A government that flatters with China cannot possibly gain support, and
The chapter I sent out on October 31, 2022.
It was subjected to criminal obstruction of search.
Re-submittal.
The following is from Mr. Ryusho Kadota's column in WiLL, a monthly magazine published on the 26th (although it was delivered to my house on the evening of the 28th).
(Emphasis in the text, except for the headline, is mine.
The Kishida Administration Sinking with the Worst Foreign Minister in History
"Will Mr. Kishida sink together with Mr. Hayashi?"
Such voices can be heard here and there in Nagata-cho.
Some LDP lawmakers are not afraid to call him "the worst foreign minister in history."
A Jiji Press survey (October 7-10), a trusted "face-to-face" method, also showed that the approval rating for Fumio Kishida's cabinet fell below 30% for the first time, finally reaching 27.4%.
Many party insiders cite Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi as one of the reasons for the drop.
The reason is his unorthodox "flattering attitude toward China."
Hayashi, the second-generation head of the Japan-China Friendship Diet, is known for his frequent visits to China.
Since he was selected for the critical position of Foreign Minister, there were growing concerns that "China's blatant demands will become even stronger" and "what will happen to relations with Taiwan?"
The blatant "exclusion of Taiwan" at the direction of Foreign Minister Hayashi at the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held on September 27 was appalling.
What kind of method did Foreign Minister Hayashi use to treat Taiwan, a particularly close friend of the deceased, in such a cold manner?
According to the Politburo desk, "Simply put, Mr. Hayashi treated Taiwan as a 'region' following China's wishes. Although he included Taiwan in the designated floral tributes, he requested in advance that President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President Lai Ching-kuo not visit Japan.
Taiwan had "big names" in attendance, such as Su Jia-chyuan, Wang Jin-pyng, and Frank Hsieh. They had served as Speakers of the Legislative Yuan (President of the National Assembly) and Premier of the Executive Yuan (Prime Minister). Still, they were not allowed to read the titles of those who offered flowers after their country's name. However, because Foreign Minister Hayashi limited the reading of labels to "incumbents," their titles were not read out.
The cold treatment did not stop there.
After the state funeral ceremony at the Budokan, Prime Minister Kishida received condolences from attendees from various countries at the State Guest House.
However, Foreign Minister Hayashi also set a standard here, deliberately excluding Taiwan, saying, "Only current and former presidents and heads of state are allowed at the presidential and summit level, and only current presidents and cabinet members are allowed at the chairman and ministerial level.
More than half of the regional and organizational representatives who attended the state funeral fell into this category and were not allowed to go to the guest house to greet the guests.
Japan's precious opportunity for condolence diplomacy was "stolen" by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Furthermore, China, which was only represented by the lowly Vice President of the Political Consultative Conference, was "invited" to the State Guest House, even though it was the same country.
The media, however, were silent on this unusual situation.
Only weekly Bunshun and weekly Shincho picked up the story, with Bunshun in particular pointing out that an internal document titled "security: treatment of state funeral guests from Taiwan" shared by the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that "Taiwan (Su Jia-chyuan, former Legislative Yuan President) is not invited.
It is well known that China enforces its "one China" policy on other countries.
Taiwan is a part of China, and there is no government, so the logic goes that neither a president nor a vice president "exists.
When Taiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te attended the wake and farewell ceremony for the Abe family at Zojoji Temple, the Chinese twisted the Foreign Ministry's arm to ask why they had allowed him to offer condolences.
When reporters questioned Foreign Minister Hayashi about his condolences to Lai Ching-te, he controversially referred to him as "the person you mentioned" instead of "Lai Ching-te" or "vice president."
To that extent, Foreign Minister Hayashi wants to "erase" the existence of Taiwan.
At a regular press conference on September 30, the day after the release of the Shincho and Bunshun articles, Hayashi's office asked several media outlets not to ask any questions about Taiwan. Instead, it worked hard to keep the issue from becoming a bigger problem.
As a result, newspapers and television hardly covered the issue at all.
On the other hand, at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China on the day after the state funeral, Foreign Minister Hayashi smiled broadly when he said, "Japan and China need to move forward together in frank dialogue toward our common goal of building constructive and stable relations.
Needless to say, there was no mention of humanitarian concerns for the Uyghurs suffering from genocide, the Tibetans under thorough repression, or the Hong Kong people in the mouth of Foreign Minister Hayashi.
There is absolutely "no concern" for those suffering under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party.
Criticism of Mr. Hayashi erupted even from his hometown of Yamaguchi.
Immediately after Mr. Abe's death, his campaign began to make the rounds in his home district, saying, "Hayashi will run in the new third district (the new district allotment following the reduction in the number of Constituents). Criticisms of Hayashi have been voiced, saying, "What is he doing right after Mr. Abe's death?"
The "hit-and-run" incident with a cab caused by the car in which Mr. and Mrs. Hayashi rode in 2004 has also been rehashed and is the subject of criticism.
Mr. Hayashi was born into a prestigious political family, graduated from the University of Tokyo with a law degree, and has lived a life that has nothing to do with the "lower classes.
Prime Minister Kishida is facing a public outcry for placing a man who China manipulates in the critical position of foreign minister.
A government that flatters with China cannot possibly gain support, and the attention of Nagata-cho has already shifted to "what comes after Kishida."
