  Japan's foreign policy must be based on Asian call for peace -- Akahata editorial, February 2In his policy speech to the Diet, Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro stated that Japan will "play an active role in the creation of an 'East Asian community', an open community." The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit last autumn decided to hold a meeting of an East Asian leaders. Leaders of ten ASEAN members, along with leaders from Japan, China, and South Korea will meet at a summit this year. In considering plans and proposals on specific measures, if Japan is to "play an active role," it is essential for Japan to build peaceful relations on an equal footing with other Asian countries. Our relationship should not be based on a policy that gives priority to Europe over Asia, apolicy established more than a hundred years ago, or one of subordination to the United States that has persisted since the end of the Second World War. Japan must identify itself as a member of Asia in name and practice. Relations of co-existence and co-prosperity To achieve this, Japan must admit the mistake it made in carrying out aggression against other Asian countries before and during WWII and put itself on a peaceful course by pledging not to repeat the same mistake. Only by so doing can Japan regain the trust of the people and governments of Asian countries and establish a common ground for future cooperation. East Asia after WWII experience first-hand the U.S.-Soviet confrontation for hegemony with the Korean War and the Vietnam War. This historical experience makes the region's wishes for peace all the more serious. Vietnam was liberated and unified, but the Korean Peninsula remains divided. The task now is for Japan to seize the major tide for peace in Asia that has been formed and developed in the struggle for independence and equality. Japan's foreign policy must pivot on an effort to join and develop this tide and to resolve pending issues by peaceful means. The Treaty of Cooperation and Amity (TAC) in Southeast Asia, which Japan signed last year, has as basic principles the notions of peacefully settling disputes and renouncing the use of force. While admitting that these principles have something in common with Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and the U.N. Charter, Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro has stated that overseas dispatches of the Self-Defense Forces do not conflict with the Japanese supreme law as well as the TAC. He talks in one way but acts in another. The TAC, which has been signed by South Korea, China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and the ASEAN nations, is a peace and friendship treaty covering more than half the world population. If Japan does not act in defense of this treaty, it will be a betrayal of Asian people. ASEAN leaders last autumn agreed to promote "compassionate" cooperation and to develop together while making efforts to narrow the economic gap among the member states. This provides a practical example of regional cooperation between countries and between peoples with different political systems in order to establish world peace and sustainable development in a different way from the growth-led system led by powerful nations based on the law of the jungle. As Asian economies grow, interdependence and people-to-people links are increasing, making peaceful coexistence essential for each country's development. Asian people's wishes for peace and prosperity as well as their practical efforts has enhanced a momentum to establish an East Asian Community. Japan's role in the East Asian Community The Japanese government was initially reluctant to join the TAC on the grounds that Japan has already built strong relationships with the ASEAN countries without such a treaty, but the momentum in Asia turned Prime Minister Koizumi to endorce the TAC. The course Japan should take in line with the U.N. Charter and peaceful trends in Asia is to become a nonbelligerent, democratic country in strict adherence to the Japanese Constitution. This is what Japan should do to contribute to the East Asian Community as a member of Asia. (end) |