Japanese democracy?
Japan is a classic liberal democracy.
It has lots of political parties and elected representatives, just like the US, Canada, Britain, and European countries, which means that no matter which party is in power, or who leads the country the decisions are made behind the scenes, in the case of Japan by a consensus between Japan’s iron triangle of politicians, bureaucrats, and organized business (Keidanren)— and their various factions. All very polite. Everyone in dark grey suits in expensive private clubs that don’t accept foreigners.
For almost all of the country’s history the LDP, the “Liberal Democratic Party” has been in nominal control.
Each new Prime Minister is in some sense a figurehead. The outgoing PM, Kishida, had an approval rating as low as 27%. Of course, that is typical of the leaders of other “liberal democracies”. In Canada about 70% of Canadians want Trudeau gone. Look at France, Germany — the US.
So nobody much cares who the new prime minister will be. Every now and again there is a prime minister with a bit of personality like the late Shinzo Abe. But he was just as ineffectual as the rest. Prime Ministers really don’t matter.
Some people assume that Japan is a US vassal state on the same lines as Canada or the UK.
It is - and it isn’t. “Oh, can’t do THAT”. say the Japanese —”We have a constitution. YOU wrote it!”
40% of Okinawa is US bases— and there are bases all over the rest of the country. Japan also buys US weapons and follow US foreign policy guidelines.
But today China is Japan’s largest trading partner and its largest investment destination as it gradually divests holdings in the US. That trend will only increase.
As the saying goes, “Follow the money”.
Russia is still Japan’s 3rd largest LNG supplier. And big companies like Mitsubishi are just waiting, hoping relations with Russia will normalize so they can cash in on LNG from Sakhalin.
Japan pays about $ 4.4 billion to host US bases. But its military spending is low —#101 in the world, maybe a notch or two higher relative to GDP
The country buys IUS weapons which are inappropriate to its needs, like the F35 fighter but big companies like Mitsubishi profit from the technologies loaded in these systems, the F35’s coating technologies for example, which can be adapted to other uses.
At the same time, the Japanese get the American government to fund all manner of technology development as a kind of trade-off for implementing anti-Chinese sanctions.
It’s all about money in the end.
Special Report Part 2
Working on Part 2 and hope to finish tomorrow! (Or at least Saturday).
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"Japan pays about $ 4.4 billion to host US bases."
It is just utterly ridiculous! Shouldn't it be the other way around? The US paying Japan for hosting US bases?
G'day Julian, the situation you portrayed in the post is near exactly the same for Australia though I don't think we pay pa charges for the bases and the forces stationed here but who would truly know.
China is our biggest trading partner for both imports and exports but being a good little vassal we need nuclear subs to attack the stated trading partner on order of guess who.
Duplicitous politician the world over are in power serving foreign masters.
I read somewhere that Japan's stagnant economy was organised by the hegemon as it was a threat to it as is the Chinese economy but they are not subservient to the hegemons and weren't on the losing side during WW2 though you wouldn't know it.