistently maintained the status quo.
The 21st century is said to be the century of Asia, an era in which both the political and military power of the U.S. and Western Europe will decline. Hatoyama possesses the ideals of the elder statesmen of the Meiji era, and it is time to strive for the ideals of Yoshida?to transform Japan into a leading country, a super power of Asia, in cooperation with the West. However, the present constitution and U.S.-Japan Security Treaty stand in the way of Hatoyama’s ideals and philosophy.
There are gaps between the ideals embodied in the present constitution and those of Hatoyama and between the ideal of equality with the U.S. and the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty. These issues cannot be resolved overnight. In addition, should the public works projects under way be frozen or improved? Where will the funds to support people raising children and the welfare of the Japanese come from?
Along with the more than 140 Ozawa children (newly elected members of the Diet who won due to Ichiro Ozawa), who know nothing about politics, how will Hatoyama face the coming contradictions between ideals and reality? Hatoyama will probably feel a chill as the warmth of victory fades and he looks at the present conditions.
Japanese and the mass media have high hopes for Hatoyama and while they are tolerant, he should enlist the U.S., China, and Europe to support the reformation of a new Japan. This is precisely what Katsuya Okada’s mission should be.
I would like to see the few remaining members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) stop their half-baked attacks on the DPJ and become “constructive opponents” to Hatoyama’s rebuilding of a new Japan. I especially expect this of the LDP’s Shigeru Ishiba.


People who know Japan’s history of constitutional government likely think that “time is truly ironic.” A descendent of Shigeru Yoshida (Asao) was defeated, and a descendent of Ichiro Hatoyama has become the leader of Japan, and this descendent of Ichiro Hatoyama (constantly opponent to Shigeru Yoshisa ) is now working to realize the ideals of the Shigeru Yoshida.