Japan should fulfill global responsibility
What foreign policy should Japan conduct in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake?
We think the government should engage actively with the international community without becoming inward-looking. This will strengthen the nation's vitality and advance reconstruction.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan held talks with visiting Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday. They agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in areas of energy and disaster relief activities. Japan must use such occasions to clearly express its determination toward reconstruction and revitalization.
The foreign ministers of Japan and of the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met in Indonesia on April 9. Indonesia proposed to fellow ASEAN members the idea of holding the special meeting with Japan, saying it was the ASEAN nations' turn to demonstrate solidarity with Japan because it has supported them for many years.
Since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, more than 170 countries and international organizations have offered to help Japan, and many have already provided assistance. All of this is because Japan has developed cooperative ties with them and supported them in the past.
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Keep a global perspective
Reconstruction of areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami will require a huge amount of money and manpower. But Japan must not become so preoccupied with domestic concerns that it ignores its role in the international community and fails to look at things from a global viewpoint.
First, the government should minimize reduction of official development assistance.
The government initially considered cutting appropriations for ODA, which were set at 572.7 billion yen in total in the initial budget for fiscal 2011, by 20 percent to free up funds for the first supplementary budget aimed at recovery and reconstruction after the earthquake and tsunami.
The idea of cutting money in an area of least resistance seemed like a simple idea. But many voices were raised against it, forcing the government to downsize the reduction to 10 percent.
The nation's ODA budget has been decreasing for 12 straight years and is now at only half of its peak. Japan's world ranking in terms of ODA budget also declined from first place to fifth. During that period, Japan's international influence has declined as emerging economies rise.
The nation has to continue international contributions matching its position as the third largest economic power in the world to maintain its international influence.
Meanwhile, the government should not postpone a decision on whether to participate in negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade treaty with the other Asian and Pacific countries. Though the Kan administration said it would make a decision on TPP in June, all the negotiating work in Japan and abroad has been suspended in the wake of the disaster.
Nine countries, including the United States and Australia, are aiming to conclude TPP negotiations in November. We hope Japan will proceed steadily with domestic agricultural reforms and negotiations with concerned countries so that it would not be left behind.
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Let SDF help elsewhere
It is also significant for the nation to maintain engagement with U.N. peacekeeping operations. Self-Defense Forces' performance in dealing with the disaster has been remarkable.
The government should not limit the activities of the SDF to Japan. It should positively consider sending SDF units to Southern Sudan after independence and to other parts of the world to participate in PKOs.
Cooperation in disaster preparedness and response as well as measures to secure the safety of nuclear power plants will be important agenda items in diplomacy among major countries this year. Attention will focus particularly on Japan's actions in response to its disasters.
Japan should learn various lessons from its own experiences with the earthquake, tsunami and the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Then, it should lead discussions among major nations by making concrete proposals on what form international cooperation should take. That would be one way to return the favor for their assistance to Japan.
Govt must persuade residents on necessity of no-entry zone
The area within a 20-kilometer radius of the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. was designated as a no-entry zone from Friday. In principle, people are prohibited by law from setting foot within this "caution zone."
Prime Minister Naoto Kan visited Fukushima Prefecture on Thursday to inspect areas hit by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake. He spoke with Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato at the prefectural government building and informed him of the central government's decision to set the no-entry zone.
Kan faced many serious demands and criticisms, some expressed harshly, from people living in evacuation centers in the prefecture when he visited them. They included, "You must bring the nuclear accident under control as soon as possible," and, "Our patience has already reached its limit."
The no-entry zone was set based on the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Law. Punishment for violators will include fines of up to 100,000 yen.
The same zone had been already designated by the government as an area subject to evacuation instructions under the Law on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness, and about 80,000 residents have been actually evacuated outside the zone.
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Strong attachments to homes
However, since the instructions were nonbinding, around 100 people are reportedly staying at their homes and other places within the zone.
These include aged people who do not want to leave houses where they were born and raised. There are dairy farmers who say they cannot evacuate, leaving cows or other livestock behind. Local officials are trying to persuade them, but they do not listen to them. It must be difficult for people to overcome such strong attachment to their homes and animals.
Among the residents who did evacuate, there are people who have gone back to their homes to retrieve valuables and other belongings.
The situation at the nuclear power plant has not been stabilized, and radioactive contamination continues. Under such circumstances, the government set the no-entry zone in consideration of the safety of residents and in response to the Fukushima prefectural government's request.
Due to concerns over cases of burglary and other criminal acts in the evacuation zone, some have argued that entry to the zone must be prohibited for crime-prevention purposes.
We think establishing the no-entry zone was inevitable.
However, we would like the government to refrain from forcibly displacing residents who want to stay in the zone but instead continue sincere efforts to persuade them.
At the same time, the government needs to listen carefully to what the evacuated residents really want and smoothly conduct measures associating with the setting of the no-entry zone, including temporary visits by evacuees to their homes.
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1 person, 2 hours not enough
In the first round of home visits to be held shortly, the government will limit the number of eligible residents to one from each household and will also limit the period they can stay at their homes to two hours.
Just one person, in such a short period of time, will be hard-pressed to collect all their needed goods or sufficiently inspect the house's situation.
We hope the government will think about increasing the number of people from each household and extending the home visit period, while insuring safety from radiation exposure.
The government must show residents a concrete plan to periodically carry out home visits by securing sufficient buses, drivers, radiation protective suits and masks.
According to the timetable announced by TEPCO on resolving the nuclear plant accident, it will take more than six months to stop the leakage of radioactive substances. Presumably, the no-entry zone designation will not be lifted until the leakage has stopped.
The central and local governments must continuously explain the situation of the nuclear power plant and radiation counts in detail to the public and create an environment for the residents to visit their homes without fear.
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