The following is from an article by Ms.Yoshiko Sakurai, which appeared in the September 1 issue of the monthly magazine Shoron, titled "Prime Minister Kishida: Fulfill Your Historical Mission.
Since Kishida is the current prime minister, it is understandable that Ms. Yoshiko Sakurai is compelled to speak directly to him about what must be done without hesitation, as Japan is in the midst of its greatest postwar crisis.
However, others feel that direct words to a person to whom it is useless to speak will only be a waste of time and effort.
Nevertheless, the last chapter on p. 36-37 in her article, which is in three columns and runs from p. 26 to p. 37, is a must-read for the Japanese people and people around the world.
Emphasis in the text other than the headline is mine.
Preamble omitted.
Koga over the lives of the people?
When faced with a decision, Mr. Kishida hesitates.
Is this because of his commitment to "Koikekai-ism"?
Makoto Koga, who is said to still support the Kishida faction financially and exert a strong influence over it, threw a solid rebuke to Kishida in the August 13 edition of the Nishinippon Shimbun.
The main points of contention are as follows.
(1) Japan's postwar politics is based on Article 9 of the Constitution and the Japan-U.S. alliance.
Masayoshi Ohira described this as an elliptical philosophy because there are two central points.
Mr. Kishida is developing defense capabilities only in accordance with one of the two central points, the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
(2) Article 9, in which blood, sweat, and tears were poured, should be left to the next generation.
3) Mr. Kiichi Miyazawa left behind four basic philosophies: respect for the Constitution, recognition of history, freedom of speech, and not becoming a military power.
Mr. Kishida must not violate those four basic philosophies in his security policy.
I really feel sorry for Mr. Kishida, with such seniority.
As for (1) and (2), it would be enough to explain the anomaly of Article 9 of the Constitution.
Article 9, paragraph 2 states.
The right of belligerency of the nation shall not be recognized.
How can Japan protect its people and land from China and North Korea without military power?
The right of belligerency would be the right of the government to fight to protect its people and land.
To deny that right to the government is tantamount to telling the people to die in the event of an emergency.
Mr. Koga's demand that Article 9 be passed on to the next generation is equivalent to saying that neither the government nor the nation needs to protect the people.
(3) is ridiculous.
How much more so are Mr. Miyazawa's four philosophies?
For example, Mr. Miyazawa was an unprincipled prime minister concerning historical awareness.
The Asahi Shimbun reported on the comfort women issue with the fraudulent story of Seiji Yoshida, and later on Kim Hak-sun, who came forward as a comfort woman, Asahi reporter Takashi Uemura linked the women's volunteer corps to comfort women, a completely untrue story.
It caused a tremendous rift between Japan and South Korea, and it was during this time that Mr. Miyazawa visited South Korea, where he apologized eight times without checking the facts.
It has since been proven that the Comfort Women = Women's Volunteer Corps was utterly wrong.
The accusation that the Japanese government and military forcibly took the women was utterly baseless.
Considering how much damage was done to Japan's honor by Miyazawa's eight apologies and the words and actions of Koichi Kato and Yohei Kono, the two chief cabinet secretaries who served under Miyazawa, it is hard to forgive Miyazawa and the other leading figures in the for their behavior.
I question the common sense of Mr. Koga, who quotes such figures and then imposes on Mr. Kishida the need to follow their philosophy.
Mr. Kishida should abandon the Kōchikai ideology, which has become a perverse practice, and accomplish his historical mission.
It is a unique opportunity for Kishida and Japan at a time of great upheaval.
To bring Japan closer to the shape of a decent country by revising the Constitution.
Mr. Kishida will be able to respond to the demands of history and rebuild Japan by building a country with grit, courage, and kindness and aiming to be a leader who can stand up to any other country.
