Kishida's travels lead Japan to dead end

PM's tour of G7 nations only deepens subordination to US, analysts say

TOKYO — Just half a month into the new year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has completed a tour of five of the Group of Seven nations, with his travels coming hot on the heels of controversial moves on security policy that have triggered concerns among the country's neighbors.

Scholars say the Japanese government should change its "subordinate" relationship with the United States and that an open diplomacy with Asian neighbors should be the foundation of Japan's national security.

During his trip to France, Italy, Britain, Canada and the US on Jan 9-15, Kishida signed a reciprocal access defense agreement for closer defense and security ties with his British counterpart Rishi Sunak, and issued a joint statement with US President Joe Biden reiterating the importance of the Japan-US alliance in the so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy".

Since Kishida's government updated its security strategy last month in contravention of its exclusively defense-oriented policy, its actions have increasingly alarmed its Asian neighbors, said Japanese scholars. They are calling on the government to change its relations with the US from "subordination" to "self-reliance".

Friday's US-Japan summit, the main focus of Kishida's weeklong tour, marked his first Washington visit as the Japanese premier, who attached the utmost importance to the debut trip and made "full preparations" beforehand.

The government also intends to secure about $313 billion in defense spending for the five years from fiscal 2023.

Analysts point out that the US in recent years has dominated the Australia-India-Japan-US Quadrilateral in the Asia-Pacific region, while peddling the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework as part of efforts to form cliques.

Expansion of hegemony

Since taking office in October 2021, Kishida's cabinet has been so willing to spearhead the expansion of US hegemony in the Asia-Pacific that it courted the US by arming itself while relying on the latter for army expansion and war preparation.

During the US-Japan meeting, the most severe and complex security environment in the "Indo-Pacific "region was repeatedly brought up. While Kishida explained to Biden the changes in Japan's security policy, the US president "commended "Japan's defense upgrade and its "historic" defense budget hike.

Atsushi Koketsu, emeritus professor at Yamaguchi University, said the Japanese government, in line with the US intentions, has turned to a "preemptive attack strategy" by abandoning the "exclusive defense "concept. This change has put the country's neighbors on alert.

As the current G7 chair, Japan will host the group's summit in May. Kishida's visit is also aimed at garnering support on a host of issues including food security, nuclear disarmament and the Russia-Ukraine conflict before the summit in Hiroshima.

Since last October, four ministers have resigned from Kishida's cabinet due to scandals, plunging the government's approval ratings to record lows.

Liu Di, a professor at Japan's Kyorin University, said Japan's economy has been stagnating for the past 30 years and it will inevitably lead to a host of domestic conflicts if the world's third-largest economy continues to hike defense spending.

Japan may use external forces to strengthen its comprehensive security capabilities, including leveraging other developed countries within the G7 framework, the scholar said.

Ukeru Magosaki, a former Japanese foreign ministry official, said that most Japanese people do not approve of increasing defense expenditure.

                                                                                                       Xinhua