Fourth Meeting

Thursday, March 22, 2001

Meeting Agenda

Matters relating to the Constitution of Japan (A vision for Japan in the 21st century)

After statements were heard from Prof. SAKAMOTO Takao and Prof. KANG Sanjung concerning the above matters, questions were put to them.

Informants

  • SAKAMOTO Takao, Professor, Faculty of Law, Gakushuin University
  • KANG Sanjung, Professor, Institute of Socio-Information and Communication Studies, University of Tokyo

Members who put questions to Prof. SAKAMOTO

Members who put questions to Prof. KANG


Main points of Prof. SAKAMOTO's statement

Introduction

I will present my comments from the standpoint of how the state should be viewed.

1. What Is a State?

A state is a mechanism of action centered on a government and its organs, which have a monopoly on the legitimate use of force; further, people expect the state to act on this basis, and have given their approval thereto.

2. The Necessity of States

This is said to be the era of globalization with regard to people, goods, and money. However, people do not move freely across borders as goods and money do. A state exists to protect the security of the people who live permanently in a particular territory, and it is wrong to think that states will cease to have meaning.

Because Japan has had no direct experience of war since World War II, and because the text of the Constitution is premised on the world's being an essentially peaceful place, many Japanese have the false impression that this is an era of peace. In reality, however, there has been a succession of wars in every part of the world.

The concept of "progress"--the idea that social change is inevitable and linear--is false. So, too, is the idea that, for an individual, there are two possible identities that are mutually exclusive: a member of the nation, or a citizen. Individuals live amid multiple social layers-the family, the local community, the state, and so on--and each individual possesses a number of identities defined in relation to these different contexts. As long as an individual has an identity defined in relation to the state, that individual is a member of the nation.

3. Nations and Ethnic Groups

The state exists within the hearts and minds of individuals, not outside them. Further, it is composed not simply of people, but of people who are the bearers of a culture that was developed in a particular geographical and historical environment (i.e., an ethnic group). Because "nation-states" were formed in the course of struggles among ethnic groups, it can be said that national defense is, necessarily, a basic task of the state.

4. Issues Facing Japan in the 21st Century

Being situated at the eastern rim of the Eurasian continent, Japan has had little experience of war. Consequently, at only two points in its history--once in the 7th and 8th centuries, and once in the Meiji Period (1868-1912)--has it been a "state" in the sense in which that term is used in external relations. But now, in the 21st century, there is a distinct threat from China and North Korea, and Japan also faces numerous issues that affect it as a state, such as whether to accept immigration. Under these conditions, Japan could be said to be facing the need to form a "state" in the external sense for the third time.
 

Main points of questions put to Prof. SAKAMOTO

YASUOKA Okiharu (Liberal Democratic Party)

>> In the era of globalization, what necessity is there to discuss "the state"?

>> I believe that the right of self-defense is a matter of fundamental importance to the state, but the Cabinet Legislation Bureau's interpretation of Article 9 is generally considered to be authoritative. What is your view of this?

>> I believe that the people of Japan have little consciousness of national defense. What is your view in this regard?

>> It seems to me that, in postwar Japan, there has been a tendency to place too little emphasis on the responsibilities that accompany the exercise of freedoms and rights, on the duties of the people, and on the existence of a public or state sphere as distinct from the individual sphere. What are your views in this regard?
 

OIDE Akira (Democratic Party of Japan and Club of Independents)

>> I believe that the Constitution continues the movement toward outlawing war that began with the 1928 Treaty for the Renunciation of War (the Kellogg-Briand Pact), and that Article 9 is the provision that concretely embodies this. What is your understanding of the term "war"?

>> In the history texts produced by the Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, of which you are a member, there are passages that could be seen as glorifying the Emperor system. Do you take the position of continuing to affirm the theocratic Emperor system of the old Constitution (the Constitution of the Empire of Japan)?
 

UEDA Isamu (New Komeito)

>> You stated that globalization is causing the movement of goods and money, but that people do not move freely, even with globalization. However, it seems to me that, in Western nations, there is active movement of people as globalization proceeds. What is your view of this?

>> Is it not true that the EU member nations, as they move from economic to political integration, are moving in the direction of partially ceding their state sovereignty to the EU, and that when globalization is viewed in that light, it can be expected to lead to changes in the nature of the state?

>> In connection with your comment on "acceptance not as Japanese but as members of the Japanese nation," I believe that it should be made easier for foreign nationals to obtain Japanese nationality. What is your view of this?
 

FUJISHIMA Masayuki (Liberal Party)

>> I think that the decisive difference between the state and other organizations is that the state has the important role of ensuring the safety of the people. What is your view in this regard? Also, I would like to hear your views regarding the diminished national awareness of the Japanese.

>> What response do you think that Japan will have to make, in areas including military response, to future developments in China and North Korea?
 

SHIOKAWA Tetsuya (Japanese Communist Party)

>> What do you think of the gap between the existing Constitution and reality, namely, the fact that while the Constitution contains groundbreaking and ample provisions concerning human rights, those provisions are not being put into practice?

>> I believe that Japan should face the mistakes that it made in the 20th century, namely, pursuing colonial power and waging a war of aggression. I believe that it should face these mistakes squarely and without attempting to idealize them, and that it should strive for a common understanding of history with the people of Asia. What is your view of this?
 

KANEKO Tetsuo (Social Democratic Party)

>> In my view, Japan is not making a serious effort to convey to the world the message of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that is, that nuclear weapons must never be used again. What is your view of this?

>> You have been quoted as saying that the mass media's highly critical reaction to Prime Minister Mori's "divine nation" comment was just "word-hunting" (attacking the use of certain words that are considered offensive). In my view, that assessment ignores the historical background in this country and masks the essential nature of the problem. What do you say to this?
 

KOIKE Yuriko (New Conservative Party)

>> Why has the "state" become diminished in Japan, and why can Japan not think strategically about crisis management?

>> I would like to hear your views on introducing popular election of the prime minister under the symbolic Emperor system, and your views on revising the Imperial House Law to allow a woman to succeed to the throne.
 

KONDO Motohiko (21st Century Club)

>> You maintain that the state has a monopoly on legitimate violence because it is the role of the state to protect the people thereby. If that is so, I believe that we must consolidate a system to ensure that the state can stop a crisis. What is your view in this regard?

>> How do you assess the role played in Japan's security by the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty?
 

Main points of Prof. KANG's statement

Introduction

Although I do not have Japanese nationality, I am proud of being "made in Japan."

At a time when some are seeking a change from a politics that shares the available "pluses" among the Japanese people to a politics that forces "minuses" on them, there is a need to clarify a vision for Japan in the 21st century.

1. What Kind of Era Was the 20th Century in Northeast Asia?

In the 20th century, Japan enjoyed prosperity by maintaining close ties with Britain before World War II and with the United States after the war, but this had a negative legacy also, in that Japan could not have close ties with its neighbors. This era will probably be regarded by posterity as an era of "Pax Japonica" in Northeast Asia.

As a result of having been unable to achieve close relations with its neighbors, postwar Japan wanted a strong relationship with the United States, but it is not clear whether that relationship will be solid in the future.

If Japan is to enjoy continued affluence in the future, while its relationship with the United States should remain pivotal, it needs to establish a partnership or "common house" with neighboring countries.

2. "Glocalism" (Globalism + Localism), Regionalism, and Nationalism

Japanese society both before and after the war was based on a system in which the state, as a public organ, controlled the people by distributing "pluses" through the bureaucracy, but now that it has become impossible to do this, the role and the raison d'etre of the state are being questioned.

Because the state is no longer able to distribute "pluses," a system that does not depend on the state is being created through decentralization of power, networks, and so on. While the state's centralized power will decline, it will come to play an important role in such areas as establishing networks for crisis management.

As the role of the state becomes relativized by ongoing globalization, we will inevitably face the questions "What is the state?" and "What is a member of the nation?" In attempting to answer them, we should not stir up empty nationalism, but should instead create a system that keeps nationalism in check as far as possible, in other words, a "common house."

3. Toward a "Common House" in Northeast Asia

In the economic arena, it will be necessary to: (1) internationalize the yen, (2) become a major importing nation, (3) create a joint management system for cross-border movements of people, (4) improve cross-border communications, information, and transportation systems, etc.

In the arenas of diplomacy and security: (1) we should pursue negotiations with North Korea in parallel with efforts to resolve the missile problem and the problem of suspected abductions; (2) we should create a framework consisting of 2 (North and South Korea) + 2 (the U.S.A. and China) + 2 (Japan and Russia); (3) through the concrete action of making the Korean Peninsula a permanent neutral zone, we should create a multipolar security structure by strengthening our partnerships with the countries concerned, with special emphasis on the Korean Peninsula, while also making the Japan-U.S. relationship an equal one.

In the social and cultural arenas, we should: (1) promote international exchanges; (2) promote shared history education so that we do not engage in a fruitless nationalistic war of attrition; (3) actively engage in joint sponsorship of events, etc.

4. Issues for Japan

Among the issues that Japan must address in the 21st century are: (1) establishing a basic stance toward the competition for dominance between the U.S.A. and China; (2) establishing a multipolar security structure with the Japan-U.S. relationship as its axis; (3) working actively for the coexistence and unification of North and South Korea; (4) carrying out decisive domestic reforms to promote internationalization of the yen; (5) carrying out decisive structural reforms to make Japan a major importing nation; (6) realizing a multiethnic, multicultural society in which the possession of Japanese nationality is not a determining factor.
 

Main points of questions put to Prof. KANG

NAKATANI Gen (Liberal Democratic Party)

>> In order to realize the Northeast Asian "common house" that you advocate, I believe that, as its foundation, there needs to be a common understanding of such concepts as freedom and democracy among the member nations. What is your view of this?

>> It seems that you are critical of the emphasis on "civic virtues" in media coverage of the recent accident in which a Korean and a Japanese died while attempting to rescue a Japanese who had fallen onto a railway line. But I believe that the government must take steps to increase the people's moral sense and patriotism in order to bring about a regeneration of Japan by calling forth a cohesive force among the people. What is your view of this?

>> There is some support for granting foreign permanent residents the right to vote in local elections. However, in keeping with the principle of popular sovereignty, should not the right to vote be granted only to those who are prepared to share a common destiny with this country, that is, those who have Japanese nationality?
 

OISHI Hisako (Democratic Party of Japan and Club of Independents)

>> You advocate "shared history education," in other words, that Japan and the other Asian nations should translate each other's history textbooks and use them as supplementary texts in teaching their own history. In view of the fact that perceptions of history inevitably differ from one country to the next, am I correct in understanding that the aim of this proposal is that people should learn that history is perceived differently in each country?

>> You stated that structural reform to make Japan a major importing nation is one of the issues to be addressed in future, but what concrete measures do you have in mind for that purpose?

>> What do you think of the influence of journalism today on the Japanese people?
 

OTA Akihiro (New Komeito)

>> In the 21st century, the "clash of civilizations" described by Samuel Huntington is likely to become stronger, but what do you understand to be the original form of Japanese culture? Also, what do you think about the lack of a philosophy and a spirituality that draw upon folk traditions, Japanese culture, and similar sources?

>> I believe that we should grant voting rights in local elections to foreign permanent residents from the viewpoint of achieving, among other reasons, a multiethnic nation, promoting decentralization, and guaranteeing the status of foreign nationals. I believe that the debate on this issue should be wide-ranging, encompassing human rights and the desirable form and mechanism of society. What are your views in this regard?
 

SHIOTA Susumu (Liberal Party)

>> In advocating the concept of a Northeast Asian "common house," how do you evaluate China's moves to increase its military strength?

>> Do you think that America succeeded in achieving the aim of its postwar occupation policy, which was to render Japan powerless?

>> It seems to me that before the war the Japanese were full of a proud spirit, but that postwar affluence has led to a loss of spirit and the collapse of nationalism. What is your view of this?
 

YAMAGUCHI Tomio (Japanese Communist Party)

>> In Northeast Asia, how is Article 9 evaluated and what kind of role is it thought to be playing?

>> You advocate a shift from bilateral security arrangements between Japan and the United States to multipolar security arrangements among the nations of Northeast Asia as a whole, but what do you think should be done about the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty?

>> In your concept of a Northeast Asian "common house," how do you situate historical issues, such as whether Japan has reflected on its war of aggression?
 

SHIGENO Yasumasa (Social Democratic Party)

>> Should not sincere reflection with regard to the war be carried out as a precondition for realizing the Northeast Asian "common house" concept?

>> As the ideals of the Constitution have yet to be realized, I believe that we should put the Constitution into practice in everyday life. What is your view of this?
 

KOIKE Yuriko (New Conservative Party)

>> How do you view the argument for introducing popular election of the prime minister in order to strengthen the prime minister's leadership?

>> Does an understanding of the different ways that history is perceived--for example, the different evaluations of Ito Hirobumi and An Chung-gun in Japan and Korea--constitute the "shared history education" that you advocate?
 

KONDO Motohiko (21st Century Club)

>> How is the Russian Far East situated within the concept of a Northeast Asian "common house"? Also, in order to realize this concept, what should Japan do to gain the trust of neighboring countries?

>> What form do you think security should take in the equal Japan-U.S. relationship that you advocate?