New PM's priorities

The prime minister stressed on a thorough overhauling of the Japanese constitution, and also on options that would allow Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense. And, as expected, he repeated his commitment to create "a beautiful Japan" that the new Japanese leader foresees will make the country capable of devoting its full potential and energy for future growth, while preserving the values of culture, tradition, nature, and history.

As a means of creating his version of "a beautiful Japan," Abe called for an early revision of the fundamental law of education so that the future generations could be given the opportunity to get a proper education that would help them to learn the art of loving their family, community, country and life itself. Japan's fundamental law of education has not been changed since it was enacted in 1947, and many find the ongoing rhetoric surrounding the revision as a convenient tool for conservatives to strengthen their position further in the society. The policy speech of Japan's new prime minister would, no doubt, help their cause to find a consolidated ground for the future in the form of school education.

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Overtly, Abe's vision of education sounds pretty good and is bound to attract followers as it patronizes the helping of children to get the kind of education that would allow them to grow up with a proper sense of patriotism. But the danger is that it could also result in feeding the younger generations with the views of the country and history that has been endorsed by the people in power.

We know for sure where this kind of narrow idea might lead a nation to, as there is no shortage of examples in history ranging in time frame from the distant past to very recent days. But when popularity becomes the crucial deciding factor in politics, any idea capable of arousing the interest of the masses seems to have a wider appeal to those who tend to ride the wind of populism. Abe is no exception in this regard as he failed, or just avoided, to see the danger of feeding state endorsed patriotic zeal to children.

Much of the speech dealt with security issues, and the prime minister was frank enough in expressing his views on the revision of the Japanese constitution and also on the country's position to exercise the right of collective self-defense. The Japanese constitution has not been revised since it was promulgated during the US occupation in 1946. The government of Japan, for quite long, has been holding the view that the constitution denies the country the right to collective self-defense. Abe touched upon this interpretation and declared that his government would conduct research to determine exactly what the constitution prohibits in the broader understanding of collective self-defense.

On the more specific issue of the revision of the constitution, Abe reaffirmed his view that Japan is in need of a new constitution that would be in line with the demands of the time. He expressed the hope that the Diet would pass legislation, without much delay, laying the ground for the work on constitutional revision to start immediately. Though the prime minister was enthusiastic in stressing upon the need for the revision of the constitution, he conspicuously refrained from mentioning what he sees as faulty or defective in the present constitution. Those keeping an eye on recent developments in Japanese politics know for sure what the prime minister sees as not being in line with the demands of the time.

It is specifically Article 9 of the constitution that politicians, belonging to the camp that Abe now leads, consider an obstacle in making Japan a "normal country" that can take any step concerning the security of the nation without being reminded by critics that taking such steps would be a violation of the constitution. Hence, though Abe did not mention Article 9 by name, it is sure what his main target for the constitutional revision is. He also stressed the importance of security arrangements between Japan and the United States and said that the arrangement is essential for maintaining peace.

On the diplomatic front, the speech reflected the utmost desire of the new Japanese prime minister to improve ties with China and South Korea. These have been strained in recent years due to the repeated visits of the outgoing prime minister to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. Abe, though refraining from saying if he would go to the shrine in coming days, termed China and South Korea as important neighbours and said that strengthening ties with them is extremely important to Asia and all of the international community. He said it was crucial that all parties make efforts to allow for frank discussions with an orientation toward the future.

On economic and financial issues the prime minister vowed to keep the flame of reform burning without any interruption. He praised the results of the reform program of his predecessor and pointed to a number of issues, including the difficult fiscal conditions, that his administration is to deal with. He also expressed his desire to carry out plans to revitalize local-level economies and provide "second chances" to the disadvantaged aiming at minimizing the gap between rich and poor.

There was no deviation in the speech from the earlier declared pledges that the new prime minister of Japan made during the election campaign for the leadership of country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Those who expected to hear detailed outlines, or specific steps that the prime minister had in mind for fulfilling all the commitments that he was making, were no doubt disappointed. Expressing his immediate reaction to the speech, the acting president of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, Naoto Kan, termed it as ambiguous and unclear.

But at the same time there are already signs of at least a few positive moves in the international arena, as both Japan and South Korea indicated, that the leaders of the two countries are willing to restart summit level discussions as early as the first part of October. It would be the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries since Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, met President Roh Moo Hyon last November.

Abe and Roh had already spoken by telephone and they agreed that it was essential to hold a summit meeting as soon as possible. Should the idea materialize, this would no doubt give a clear signal that Abe's beginning is not as bad one as some were expecting it to be.

Monzurul Huq is a Daily Star columnist writing from Tokyo.