Should Japan Give Permanent Residents Suffrage?

From today’s Japan Times, an update on an ongoing debate about giving Permanent Resident Status holders the right to vote in elections:

A former member of the Lower House from the Democratic Party of Japan, Ueda said he doesn’t understand why third-, fourth- or even fifth-generation foreign residents don’t just seek Japanese nationality. He was apparently referring to Korean residents.

Ueda said national security can be the focal point of a local election, citing this Sunday’s mayoral race in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, where the long-delayed relocation of a U.S. military base is the crux of the campaign.

Residents of Korean descent comprise most of the permanent foreign residents in Japan. The government grants special permanent resident status to people from the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan who have lived in the country since the time of Japan’s colonial rule over those areas, and to their descendants.

Opinion is split among the foreign community, as best represented by an earlier post by Adamu over at Mutantfrog Travelogue:

In addition to expected support from zainichi Korean groups, we have some uncharacteristically half-baked support from Debito, the well-known human rights agitator: “Debito.org is in support, given how difficult it can be to get PR in Japan, not to mention how arbitrary the naturalization procedures are.” But just because it’s tough to get the status, that doesn’t mean one should get the right to vote and be elected. I am not accusing foreigners in Japan of being spies or degenerates, but a basic tenet of a country and the Japanese constitution is that it is to be governed by its citizens. That requirement helps assure those who will be involved in politics are committed citizens of the country. Permanent residents are already protected under the law and do not need to renew their visa to stay in the country. I think if they want more than that they should be ready to give up their original passport and become citizens.

He concludes:

There are more important issues in my opinion (allowing dual citizenship, establishing an immigration policy) that should be given more priority.

Putting aside giving suffrage to Special Permanent Residents, i.e. zainichi Koreans, what would it mean to give Permanent Residents the right to vote?

I’m not a Permanent Resident, at least not yet. I have to wait at least another 3 years, and probably longer, until I can even apply for it. However, assuming that I would still be living in Japan, I would probably also be the parent of a transnational child. As a parent, I would be concerned with providing my child and family with the best that they can get, and while Keiko could do that on my behalf, it doesn’t seem too unfair to ask that I might have a say too: as a resident of my local community, a tax payer, and a contributor to the pensions of the rapidly ageing society (a pension I would never receive myself). What I would like for my future-self is the ability to vote in city-wide elections, such as for the mayor so I too can attempt to improve my family’s lot in my local area.

We can put aside the issue of national elections, they might affect me, but those are the province of citizens given that they can affect constitutional and national security issues. While Ueda might have a point in saying that national security and local elections can intersect, I think this is unlikely even in Okinawa. It’s the power of the national government that will bring about change.

You might be asking why I don’t consider naturalising, i.e. becoming a Japanese citizen. As a British citizen with family in Britain, it’s important for me to be able to visit or move back to live in the UK should something terrible happen. If I became a Japanese citizen I would have to give up my British nationality (Japan does not allow dual-citizenship) and that would mean travelling on a visa (and if you’ve seen the current visa system in Britain, you’d realise that it would be a fate worse than death).

As for voting back home, I am only really concerned with the General Election, i.e. elections to change the national government who make foreign and nationwide domestic policy, the only areas of British policy that really affect me these days. I have no interest in voting in local elections back home. I don’t live there and I have no stake in what happens.

I understand the point that Adamu made in the quote above. Why take suffrage for permanent residents when we should be calling for immigration reform? After all, it’s not like the Permanent Residents themselves are clamouring for this right. The problem is that PR suffrage is being offered now, and who knows when or even if the Diet will contemplate dual-nationality? I hope that Japan becomes immigrant-friends as the country increasingly relies on foreign labour, but I’m not holding my breath. If the DPJ push through voting rights for zainichi Koreans and other Special Permanent Residents: excellent. If they tag on some benefits for PRs, I’d use them. After that, if they still don’t contemplate immigration reform, then what have we lost?

The Start of a Historic Day?

Today Japan will vote for the future of its democracy. That may sound lofty, but the story of Japanese history has been one of conservative unity versus weak opposition parties in which the Liberal Democratic Party, Jiminto, held over the reins of power.

With America’s urging, Jiminto was forged in 1955 from two conservative parties: the Liberal Party, Jiyuuto, and the Democratic Party, Minshuto. The Japanese conservatives and the United States were concerned about the influence of socialism in Japan, given the country’s strategically important position which blocks access to the Pacific Ocean from the Russian Far East and China. The Communist Party, Kyosanto, remains a continual presence even today. It is more vocal here than in other countries; just the other day Keiko’s company’s health insurance urged her to vote for Kyosanto this weekend.

At the time of the conservative merger, Jiyuuto was led by the father of Japanese postwar political, economic and defence strategy, Shigeru Yoshida, current Prime Minister Taro Aso’s grandfather. Minshuto, on the other hand, was led by then Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama. Minshuto split from Jiyuuto in 1954, and Hatoyama was behind Yoshida’s loss of power in the party. The merger of the two parties, instigated by Hatoyama, began what has since been called the 1955 System: a monopoly over the controls to Japan’s democracy, most notably in the relationship with its bureaucrats.

In his seminal book, The Enigma of Japanese Power, Karel van Wolferen described the complex and reliant system by which the civil servants of the central government maintained social cohesion, disrupted opposition, and generally maintained the conditions which kept Jiminto in power. By the regulation of unions and its wooing of the agriculture and construction industries, Jiminto was given an unrivalled power-base. As the only credible governing party, Jiminto had a secure place at the head of the government, but it was by no means monolithic. Indeed, it is a meta-party comprised of numerous fluid factions and groupings, zoku, which fight for power in the party and thus for the use of the voter’s mandate.

However, this stable and rather depressing system has been corroding for years. In 1993, after a series of scandals, the LDP lost power to an unlikely coalition led by the Renewal Party, Shinseito. The coalition quickly fell apart with the defection of the Socialist Party, Shakai Minshuto, and Shinto Sakigake. The LDP came back as strong as ever, but has been growingly challenged in the Diet and on the streets by the new Minshuto, which was formed in 1998. That party has grown in strength thanks to politically savvy leaders, Jiminto’s scandals, and Jun’nichiro Koizumi’s blow to Jiminto from within.

Japan has had three Jiminto prime ministers in three years, and no election since 2005. The rapid turnover in leaders has been caused by poor leadership and further scandals, and certainly, Taro Aso’s decision to delay the general election, if the polls hold true, has seriously damaged Jiminto’s strength. As a more activist and credible opposition which has survived a serious scandal of its own (involving then party leader, Ichiro Ozawa), Minshuto is more ready than ever to step into the Kantei.

So today the Japanese electorate are being given the chance to change their political lot. They can continue to support Jiminto, with its tried and tested control over the bureaucrats in Kasumigaseki, or they can give real pluralism a chance and embrace the challenge presented by Minshuto as led by Yukio Hatoyama (Ichiro Hatoyama’s grandson). It is by no means a simple choice: Minshuto has been criticised for its idealistic manifesto, which is lacking in the details (primarily as a result of Jiminto’s control over the organs of governance). However, the time is ripe for change… When the votes are in, we could be looking at a new mandate for Jiminto, or more likely, the first opposition party in power since 1955 without the formation of a coalition.

President of the Free World

Obama relaxes in a stairwell before giving a speech in Iowa

Obama will be President… the world breathes a sigh of relief (although apparently not al Qaeda). I have seen so many editorials which reiterate this point without truly touching upon the reason.

Since the Second World War, America has been the spiritual, political, and economic leader of the Western world, and at times a whole lot more. It helped rebuild those ruined by conflict and in doing so laid the groundwork for future aid policies and alliances. Following the end of the Cold War, triumphant America led the world into a New World Order, even if only for a brief interlude (the events described in Mark Bowden’s Blackhawk Down putting a nail in that coffin). Again, following 9/11, the world sat and waited for orders. When righteous, America commands the respect and obedience of the world over.

However, America squandered that respect. It assassinated, abducted, tortured, extralegally imprisoned, and lied, and that was just in the War on Terror and the subsequent conflict in Iraq. America, for many years, has acted as though it was in the world, but not of it. This is seen in its continuous refusals to sign up to the International Criminal Court, its intransigence in tackling global warming, and the rampant belief in its exceptionalism. Sure, America is exceptional as the centre of the world, but when the exception impinges on international law, that exceptionalism becomes simple illegality.

The new president is faced by many challenges. He is unlikely to be able to bring home all the change he promises, but if he brings more transparency and respect to the Oval Office, then he would have done enough.

The world waited with baited breath for the results of the election and was pleased. Obama will be the leader of the free world, and while we didn’t have a vote, we all have a stake.
Well done, America.

Political Dynasties: Taro Aso [Updated]

In May 2007, I wrote a lengthy piece on Taro Aso’s family in my blog Abduction Politics. On the day that Fukuda resigned, I received a huge spike at my original blog, and as I have allowed that site to fall into the abyss of the internet, I would like to present an updated version here for safekeeping (I will probably bring in more of my older material and perhaps, if I have the time, build up what is already here).

As with most political systems, I’d imagine, Japan’s political elite has a tinge of the incestual dynasties of old. Taro Aso (麻生太郎,Tarou Asou), Minister for Foreign Affairs from 31 October 2005 to 27 August 2007, now a candidate for becoming head of the Liberal Democratic Party and thus Fukuda’s successor to the position of Prime Minister.

Taro Aso is a politician born and bred. He is perhaps best known for his controversial statements reflecting his revisionist and conservative stance on Japan’s history. Others know him for being somewhat of a manga enthusiast, keen to use the popular form of entertainment as a source of soft power. Love him or hate him, Aso is here to stay.

Taro Aso

Taro Aso was born on 20 September 1940 in Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture. He is the oldest among his five siblings.

Education - He studied in the Faculties of Politics and Economics at the prestigious Gakushuin University (学習院大学, Gakushuuin Daigaku), whose other alumni include Studio Ghibli head Hayao Miyazaki, Beatles wife Yoko Ono, and current Emperor Akihito. He then travelled to the US to study at Stanford University, but his family (particularly his grandfather, Shigeru Yoshida) called him back to Japan over fears he was becoming ‘too Americanised’. Aso attempted to reason with them, but they cut off his allowance forcing him to take a ship home. Aso then left again, this time to study at the University of London.

Work – Following his time in London, Taro Aso worked for a diamond mining company in Sierra Leone. After two years, civil war forced him out of the country. In 1966, he joined the family company, Aso Industry (formerly Aso Mining Company, later Aso Cement Company), and held the post of president from 1973-1979.

Life – Aso was on the Japanese shooting team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. In 1978, Aso became president of the Japan Junior Chamber, a federation of Japan’s young business leaders. He is a devout Catholic, confirmed with the name Francisco (by which he is sometimes known), although partakes in Shinto rituals. Aso is a frequent reader of manga, said to read around 10-20 volumes a week, and is particularly known as a fan of Rozen Maiden (leading him to be dubbed ‘Rozen Aso’). In a campaign rally in Akihabara, a district of Tokyo renowned for its geeky visitors (otaku), he spent 60% of his time discusses pop-culture. He plays golf in his downtime.

In the Diet – Aso is a member of the Kono Faction, an LDP group led by Yohei Kono (the politician who recognised the comfort women issue in his ‘Kono Statement’).Taro Aso was elected to the Diet’s Lower House (House of Representatives) in October 1979 and has been re-elected eight times. In 1988, Taro Aso became Parliamentary Vice Minister for Education, Sports, Science and Culture which he held until June 1989. From January 1991, Aso became Chairman of the Lower House’s Special Committee on Coal Issues, until November 1991, when he became Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, which he held until Jan 1993. In November 1998, Aso became Chairman of the Special Committee on Fiscal Structure Reform, which he held for a month.

In the LDP – In March 1990, Aso became director of the Education Division of the LDP, until December 1990. While still Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, in November 1992, Aso became Director of the Foreign Affairs Division until Aug 1993. In March 1999, Aso was Deputy Secretary-General of the LDP, and in October 1999, he became Deputy Chairman of the Policy Research Council, which he held until July 2000. In April 2001, he became Chairman, which he held until September 2003.

In the Executive – In November 1996, Aso was made Minister of State in Economic Planning Agency by Ryutaro Hashimoto, which he held until Sep 1997. From January 2001, Aso Minister of State, Economic and Fiscal Policy under Yoshiro Mori until the end of Mori’s term in April 2001. In 2003 he became Minister of Internal Affairs, Posts and Communications to Jun’ichiro Koizumi, and on 31 October 2005, he became Minister for Foreign Affairs, a post he has retained in Shinzo Abe’s first cabinet. During the leadership contest within the LDP following the stepping-down of Koizumi, Aso was a candidate running against Shinzo Abe – it is to Aso’s credit that he was chosen to remain as Foreign Minister for Abe’s first cabinet.

On 27 August 2007, Nobutaka Machimura (head of a faction of the LDP) was brought into replace Aso as Prime Minister Abe attempted to bolster his leadership with wider LDP support following a variety of issues highlighting political incompetance and corruption. Aso was a strong ally for Abe, who felt that he would be better placed as Secretary-General of the LDP. Aso would be the man to whip the party into line behind the Prime Minister, but there was no saving a sinking ship. The position is also an indicator of a politician’s future chances as head of the Party.

Sure enough, Aso went up against tremendous odds to take on Yasuo Fukuda in September 2007 as the vied for the party’s support for the leadership position. Although Aso would lose, he fought a strong fight and clearly signified that it would not be his last campaign for the leadership. Fukuda supposedly asked Aso to keep his position, perhaps because Fukuda was a canny coalition-builder and new that he should keep Aso on-side, but Aso refused.

As with Abe, a year later, on 2 August 2008, Fukuda was forced into a reshuffle. Abe’s legacy had severely cost the LDP in the Diet leaving a political split with the DPJ being the strongest opposition in recent memory. Aso was once more asked to take the Secretary-General spot, and did so, citing: “The environment surrounding the LDP has never been this difficult since the party was established in 1955. It’s very important that the party as a whole (deal with the crisis).”

At the time, the media focused on how this would reflect on Aso’s future, and sure enough, a month later, Fukuda has said he will step down and Aso is the forerunner for his replacement.

Taro Aso’s Wife: Chikako Aso née Suzuki

Chikako Aso (麻生千賀子, Asou Chikako) is the third daughter of Zenko Suzuki (鈴木善幸, Suzuki Zenkou), the 70th Prime Minister of Japan (July 1980-November 1982).

Update: His son, Masahiro Aso, attends William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri and is set to graduate in 2011. ((Thanks to the anonymous commenter!)) I cannot verify this independently because the Japanese newspapers appear to have a great deal of respect for the rights of minors – I can’t find anything on his son or daughter, except that he has at least one of each, both at university.

Update 2: Josei Jishin (女性自身, October 2008) reported on now-Prime Minister Aso’s children. Masahiro (将豊) was born December 29, 1984. He graduated from prestigious Keio Gijuku Yochisha Primary School and Keio Shonan Fujisawa Junior and Senior High School.

Taro Aso’s daughter Ayako (彩子) was born on April 27, 1987. She is now a sophomore at the University of Tokyo.  ((Thanks to commenter Kazu at my Abduction Politics blog for the information.))

Taro Aso’s Princess Sister: Nobuko

The third daughter of the Aso family, Nobuko (信子), studied in the UK at Rosslyn House College (about which I can find nothing) and graduated in 1973. She met and married Prince Tomohito of Mikasa (三笠宮寬仁, Mikasa no Miya Tomohito Shinnou), heir to the mikasa no miya (House of Mikasa), and became Princess Tomohito of Mikasa (寛仁親王妃信子, Tomohito Shinnouhi Nobuko). Together they have two children, Princesses Akiko (彬子女王, Akiko Joou), currently studying at Oxford, and Yoko (瑶子女王, Youko Joou). It was Prince Tomohito who suggested that Crown Prince Naruhito should take a concubine in order to produce an heir. He is a cousin of the current Emperor Akihito.

Taro Aso’s Other Siblings

The second son of the Aso family is Jiro (次郎, Jirou [?]).

The first daughter of the Aso family, Setsuko (雪子, [? - perhaps Yukiko]), married Kazutane Soma (相馬和胤,Souma Kazutane), the 33rd descendent of the Soma clan.

The second daughter of the Aso family, Asako (旦子) married former ambassador to Spain, Kiyohiko Arafune (荒船清彦).

The youngest son of the Aso family, Yutaka (泰) is the current head of the Aso Group.

Taro Aso’s Grandfather: Shigeru Yoshida

Taro Aso’s mother was Kazuko Yoshida (吉田和子), whose father was Shigeru Yoshida (吉田茂), one of Japan’s great post-war prime ministers (1946-1947, 1948-1954). He formulated what has become known as the Yoshida Doctrine, a process of ‘free-riding’ on security issues while concentrating heavily on economic strength. His doctrine dominated Japanese thought at least until the supposed dishonour brought upon Japan by its response to the 1991 Gulf War. He signed both the Treaty of San Francisco (1951) and the US-Japan Security Treaty (1951), both crucial to Japan’s reconstruction. Yoshida was by birth a Takeuchi, but was adopted by Kenzo Yoshida (a silk merchant) after they lived together.

The picture above shows Aso as a baby in the lap of Kazuko Aso née Yoshida, with Shigeru Yoshida (left) and Takakichi Aso (right). In addition to the link to Shigeru Yoshida, Aso’s father had close ties to Kakuei Tanaka (田中角栄), Japan’s Prime Minister from 1972-1974. Tanaka also had a child in Koizumi’s cabinet, Makiko Tanaka (田中真紀子), who was Japan’s Foreign Minister from April 2001 to January 2002.

Taro Aso’s Great Grandfather: Tsuna Takeuchi

Tsuna Takeuchi was Shigeru Yoshida’s biological father. He is more commonly known in English as Tsuna Takenouchi, but this is infact incorrect: 竹内綱 in this case is read Tsuna Takeuchi. Takeuchi was a key figure in Japanese civil rights politics hailing from the Tosa (土佐) clan (from Shikoku). Yoshida was Takeuchi’s fifth son whose mother was rumoured to be a geisha. Takeuchi was a leader of the Movement for Liberty and Civil Rights (自由民権運動, jiyuu minken undou) and was in prison during Yoshida’s birth, hence Yoshida’s time with Kenzo Yoshida.

Taro Aso’s Great Grandfather: Count Nobuaki Makino

Yoshida’s wife, Yukiko, was the daughter of Nobuaki Makino (牧野伸顕) of the Satsuma clan. Like his son-in-law, Makino was adopted. He attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as Japan’s ambassador pleponitary. He was Minister for the Imperial Household in 1921 and became a baron (男爵, danshaku) and then a count (伯爵, hakushaku) under the kazoku (華族) peerage system during his time as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (内大臣, Naidaijin), which became an incredibly powerful position under his charge.

Taro Aso’s Great-Great Grandfather: Toshimichi Okubo

Count Makino’s biological father was Toshimichi Okubo (大久保 利通, Ookubo Toshimichi), a Satsumasamurai who played a lead role in the Meiji Restoration. He played a key role in allying the Satsuma andChoshu clans against the Shogunate, and was part of the provisional government with Saigo Takamori and Kido Takayoshi. Okubo, as Finance Minister, ended discrimination against the eta-hinin. He was part of the very important around-the-world Iwakura mission to renegotiate unequal treaties with the major powers and collect information crucial to Japan’s modernisation.

This final figure might be the jewel in Aso’s genealogical crown, of which there are many gems to choose from. Furthermore, given Aso’s hobbies, Taro Aso probably read about Okubo in Rurouni Kenshin, the great samurai epic. It is safe to say that Taro Aso was handed a political destiny, it only remains to be seen how far he will go.

Charts

I have prepared two pdf documents for you. The first is an overview of Taro Aso’s relation to his kinsmen, see how many names you can recognise: Aso Kinship Chart. The second is a large family tree, as detailed as I could make it without going too far off the reservation: Aso Family Tree.

Notes

The family tree was adapted from Taro Aso’s Japanese Wikipedia page. The names of some of the family may not be correct (uncertainty is shown with a bracketed question mark), however, the Kanji always derives from the Wikipedia page.

Turnover

Looks like Japanese (read: Liberal Democratic Party) politics will continue to be stuck in the post-Koizumi rut. Just as, before Koizumi became prime minister, Japan changed prime ministers about as often I have a bath, so too is the post-Koizumi era following suit – after all, who can stand up to this man:

He was Japan’s most interesting prime minister since Shigeru Yoshida (although I might allow for Nakasone…). Old whats-his-face Shinzo Abe is already a footnote in Japan’s political past (regardless of word of his comeback), and now Doraemon’s best mate, Yasuo Fukuda has resigned too.

The forerunner, Taro Aso, is a self-proclaimed lover of manga, but that is not enough to let him off the hook for his conservative stance on many issues (and rather inept, if not loose, tongue) – nor, for some, from his family’s burden as the employer of PoW labour during the war (at Aso Mines in Fukuoka).

There remains one thing to be said for Aso though: like Koizumi he can play the media. Look how cool he looks here:

Those are the buttcheeks of Bulgarian sumo wrestlers by the way… Aso is famous for wanting to promote Japanese popular culture abroad (perhaps to reap the benefits of soft – very soft I think – power).

I, for one, welcome our inevitably incoming conservative otaku leader, at least it might make things more interesting for political watchers.