Japan's Prime Minister Resigns Over US Base

Japan's Prime Minister Resigns Over US Base

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Japan's prime minister told a news conference that he will step down over his broken campaign promise to move a U.S. Marine base off the southern island of Okinawa. After eight months in office, the embattled prime minister has faced growing pressure from within his own party to resign ahead of July elections.

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His collapse in approval ratings was prompted largely by his failure to deliver on a campaign promise to move a major U.S. military base off Okinawa's main island. The move was a centerpiece of Hatoyama's campaign for office last year, but its implementation would have required American consent to alter a painstakingly negotiated 2006 deal with the previous Japanese government before the base could be moved to another part of Okinawa.

I am aware that there have been many protests in recent past over this base, but that it would actually lead to the resignation is quite surprising.

Why he wasn't able to to deliver on his promise to move the base remains a question. Probably, the US has pressured him in some way, but if so, why?



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That is strange, ....

but then again, .... that's the Japanese for you.

" I have dishonored my country, I must pay"

At least he's not killing himself with a samurai sword. Although this is kind of refreshing, .... Imagine a world where presidents are held accountable for the campaign promises they make, ... held accountable by themselves no less !!

crazy indeed !

Another one bites the dust.

That's 2 now, anybody no the last time when 2 leaders stepped down within 2 months of each other? Or in the same year for that matter?

The question is, WHY CAN'T OBAMA DO THE SAME?

Obama delivered on NOTHING BUT BAD THINGS, still he don't resign.

We have to hand it to the Japanese, at least they have honour.

reply to post by Mdv2


The issue in Okinawa is the current prime minister promised to get rid of the bases. Prior to him the previous government signed agreement to move 8,000 Marines and support personnel to Guam. The current PM told the US ya'll gotta move an airbase too (Okinawa) and then found out the agreement couldn't be modified, the original only or they stay in Okinawa. So he backed down, and the local's got PO'd. Yes some of the residents want the US gone, business and government want the US to stay. One rumor is if they push too much more the US will pick up completely from Okinawa and return to the mainland.

The Guam deal is the are supposed to pay a percentage (50% or more I think, can't find the article with the numbers) of the cost of relocating the troops. OK that sounds good. Oop's they demanded and got a deal that Japanese companies get 60% of the relocation contracts on Guam! Exclusive.

[edit on 2/6/10 by barkingdogamato]

Originally posted by gandhi
Another one bites the dust.

That's 2 now, anybody no the last time when 2 leaders stepped down within 2 months of each other? Or in the same year for that matter?

The German president resigned less than one week ago. I believe it was over the weekend.

Originally posted by Vitchilo
The question is, WHY CAN'T OBAMA DO THE SAME?

Obama delivered on NOTHING BUT BAD THINGS, still he don't resign.

We have to hand it to the Japanese, at least they have honour.

One of the few reasons why I respect the Japanese. They have honor and we don't. But as a consolation prize we got greed and corruption....

This one caught a LOT of people by surprise. Ozawa is gone as well, and he was tagged as being the next PM.

The news was in Okinawa getting reactions from people who had been protesting last week - most of *them* were saying that a resignation was a little harsh.

More than anything, I think this change represents a general failure of modern democracy in attracting talent that's worth a damn. We've had 4 PMs here since Koizumi stepped down in 2006. The longest anyone has lasted was a year - to the day.

As to who will step up... there's no shining star waiting in the wings. Nothing. Virtually everyone in Japanese politics today is thoroughly unremarkable.

It's the same all over - looking at Canadian politics, there isn't anyone left at the provincial or federal level who would have been worth a passing mention in the press even 20 years ago. I think it's safe to say that with most western democracies, frankly.

What's happened to the talent pool? Why are we getting stuck with candidates that should, by rights, be working in middle management somewhere?

Originally posted by vox2442
This one caught a LOT of people by surprise. Ozawa is gone as well, and he was tagged as being the next PM.

The news was in Okinawa getting reactions from people who had been protesting last week - most of *them* were saying that a resignation was a little harsh.

More than anything, I think this change represents a general failure of modern democracy in attracting talent that's worth a damn. We've had 4 PMs here since Koizumi stepped down in 2006. The longest anyone has lasted was a year - to the day.

As to who will step up... there's no shining star waiting in the wings. Nothing. Virtually everyone in Japanese politics today is thoroughly unremarkable.

It's the same all over - looking at Canadian politics, there isn't anyone left at the provincial or federal level who would have been worth a passing mention in the press even 20 years ago. I think it's safe to say that with most western democracies, frankly.

What's happened to the talent pool? Why are we getting stuck with candidates that should, by rights, be working in middle management somewhere?

Man, you just touched on the trillion dollar question.

Why did we seem to peak, as humanity, in the early to mid 1900's? since then, not a whole lot. It has been a steady slide into facism and despotism.

If you needed any further proof that your "choices" are from a carefully selected crop of boat anchors, there it is.

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
Man, you just touched on the trillion dollar question.

Why did we seem to peak, as humanity, in the early to mid 1900's? since then, not a whole lot. It has been a steady slide into facism and despotism.

If you needed any further proof that your "choices" are from a carefully selected crop of boat anchors, there it is.

Fascism and despotism?

Please.

In all seriousness here - find me ONE modern despot or fascist that can hold a candle to Franco, or Mussolini - let alone the big dogs like Stalin and Mao and Hitler. Hell, you'd have a hard time finding someone to compare with Idi Amin.

It's sad, but true. Even the worst of our leaders are mediocre at best. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? The WORST of his sins put him on the level of LBJ. Maybe Nixon.

reply to post by vox2442


I got in a discussion over the weekend about this subject. Wide ranging opinions until somebody said: "the truly quality people that have the talent, intelligence, common sense, moral and physical courage, and integrity to serve, and lead the governments at any level are too adult to run because they have realized that our governments have been hijacked from the people by corporations, zealots, and the rest of the control freaks".

Pretty much sums it up for me. I bought the next round,

Originally posted by barkingdogamato
reply to post by vox2442

 

I got in a discussion over the weekend about this subject. Wide ranging opinions until somebody said: "the truly quality people that have the talent, intelligence, common sense, moral and physical courage, and integrity to serve, and lead the governments at any level are too adult to run because they have realized that our governments have been hijacked from the people by corporations, zealots, and the rest of the control freaks".

Pretty much sums it up for me. I bought the next round,

I suspect it boils down to the obsession with politicians having a squeaky clean image nowadays.

Most of the great leaders of the past, with all their eccentricities and grand ideas would never have made it into today's image-obsessed visual media environment

On the one hand, big business want leaders that won't rock the boat... so big ideas are out. On the other hand if a politician has mistresses, suffers from depression, drinks too much, or admits to any other number of human frailties, they won't make it to any seats of power.

In today's environment, for example, a leader like Winston Churchill would never have been given the time and space to become the HUGE historical figure that he is. For starters he was a manic depressive who drank too much... that alone would have scuppered him with today's media.

In the end... when you are looking for the perfect, media friendly drone, that won't rock big-business's boat, what you end up with is today's bunch of interchangeable, uninspiring, and mediocre politicians... No character and no vision.

Sad eh?

Originally posted by vox2442

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
Man, you just touched on the trillion dollar question.

Why did we seem to peak, as humanity, in the early to mid 1900's? since then, not a whole lot. It has been a steady slide into facism and despotism.

If you needed any further proof that your "choices" are from a carefully selected crop of boat anchors, there it is.

Fascism and despotism?

Please.

In all seriousness here - find me ONE modern despot or fascist that can hold a candle to Franco, or Mussolini - let alone the big dogs like Stalin and Mao and Hitler. Hell, you'd have a hard time finding someone to compare with Idi Amin.

It's sad, but true. Even the worst of our leaders are mediocre at best. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? The WORST of his sins put him on the level of LBJ. Maybe Nixon.

I am not looking for "The Most Evil of the Evil". I am merely stating that the entire world has moved towards facism and/or despotism. One off examples matter little in the current environment.

Hatoyama Cabinet Resigns After 262 Days In PowerTOKYO (NQN)--Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his cabinet resigned en masse at an emergency cabinet meeting Friday morning.

The administration was in power for 262 days, the fifth shortest tenure in office since the postwar Constitution took effect.

Hatoyama's cabinet lasted one day less than that of Morihiro Hosokawa's administration, in which Hatoyama served as deputy chief cabinet secretary.

Does anyone else notice how disturbing it is that a leader of one of the world's leading nations resigned because of an American base on his soil?

It's been 60 years since the US nuked Japan with weapons that should never be used... and to this day, the US still controls the Japanese government indirectly (military bases, oil imports, etc). Do the Japanese support the US for defensive interests within the region or is Japan just a tool country?

On one hand it's refreshing to see him step down by his own accord. Power doesn't always corrupt, it seems.

HOWEVER, considering he did it willingly, I would say he is an honorable man, and well suited to being in office still, unlike most of today's corrupt politicians. That being the case, if I were Japanese, I would rather see him stay and finishing the job he started, than to leave early because of something, that, in the end was out of his hands, or so it would seem.

Still, he's got my respect for his decision.

Looks like he's getting an early spot down in the cozy bunker.

Don't worry about Obama, he will resign soon enough when its his time to join Hatoyama.

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi


The US doesn't control Japan. They are one of our strongest allies and for the the most part the US bases are supported by the Japanese, since they pump lots of money into the economies of the various cities, provide a ton of jobs for the Japanese, and the US will defend the country in the event of an attack.

The reason that the Okinawan's want the Marines gone from the island is because a few bad egg Marines there have acted stupidly when "out in town", and their actions have resulted in high-profile crimes. In a way I don't blame the Okinawans for wanting to get them moved. But the removal of even a small group from Okinawa will have a negative impact on the local economy. The military has imposed restrictions on its personnel in Japan and I have already seen how it has negatively impacted the bars and night clubs around Kadena Air Force Base there.

Japanese Prime Ministers don't typically last more than a year or two at most anyway. There have been a few exceptions (Koizumi was PM for a number of years in the past decade, for example), but if you look at the list of postwar PMs, few make it more than a year or two. They even have a nickname for the phenomeneon, I think...something about "Revolving-door politics." There was one period in the 90s where I think there were four or even five different PMs in a single 3-year period.

Basically, in Japan, the real power rests with the bureaucrats...the people who work at the "Ministry of Such-and-Such" for years on end. These are the folks who pretty much call the shots. The Japanese parilmentary political system produces Prime Ministers who are structurally weaker and last for shorter periods of time than the leaders of other major nations. If I had to guess (and its only a personal theory), I'd say the situation was deliberately engineered by the U.S. occupation forces after WWII when they re-wrote the constitution, in order to avoid a strong centralized government.

Anyway, 8 months in office seems like a ridiculously short tenure to Americans, but for good or for ill, its not that unusual for Japanese PMs.

[edit on 6/4/10 by silent thunder]