Sunday, December 9, 2012

Prime Minister of Japan's schedule Nov 26-Dec 2


November 26, 2012 (MON)

AM

08:19 JR Tokyo Station
08:33 Leave the station on Hikari Express #550
09:58 Arrive at JR Toyohashi Station, Aichi Prefecture
10:14 Leave the Toyohashi Station on Kodama Express #637
10:29 Arrive at JR Mikawa Anjo Station, Aichi Prefecture
10:45 Street Speech in front of the Ito Yokado Supermarket Anjo Store

PM
12:08 Meitetsu Handa Station, Handa City, Aichi Prefecture; Street Speech
12:40 Lunch in a Japanese restaurant “Hamashio” in Handa City
02:03 Nagoya Metro Tokushige Station, Nagoya City Midori Ward, Aichi Prefecture; Street speech
03:19 Toyoake City, in front of Supermarket “Piago Toyoake”; Street speech
04:29 Okazaki City, Meitetsu Higashi Okazaki Station; Street speech
06:12 JR Nagoya Station
06:31 Leave the station on Nozomi Express #42
08:13JR Tokyo Station
08:31 Residence

November 27, 2012 (TUE)

AM

09:00 Office
09:01 Mr. Edano, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry
09:13 Meeting of the Ministerial Committee on the Global Warming Issue
09:30 Ministerial meeting
09:45 Reconstruction Promotion Council
10:06 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Jojima, Minister of Finance; Mr. Maehara, Minister of National Policy; Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary; and Mr. Manago, Administrative Vice Minister of Finance
11:00 Receives Opinions in Writing from the Chairman of the Councilors' Meeting of the Headquarters for Ocean Policy
11:08 Mr. Kawai, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
11:46 Video message shooting for the symposium hosted by the Brooking Institute and Japan Center for Economic Research
11:57 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary 

PM
12:03 Mr. Jimi, President of People’s New Party
12:06 Mr. JImi leaves
01:20 Jr. Gotanda Station, Tokyo; Street speech
02:16 Taishido, Tokyo, in front of Carrot Tower; Street speech
02:55 Office
04:29 DPJ Headquarters
05:01 DPJ Manifesto Announcement Meeting
05:30 Residence

November 28, 2012 (WED)

AM

07:07 Haneda Airport
07:35 Leave the airport on ANA Flight 451
09:09 Arrive at Saga Airport
09:59 Home Plaza Nafco Minami Saga, Saga City; Street speech
11:04 Another Street speech in Saga city
11:44 Hotel New Ohtani Saga; Lunch in a Chinese Restaurant “Taikanen”

PM
01:29 Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Higashimachi Park; Street speech
02:48 JR Meihama Station, Fukuoka City Nishi Ward; Street Speech
03:40 Tenjin Times, Fukuoka City Chuo Ward; Street speech
04:12 Press interview
04:29 Fukuoka Airport
05:22 Leave the airport on JA Fight 324
06:32 Arrive at Haneda Airport
07:08 Residence

November 29, 2012 (THU)
AM
10:59 Odakyu Isehara Station, Isehara City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Street speech

PM
12:28 JR Fujisawa Station; Street speech
12:54 Lunch at Grand Hotel Shonan, Fujisawa City
02:37 Sagami Tetsudo Futamatagawa Station, Yokohama City Asahi Ward; Street speech
03:49 Metro Center Minami Station, Yokohama City Tsuzuki Ward; Street speech
05:11 JR Kawasaki Station; Street speech
06:33 DPJ Headquarters
07:51 Live House Nicofarre; Participate in the online party presidents debate hosted by Nico Ni
09:45 Residence

November 30, 2012 (FRI)

AM

08:30 Office
08:40 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office; Mr. Yonemura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management; and Mr. Shimohira, Chief of Defense Intelligence Headquarters, Ministry of Defense
08:49 Mr. Yonemura and Mr. Shimohira leave
09:00 Mr. Kitamura leaves
09:06 Meeting of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters
09:34 Ministerial meeting
09:59 Ministerial Committee on the Formulation of the Budget
10:12 National Council on Social Security System Reform
10:46 Meets with the Liaison Council of Municipalities in Nemuro Subprefecture for the Development of Regions near the Northern Territories
11:04 Mr. Masato Kidera and Mr. Uichiro Niwa, New and Old Ambassador for China; and Mr. Jiro Kodera, Ambassador for Saudi Arabia
11:26 Parliament
11:39 Signing ceremony for election cooperation with People’s New Party
11:49 Office
11:54 Interview with Bungei Shunju, a Japanese news magazine

PM
12:48 Japan Press Center Building, Tokyo
01:02 Party President Debate hosted by Japan Press Cub
03:41 Offi
04:24 NHK, Shibuya, Tokyo, election broadcast shooting
05:29 Office
06:03 DPJ Headquarters
06:30 Nihon TV news program video shooting
06:54 Residence

December 1, 2012 (SAT)

AM


07:12 Haneda Airport
07:40 Leave the airport on JAL Flight 1161
08:42 Arrive at Hakodate Airport, Hokkaido Prefectur
09:12 Hakodate morning market; Street speech
10:24 In front of Hokuyo Bank Hakodate Goryokaku Branch; Street speech
11:08 Hakodate Airport

PM
12:00 Leave the airport on Hokkaido Air System Fight 244
12:30 Okadama Airport, Sapporo, Hokkaido
12:55 Lunch at Hokkaido Sun Plaza, Sapporo City Kita Ward
01:43 JR Teine Station; Street speech
03:11 In front of Sapporo Chiyoda Building, Sapporo Kita Ward; Street speech
03:43 Tanuki Koji Shopping District; Sapporo City Chuo Ward; Street speech
05:15 Sapporo City Chiroishi Ward, Supermarket “Co-op Sapporo Lucy Store”; Street speech
06:02 JR Shin Sapporo station; Street speech
07:05 Shin Chitose Airport
07:48 Leave the airport on ANA Flight 78
09:04 Arrive at Haneda Airport
09:34 Residence
10:09 Mr. Gemba, Foreign Minister
10:18 Mr. Gemba leaves
10:19 Mr. Gemba; Mr. Morimoto, Defense Minister; Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary; and Mr. Yonemura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management
10:56 Press interview in front of PM residence
11:00 Residence

December 2, 2012 (SUN)

AM

09:27JR Tokyo Station
09:40 Leave the station on Shiosai express train #3
10:08 JR Chiba Station, East Exit; Street speech
11:15 JR Yotsukaido Station, North Exit; Street Speech
11:48 Lunch in a Sushi Restaurant “Mitomo”, Yotsukaido City, Chiba Prefecture

PM
01:58 Kamagaya City, Chiba, Higashi Kamagaya Station; Street Speech
03:09 JR Kashiwa Station; Street speech
04:28 JR Matsudo Station; Street speech
05:53 JR Shinurayasu Station; Street speech
06:59 DPJ Headquarters
07:07 Group interview with Sports Newspapers
08:00 Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary Genera
08:08 Mr. Okada joins; He is also DPJ election affairs acting director
08:56 Residence





Monday in Washington

This month cannot get
over soon enough
ASSESSING THE SOUTH KOREAN AND JAPANESE ELECTIONS. 12/10, 2:00-3:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Asian Studies, Heritage. Speakers: Dr. Michael Green, Senior Advisor and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Associate Professor, Georgetown University; Dr. Gordon Flake, Executive Director, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation; Bruce Klingner, Senior Research Fellow, Northeast Asia, Heritage Foundation; Walter Lohman, Director, Asian Studies Center, Heritage Foundation.

LEADERSHIP IN TRANSITION: CHINA. 12/10, 2:00-3:00pm, Washington, Dc. Sponsor: US-Asia Institute. Speakers: Dr. Jeffrey A. Bader, John C. Whitehead Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Susan Lawrence, Congressional Research Service.

CLIMATE CHANGE: THE ARCTIC AS AN EMERGING MARKET. 12/10, 6:00-8:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Chemical Society and the Georgetown University Program on Science in the Public Interest. Speakers: Jed Hamilton, senior Arctic consultant for Exxon Mobil; Julienne Stroeve, research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, CO; Richard Harris, science correspondent for NPR.

IS AMERICA STILL EXCEPTIONAL? FOREIGN POLICY OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. 12/10, 8:00-9:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Elliot School, GWU. Speakers: Henry Nau, professor of political science and international affairs at GWU debates Daniel Deudney, professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University; James Goldgeier, dean of the School of International Studies at American University.

GLOBAL TRENDS 2030: US LEADERSHIP IN A POST-WESTERN WORLD. 12/10-11, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Atlantic Council. Speakers: Mathew J. Burrows, Counselor, US National Intelligence Council; James Cartwright, Harold Brown Chair in Defense Policy Studies, CSIS; Jared Cohen, Director, Google Ideas; Mariette diChristina, Editor-in-Chief, Scientific American; Thomas Enders, CEO, EADS NV; Diana Farrell, Director, McKinsey Center for Government, McKinsey & Co.; Stephen J. Hadley, Principal, Rice Hadley Gates LLC; Chuck Hagel, Chairman, Atlantic Council; David Ignatius, Associate Editor, Washington Post; James L. Jones, former National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama; George Lund,Chairman, Torch Hill Investment Group; Brent Scowcroft, former National Security Advisor to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush; James Steinberg, Dean, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University; Philip Stephens, Associate Editor, Financial Times.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule Nov 19-25

November 19, 2012 (MON)
* ASEAN-related Summit Meetings and Others (Second Day)

AM
Japan-ASEAN Summit in Cambodia Prime Minister’s office, Phnom Penh

PM
ASEAN+3 Summit
ASEAN+3 Summit Luncheon
Conversation with President Lee Myuung-bak of South Korea
Meeting with King Bolkiah of Brunei
Meeting with President Thein Sein of Myanmar
Meeting with Prime Minister Gillard of Australia
Conversation with Japanese media in Hotel Intercontinental Phnom Penh
Dinner Hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Hun Sen at DICE Center
Stay in Hotel Intercontinental Phnom Penh

November 20, 2012 (TUE)
* ASEAN-related Summit Meetings and Others (Third Day)

AM
Japan-ASEAN Global Dialogue at Prime Minister’s Office in Phnom Penh
Meeting with President Obama of the United States
Press Interview
Meeting with Prime Minister Singh of India

PM
East Asia Summit Luncheon
East Asia Summit Plenary Session
Leave Phnom Penh International Airport

November 21, 2012 (WED)

AM
12:00 Arrive at Haneda Airport
12:31 Residence
10:47 Office
10:49 Meeting with supporters from Prime Minister’s precinct in Chiba
11:34 Imperial Palace: Report of return
11:52 NHK Hall

PM
12:01 National Convention of Town and Village Mayors
12:44 Office
12:52 Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary
01:14 DPJ Headquarters
01:15 Meeting with Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, former Prime Minister; Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary General, also attends
01:34 Press interview
01:42 Office
02:07 Ceremony to Present the Prime Minister's Commendations for Contributors to Child and Youth Education and Child-rearing Initiatives
02:21 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister; and Mr. Hideki Kato, Director General of the Government Revitalization Unit
03:00 Courtesy Call from the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mr. Shuvalov Igor Ivanovich
03:28 DPJ Headquarters
03:29 Meeting with DPJ Operation Executives including Mr. Koshiishi
05:05 Meeting ends
05:28 Tokyo Hall; a party to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Labor and Social Security Attorney Diet members caucus
05:52 Office
06:25 Mr. Toshimi Kitazawa, Former Defense Minister
06:52 Residence

November 22, 2012 (THU)

AM
09:47 Office
10:02 Ministerial meeting
10:15 Receives a Request from the Association for the Promotion of the Expansion and Improvement of Naha Airport
10:30 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Gemba, Foreign Minister; Mr. Morimoto, Defense Minister; and Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary
11:12 Mr. Hirohisa Fujii, DPJ Tax Policy Council Chief

PM
01:03 NHK Hall; The National Convention of the Central Federation of Societies of Commerce and Industry
01:43 DPJ Headquarters
01:55 DPJ Local Secretary Generals National Assembly
02:11 Office
04:46 Issue appointment order for Mr. Umemoto, new Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
05:31 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office; and Mr. Shimohira, Chief of Defense Intelligence Headquarters, Ministry of Defense
05:41 Mr. Shimohira leaves
05:56 Mr. Kitamura leaves
06:15 Residence

November 23, 2012 (FRI)

AM
09:46 Kawasaki City; Observe Ohgishima Wind Power Plant
09:58 Observe Ohgishima Solar Power Plant
10:55 Residence

PM
12:29 Shimo Meguro; Image Studio 109, TV and Photo Shooting for the Lower House Election; Mr. Tezuka, DPJ Public Relations Chief, accompanies
04:47 Residence
06:47 Imperial Palace; Ceremony
08:44 Residence

November 24, 2012 (SAT)

AM
09:17 Tama City, Tokyo, Visits the Facilities for Home Medical Care and Dementia Care
10:45 Press interview
10:59 Lunch at Keio Plaza Hotel Tama

PM
Odakyu Tama Center Station
12:35 Street speech
01:17 JR Kunitachi Station
01:28 Street speech
03:12 Odakyu Sagami Ohno Station
03:13 Street speech
04:46 Odakyu Shin Yurigaoka Station
04:52 Street speech
06:23 Residence

November 25, 2012 (SUN)

AM
09:43 TV Asahi, Roppongi, Tokyo
10:00 Appear on a news show
10:47 Residence
11:44 Haneda Airport

PM
12:01 Leave the airport on ANA Flight 23
01:00 Arrive at Itami Airport, Osaka
01:30 hankyu Minami Senri Station, Street speech
01:53 Cristal Hotel Minami Senri; participate in DPJ candidates assembly
02:47 JR Takatsuki Station, Takatsuki city, Osaka, Street speech
04:06 Hankyu Ibaraki Station, Ibaraki City, Osaka, Street speech
05:05 Hankyu Sone Station, Toyonaka City, Osaka, Street speech
06:03 Shin Osaka Station
06:12 Leave the station on Nozomi Bullet train
08:46 JR Tokyo station
09:01 Residence

Torpedoing Pearl Harbor Day

Churchill Mug

This essay by your editor first appeared 12/07/12 in The Hill, a newspaper and website focused on issues affecting Capitol Hill.



Last year, Congress stopped remembering Pearl Harbor. For nearly 50 years, the U.S. Congress had honored the survivors and fallen of Imperial Japan’s deadly attack through a resolution either asking the President to issue a proclamation designating December 7 as Pearl Harbor Day or issuing their own recognition of when the United States was pushed into World War II. This ended in 2011. America’s Greatest Generation was pushed aside to make a petty swipe at the White House about a surplus bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

A House rules change in 2011 did away with commemorative resolutions. As a staffer from the House Speaker John Boehner’s office told me, a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day resolution would be “frivolous.” The House Republican leadership of the 112th Congress had adopted new rules barring consideration of any measure that “expresses appreciation, commends, congratulates, celebrates, recognizes the accomplishments of, or celebrates the anniversary of, an entity, event, group, individual, institution, team or government program; or acknowledges or recognizes a period of time for such purposes” (Rule #28).



Speaker Boehner did not completely ignore December 1941 last year, however. That month served as the occasion to taunt the White House over a bust of Winston Churchill. He and many Republicans were upset that the President had returned this loaned presentation of Britain’s wartime prime minister to the British Embassy

.

On December 19, 2011, House Speaker Boehner allowed a resolution to pass that recognized the accomplishments of former Prime Minister Churchill. Boehner introduced H.Res. 497 commemorating the 70th anniversary of Churchill’s “The Masters of Our Fate” speech on December 26, 1941 before Congress, in which he urged Americans, barely two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor to pursue the war first in Europe and not Asia. The resolution also requested the placement of a statue or bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the United States Capitol. 



No one regrets our efforts in Europe during the war, but Americans then fighting the first battles on the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, and Java may have been somewhat circumspect about Churchill’s successful Europe-first lobbying. After Pearl Harbor, for four months through April 9, 1942, soldiers on Bataan tied up a better trained and equipped Japanese invasion force. On Wake Island, from December 8 to 22, 1941, less than 400 Marines held off a Japanese armada and amphibious assault. The soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines in the Pacific were abandoned and never resupplied. They were thus condemned to hopeless battles with obsolete weapons and no provisions ending in death or over three years of unmerciful imprisonment in Japan’s notorious POW camps.



Naturally, any political and military decisions in 1941 would have had good consequences for some Americans and bad results for others. But, 70 years later, a decision to commemorate a speech of a foreign head of state coupled with an explicit decision not to commemorate American veterans in one of the critical chapters of WWII is unfathomable.



Sadly, there is no longer a constituency to hold the House leadership responsible for ignoring WWII veterans or their history. The Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-Ohio), who did not issue a personal Pearl Harbor Day statement in 2011, has the power to make exceptions to "Rule 28," but he has no incentive do so. This year the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association disbanded and other Pacific War veterans are considered too elderly to be an active political force.



In fairness, perhaps Speaker Boehner thought that Congress no longer needed to weigh on remembering Pearl Harbor. This was the president’s job. In 1994, Congress made permanent a tradition started in 1966 and passed Public Law 103-308) designating December 7th as "National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day." It authorized and requested the President to: 1) issue an annual proclamation calling on U.S. citizens to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities; and 2) urge all Federal agencies, interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff in honor of those who gave their lives as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor. 



President Barak Obama, fulfilled his obligation 2011 by saying: “On National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we honor the more than 3,500 Americans killed or wounded during that deadly attack and pay tribute to the heroes whose courage ensured our Nation would recover from this vicious blow. Their tenacity helped define the Greatest Generation and their valor fortified all who served during World War II. As a Nation, we look to December 7, 1941, to draw strength from the example set by these patriots and to honor all who have sacrificed for our freedoms.” He followed his words with a quiet visit on December 29th to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.”



This year Congress is again silent on December 7. It is unfortunate that our veterans were ignored to make an irrelevant point about whether a foreign leader’s bust should on display in the Oval Office. Resolutions honoring WWII veterans transcend politics. They provide these men and women with a national gesture of eternal appreciation for their sacrifices and valor on Pearl Harbor day and the nearly four years thereafter fighting tyranny. They remind us of the greatness of American leadership. Failure to do so sends a troubling message to present and future veterans on how they too will be forgotten.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule Nov 12-18

November 12, 2012 (MON)

AM

07:03 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Mitani and Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisors for PM
08:01 Mr. Mitani leave
08:25Mr. Saito and Mr. Ogushi leave
08:43 Parliament
08:57 The Lower House Budget Committee

PM
12:00 Office
12:51 Parliament
01:00 The Lower House Budget Committee
05:05 Office
06:00 Courtesy Call from the Executive Director of UN Women, Ms. Michelle Bachelet; Mr. Nakatsuka, Minister of State for Gender Equality, attend
06:17 Meeting ends
07:18 Residence

November 13, 2012 (TUE)

AM

06:47 Mr. Saito, Mr. Mitani, and Mr. Ogushi
08:01 All leave
08:23 Parliament
08:31 Ministerial meeting
08:59 The Lower House Budget Committee

PM 
12:05 Office
12:52 Parliament
12:59 The Lower House Budget Committee
05:04 Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary-General
05:25 Office
05:27 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Gemba, Foreign Minister; and Mr. Morimoto, Defense Minister
05:57 Mr. Sugiyama, Director General, Asia-Pacific Affairs Bureau, MoFA
06:17 Mr. Yamai, DPJ Election Affairs Council Chief
07:12 Residence

November 14, 2012 (WED)

AM

09:32 Office
10:00 Mr. Mitani and Mr. Ogushi
10:24 Both leave
11:48 Mr. Jimi, President, People’s New Party

PM
12:02 Mr. Jimi leaves
01:04 Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary-General
01:26 Mr. Koshiishi leaves
02:52 Parliament
03:00 Party Leaders’ debate
03:49 Debate ends
04:15 The Lower House Financial and Monetary Affairs Committee
06:26 Office
06:28 DPJ/Government Executives meeting
07:06 Mr. Koshiishi
07:18 Report from the UN Ambassadors meeting participants including Mr. Tsuneo Nishida, UN Ambassador; Mr. Saito and Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries, attend
07:41 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office; and Mr. Shimohira, Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center Chief
07:46 Mr. Shimohira leaves
07:56Mr. Kitamura leaves
08:06 Mr. Jimi, President, People’s New Party
08:37 Press interview
08:40 Residence
11:40 Phone Conversation with President Obama of the U.S.
11:50 Phone call ends

November 15, 2012 (THU)

AM

09:32 Office
10:07 Mr. Hosono, DPJ Policy Research Council Chief
10:26 Mr. Maehara, Minister of National Policy
11:09 Mr. Hirohisa Fujii, DPJ Taxi Research Council Chief
11:19 Mr. Hajime Ishii, DPJ Upper House Budget Committee Chair
11:35 Mr. Ichiro Fujisaki, Ambassador for the U.S.
11:42 Mr. Fujisaki leaves

PM
01:17 Mr. Okada
01:28 Mr. Hiroshi Nakai, DPJ Lower House Budget Committee Chair
01:35 Mr. Nakai leaves
02:34 Mr. Jojima, Finance Minister; and Mr. Manago, Administrative Minister of Finance
02:54 Both leave
03:55 Phone conversation with Prime Minister Singh of India
04:07 Parliament; The Lower House Plenary Session
05:47 Office
05:51 The Council on National Strategy and Policy
06:35 Local Sovereignty Strategy Council
06:58 ANA Intercontinental Hotel Tokyo
07:00 Signing ceremony of DPJ-Rengo “2012 Joint Statement・Policy Agreement”
07:27 Residence

November 16, 2012 (FRI)

AM

08:07 Office
08:16 Ministerial Meeting
08:47 Ministerial Council on Monthly Economic Report and Other Relative Issues
09:12 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
10:10 Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisor for PM
10:48 Central government complex building 4; Observes the "New Review of Government Programs"
11:06 Press interview
11:10 Office
11:22 Mr. Hirohisa Fujii, DPJ Tax Research Council Chief; and Mr. Shinichiro Furumoto, Secretary General
11:47 Mr. Yasuo Ichikawa, DPJ Upper House Secretary General; Mr. Kawakami, Special Advisor for PM, attends
11:54 Parliament

PM
12:07 The Lower House Plenary Session
12:19 Office
02:09 Mr. Saito and Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries
02:43 Both leave
03:39 Parliament
03:49 The Lower House Plenary Session
03:50 Lower House is dissolved
03:53 Mr. Yokoji, the Lower House Chair, and Mr. Hirata, the Upper House Chair; Mr. Fujimura accompanies
04:01 Visits ruling party executives
04:20 Ad hoc Ministerial Meeting
04:59 The Lower House Members Office Building
05:04 DPJ General Assembly of both chambers
05:32 Office
06:01 Press conference
06:31 Press conference ends
07:06 Residence

November 17, 2012 (SAT)

AM

09:40 Tokyo Metropolitan Kogei High School in Shinjuku
09:47 Observe classes, metal hammering, and chasing
10:03 Observe students’ handicrafts
10:07 Give speech to students
10:20 Exchange opinions with students and parents
10:49 Press interview
11:05 Residence
11:32 Mr. Saito and Taketoshi, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries; Mr. Saiki, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Sasaki, Deputy Minister for Economy, Trade, and Industry

PM
12:00 All leave

November 18, 2012 (SUN)
* ASEAN-related Summit Meetings and Others (First Day)
AM
09:56 Mr. Sugiyama, Director-General, Asia-Pacific Bureau, MoFA
10:30 Interview with the Financial Times
11:00 Press interview
11:24 Haneda Airport
11:47 Leave for ASEAN summit meetings in Cambodia; Mrs. Noda accompanies

PM
Arrive at Phnom Penh Airport
Offer flowers at the memorial to the late Police Superintendent Haruyuki Takada
Offer flowers at the cenotaph for the late Atsuhito Nakata, a UN volunteer
Pay his respect for King Sihanouk
Observe Preah Kossamak Hospital
Meeting with Japanese nationals living in Cambodia

Territorial disputes complicate U.S. relations with China, Japan

by William L. Brooks. APP Senior Fellow, Adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University
First published in the Asahi Shimbun Asia Japan Watch Online, December 3, 2012

The re-election of Barack Obama signals to Asia that America's "pivot" or "rebalancing" toward that region will move forward in the carefully constructed framework laid out during the president's first term.

But no matter who had won the presidential election, Obama or Mitt Romney, the major geostrategic policy issue in Asia would have been unchanged: how to deal with a rising China. The two candidates spent much time in the campaign accusing each other of being soft on China, portraying that country as an economic "threat" to the United States because it was "stealing jobs" from American workers. Such rhetoric will now fade. In their foreign policies, both Obama and Romney basically approach Asia and the China problem the same way.

A man burns a Japanese national flag during a demonstration in Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province on Sept. 18, 2012. Demonstrations were held across China as public anger grew against Tokyo's move to purchase some of the disputed Senkaku Islands in East China Sea from a private landowner. (AP file photo)

From a security perspective, China's formal declaration at the 18th Communist Party Congress of its intention to become a "maritime power," with core interests that intersect the territorial waters of nations in the South and East China seas, may force the United States to accelerate a containment strategy laid out during Obama's first term in office. That strategy involves a reallocation of military resources to the region, such as moving U.S. Marines to Australia, a strengthening of existing alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, and building security ties with nations on China's periphery, such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam. The diplomatic agenda now even includes a recent historical first trip by Obama to Myanmar, once under China's sway. Washington's encirclement strategy of using diplomacy backed up by American military muscle in the region is intended to show China that its hegemonic intentions in the region will not be tolerated.

Japan's increasingly volatile territorial dispute with China complicates the Obama administration's policy intention to use diplomatic means to ultimately steer China away from becoming a potential threat or enemy and instead convince it to become a responsible partner for resolving crucial global issues. While recognizing the competitive aspects in the economic and security areas of the U.S.-China relationship, Washington aims to make sure that collaborative areas are always kept paramount. Under such an accommodation, China would not resort to intimidation or force in resolving its territorial disputes, and would accept the principle of freedom of navigation in regional waters. In broad terms, the United States seeks to ensure that China's rise does not destabilize the Asia-Pacific region, which would be of direct concern to American interests.

Turbulence in 2010, centered first on China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, was an unexpected development. It resulted in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issuing a strong statement at the July 2010 ASEAN ARF underscoring America's vital interests regarding freedom of navigation and pursuit of water claims without intimidation. Clinton intervened again in September on behalf of Japan when China escalated into a major diplomatic row a fishing boat incident in the East China Sea near the Senkakus, islands claimed by both countries. The secretary of state declared that the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty applies to the islands, which have been under Japan's effective control since the U.S. returned administrative rights over them to Japan in 1972 as part of the Okinawa reversion.

The summer of 2012 saw maritime disputes with China flare up across the South and East China seas. The Senkakus row erupted again in September when Japan's central government purchased three of the isles from their private owner, and even involved extensive riots and destruction of Japanese property in China. Chinese surveillance ships operating near the Senkaku Islands continue to square off against Japanese Coast Guard vessels, keeping tensions high and setting off fears that the standoff could escalate into a more serious conflict.

The incident set off a propaganda war aimed at the international community, with both governments appealing to world opinion regarding the legitimacy of their territorial claim. Beijing also made known its intention to officially revise and extend its continental shelf claim submission in the East China Sea to include the waters around the Senkakus, thus further irritating Tokyo. Although China has recently—and belatedly—tried to play down the island row, serious damage has been done to bilateral relations, taking its toll on tourism, business and other economic activities. Even events to commemorate the 40th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic relations in 1972 were canceled.

Washington has called for cooler heads to prevail, with a State Department spokesman saying that the United States does "not take a position on the sovereignty of the Senkakus" but expects "the two mature countries are fully capable of resolving" their territorial dispute. Washington's worst fear is being drawn into a war between China and Japan over the Senkakus. The U.S. military alliance with Japan is designed to guarantee peace and stability in the region through its deterrence capabilities. It is not intended to act as a lightning rod for conflict.

China's efforts to intimidate Japan by its excessive reaction to the territorial issue in 2010 and the well-orchestrated row in 2012, however, have produced just the opposite effect. Although Japan has remained relatively calm diplomatically, China's actions have riled up the normally complacent public and spurred saber-rattling by politicians on the right. Japan is not backing down.

Ironically, China, instead of driving a wedge between the U.S. and Japan by testing how far the U.S. will go in backing its ally, seems to be serving as a catalyst for reinvigorating the bilateral military relationship. It used to be provocations by North Korea that drove Japan closer to its ally the United States, but now it is China. Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto has asked the United States for talks to revise the current set of defense cooperation guidelines to reflect the current security environment centered on China. The last set, inked in 1997, posited a contingency on the Korean Peninsula.

Japan's heightened concern about China's ascendancy in the region also explains the do-or-die desire of the administration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to have Japan join the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This regional free-trade agreement is seen in Tokyo as a counter lever to China's growing economic influence. Japan, in effect, has bought into the U.S.'s China-encirclement policy.

It is unclear whether China under a new and untested leadership will respond by further raising the ante in this international game of poker, or--aware of the political and economic consequences--seek or accept some kind of accommodation in line with the U.S.'s strategic goals. What is certain, though, is that the Senkakus as a structural issue between Japan and China will not go away. It may be put on the back burner for a while by mutual agreement, as Deng Xiaoping managed to do in the 1970s, but the territorial issue is a card, increasingly risky, that China may be willing again to play in the future.

William L. Brooks, APP Senior Fellow, Adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. He retired from the U.S. State Department in September 2009 after a 35-year career as a diplomat and research analyst.

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule Nov 5-11

November 5, 2012 (MON)

* Second Day of the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM9), and Other Activities
AM 

Meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia
Meeting with Prime Minister Tusk of Poland
Meeting with President Van Rompuy of the European Council

PM
National Theater, greeted by President Choummaly of Laos
Summit Photo shooting with
Ceremony to welcome the newly joined members
Meeting with President Aquino of The Philippines
The ASEM First session
Conversation with the press
Dinner party hosted by President Choummaly

November 6, 2012 (TUE)

* Third Day of the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM9), and Other Activities
AM 

The ASEM Second Session
Meeting with Prime Minister Yingluck of Thailand

PM
The ASEM Third, Forth, and Fifth Sessions
Meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam
ASEM Closing Ceremony
Meeting with Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt
Meeting with President Chounmmaly of Laos
Press Interview in Hotel Lao Plaza
Stay at Don Chan Villa

November 7, 2012 (WED)

AM

Leave Wattay Airport

PM

02:17 Arrive at Haneda Airport
02:49 Residence
03:43 Office
03:44 Mr. Tatsuo Hirano, Minister for Reconstruction in the Response to the East Japan Earthquake
04:08 Mr. Kenichiro Sasae, Ambassador for the U.S.
04:14 Mr. Tarutoko, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications; Mr. Oshima, Senior Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications; Mr. Inami, Parliamentary Secretary of Internal Affairs and Communications
04:58 Imperial palace, report of return
05:14 Office
05:30 Ceremony to Present the National Honor Award; photo shooting; Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary; and Mr. Tanaka, Minister of Education, attend
05:41 Conversation with Ms. Yoshida, recipient of the National Honor Award
05:55 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office
06:29 Residence
06:30 Dinner with Ms. Mieko Tanaka, Mr. Tsutomu Hashimoto, and other first term DPJ members
08:31 All leave

November 8, 2012 (THU)

AM

08:24 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Mitani and Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisors for PM
09:22 All leave
09:26 Office
10:09 Imperial Palace, Autumn Conferment Ceremony
10:54 Office

PM
12:49 Parliament
12:51 Mr. Maehara, Minister for National Policy
01:02 The Lower House Plenary Session
03:43 Office
04:46 Government Revitalization Unit
04:55 Mr. Naoshima, DPJ Vice President; Ms. Renho, National Campaign Committee Chair; Mr. Mabuchi, DPJ Policy Research Council Chief; and Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisor for PM
04:31 Mr. Naoshima and Mr. Mabuchi leave
04:39 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office
06:16 Local Sovereignty Strategy Council
07:09 The Forum for Consultations between the National and Regional Governments
07:31 Residence, dinner with Parliamentary Secretaries of each ministry
09:24 All leave

November 9, 2012 (FRI)

AM

08:20 Parliament
08:26 Ministerial Meeting
08:40 Office
11:20 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister
11:59 Residence

PM
12:00 Lunch with Mr. Hajime Ishii and other DPJ Upper House Committee Chairs
12:40 Office
02:56 Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisor for PM
03:30 Mr. Ogushi leaves
04:27 Mr. Kawai, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
05:03 Mr. Kawai leaves
05:30 Courtesy Call from the Participants of the "Central Asia plus Japan" Dialogue/the Fourth Foreign Ministers Meeting
06:18 Kyodo Press; Party of the Meeting by Managing Editors of the Member Companies of Kyodo News
06:45 Residence
07:00 Dinner with Senior Vice Ministers
08:52 All leave

November 10, 2012 (SAT)

* Visits Fukuoka Prefecture
AM 

08:02 Haneda Airport
08:28 Leave Haneda Airport on board of JAL Flight #305
09:56 Arrive at Fukuoka Airport
10:33 Observe Kawabata shopping district, Fukuoka city, Hakata Ward; Mr. Suzuki, Small and Medium Enterprise Agency Director-General, accompanies
11:05 Conversation with shop owners
11:30 Press interview
11:35 Lunch at a ramen shop “Fuubi”
11:57 Fukuoka Fashion Building

PM
01:06 DPJ Policy Progress Report session meeting
02:56 Meeting ends
03:09 Fukuoka Airport
04:15 Leave the airport on board of JAL Flight #322
05:25 Arrive at Haneda Airport
06:23 Residence

November 11, 2012 (SUN)

AM

09:59 Shinjuku Koko Kara Hiroba
10:16 Reading session for children at Children Center; Mayor Hiroko Nakayama of Shinjuku-ward, accompany
10:27 Conversation with parents
10:55 Observe Koko Kara Festival
11:12 Press interview
11:37 Residence

PM
07:03 Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary-General
08:02 Mr. Koshiishi leaves

Japan and China’s 118-Year-Old Cage Fight


Shinzo Abe, Japan's former prime minister, speaks after being elected president
 of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012. 
Photograph by Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg

By James Gibney
BloombergView, September 27, 2012

The sight of anti-Japanese Chinese protesters carrying placards of Chairman Mao may strike some as historically absurd. After all, the architect of China's Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and numerous other murderous campaigns was responsible for far more Chinese deaths than, say, Hideki Tojo, Japan's wartime leader.

But it is no more bizarre than yesterday's election of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to lead Japan's Liberal Democratic Party. Let's review his resume and pedigree, especially from the Chinese perspective.

Just about every description of Abe is prefaced with the word "nationalist." His premiership from 2006 to 2007 was marked by his moves to change Japan's pacifist constitution, his denials that Asian women were institutionally coerced to have sex with Japanese soldiers and his support for efforts to, in general, whitewash horrific episodes in Japan's World War II history such as the Nanjing Massacre. Time has seemingly not mellowed his views: He has suggested that, as prime minister, he would visit Yasukuni shrine, a nationalist theme park for Japan's war dead, and recant some of Japan's apologies for World War II.

Abe is the son of the former LDP stalwart Shintaro Abe, the foreign minister whose own hopes for a premiership were derailed by a campaign finance scandal. More tellingly, he is the grandson of former prime minister and Class A war criminal suspect Nobosuke Kishi, whom the historian John Dower described as "the brilliant and unscrupulous former bureaucrat…who had been the economic czar of the puppet state of Manchukuo and was accused, among other things, of being responsible for the enslavement of untold thousands of Chinese as forced laborers."

Set aside the dynastic insularity of Japanese politics (Kishi, for example, was the older brother of Eisaku Sato, Japan's longest-serving prime minister and a fierce opponent of Communist China). And never mind the intellectual bankruptcy of the LDP, with its circular dinosaur parade.

What's striking is the extent to which Japan and China remain in the grip of historical attitudes, animosities, resentments and rivalries that well predate the Second World War. In fact, they sharpened more than a century ago in the Sino-Japanese war of 1894-95, when Japan crushed China's navy and army and acquired Taiwan and effective control of Korea, as well as ports along the Yangtze and commercial treaty rights. Japan's claim to the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dates back to that conflict, when Japan "stood up," to borrow Mao's phrase, and joined the ranks of Western imperialist powers.

Now it's payback time. Chinese protesters who attack Japanese factories have their forebears in those who led boycotts of Japanese goods in the 1910s and '20s. And for many Chinese factory workers today, the division of labor is Manchukuo-lite, where they are executing orders -- call it higher value-added -- from their Japanese masters. They don't need much persuading to hit the streets to protest Japan's control of the islands.

Ironically, when Abe became prime minister, one of the first things he did was try to patch up relations with China. It's unlikely he and the LDP will win when Japan holds new elections. But if he does, he may be facing one heck of Nixon-Went-to-China moment.

James Gibney is an APP member and   a member of the Bloomberg View editorial board. Follow him on Twitter.