Introduction The first cabinet headed by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo set up the Advisory Panel on Reconstruction of the Legal Basis for Security (hereinafter the “Advisory Panel”) in 2007 with Yanai Shunji, former administrative vice foreign minister and former ambassador to the United States, as its chairman. The Advisory Panel submitted a report to then Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo in 2008 because his predecessor, Abe, had stepped down from the post during his term of office. Fukuda did not give consideration to the report and chose to shelve it. Returning to administrative power in December 2012, Abe set up the Advisory Panel again in February 2013. The reestablished panel consisted of its original members.[i] I have advanced discussions by the panel as its acting chairman because Chairman Yanai was abroad due to his position as president of the International Tribunal for the Law of ... ... [Read more]

HATTA Tatsuo – President, Asian Growth Research Institute SAITO Shiro – Executive Research Director at the Japan Center for Economic Research Population decline is beginning to cast a dark shadow across Japanese economy. It is considered to reduce the growth rate threatening the sustainability our social security system. But Hatta Tatsuo, President of the Asian Growth Research Institute, who is also chairman of the Government Working Group to Design National Strategic Economic Zones, has a different view. He says there is no need to fear a fall in population. So what is the basis for that? Saito Shiro, executive research director at the Japan Center for Economic Research, asked him. Population growth and development unrelated Saito: We hear it said a lot that one of the greatest problems facing the Japanese economy is the decreasing birthrate and aging population, and population decline. I also ... ... [Read more]

The stockholding of Japanese listed companies by foreign investors reached 30.8% at the end of 2014. This figure surpassed the holding ratio of 26.7% by domestic financial institutions, which used to be at the top in terms of holding ratios. Foreign investors became the largest stockholders in the Japan Corporation for the first time in history, replacing Japanese financial institutions that had had an overwhelming influence on corporate management through lending and stockholding under the main bank system. The governance reform of Japanese companies, long discussed, is entering a new phase along with the growing trend of foreign investors, many of whom are “self-assertive stockholders.” Enhancement of Corporate Governance Emphasized in Japan Revitalization Strategy The Abe administration approved the Japan Revitalization Strategy 2014 at a Cabinet meeting in June 2014. This strategy stresses that “it is essential for global corporations in particular to strengthen ... ... [Read more]

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s high powered visits to forty-seven countries  Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is reported to have visited forty-seven countries as leader of the government over nineteen months. These were multifaceted, strategically important visits. Abe explained Japan’s expanding role in security and promoted Japan’s leading sales products such as nuclear power, high speed trains, and Japanese cuisine. He carried out diplomacy with a global perspective. The world’s way of looking at Japan is now changing. 　Two months after the prime minister set out with his present cabinet he started with a visit to Washington. He made a strong presentation of Japan announcing that “Japan Is Back” (the title of his Washington speech). Following this he attended and made speeches at the Davos World Economic Forum, the NATO North Atlantic Council, and the Shangri-La Conference in Singapore. He also attended the opening of the ... ... [Read more]

Putin’s Darkest Impulses A “counterattack of geopolitics” is taking place due to Russia’s invasion of Crimea. In November 2013, Viktor Yanukovych, then president of Ukraine, postponed accession to the European Union. Pro-EU citizens who rebelled against the decision rose up and staged armed demonstrations. Unable to control the uprisings, Yanukovych, whose Kiev palace had been occupied by pro-EU demonstrators, fled the capital of Ukraine across the border. The insurgence by pro-EU citizens succeeded, and Yanukovych was immediately dismissed as president. 　On March 1, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of the Crimean Peninsula in Southern Ukraine in the name of protecting citizens of Russian descent there. Then on March 18, he declared the annexation of Crimea into Russia. U.S. President Barack Obama lashed out at this, saying, “man’s darkest impulses” had not vanished in Europe (speech on March 26). 　As long as ... ... [Read more]

For many years, the Japanese government has taken the position that as a sovereign state Japan naturally has the right of collective self-defense under international law, but that the Constitution of Japan prohibits the exercise of that right. On July 1, however, Abe Shinzo’s cabinet made the important decision to change this constitutional interpretation. The cabinet decision says that if an armed attack against a foreign country that is in a close relationship with Japan threatens Japan’s security, Japan’s limited exercise of the right of collective self-defense will not violate Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan. A document titled “Cabinet Decision on Development of Seamless Security Legislation to Ensure Japan’s Survival and Protect its People” [http://japan.kantei.go.jp/96_abe/decisions/2014/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2014/07/03/anpohosei_eng.pdf] describes the condition for Japan’s exercise of the right of collective self-defense as follows: 　 . . . not only when an armed attack against Japan occurs ... ... [Read more]

In May 2002, retired UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) disposal experts from the Ground Self-Defense Force, established a new organization, the Japan Mine Action Service (JMAS). An estimated 100 million mines and UXO are left untreated around the world. JMAS is an NPO formed to dispose of these by giving local specialists skills and information, working alongside them. Why would people who might have been leading a comfortable retirement life with their grandchildren set out for mine areas? What are their real activities? What are they thinking of? Natsume Yukiaki listened to their frank words.     Arakawa Ryuichiro Natsume Yukiaki Not About Risking Your Life Natsume Yukiaki: Specifically, how do you go about removing mines and unexploded bombs? Arakawa Ryuichiro: In Cambodia, we meet up with former soldiers from the time of the old Pol Pot  group, or the Samrin regime. We start off by ... ... [Read more]

The Japan-China relationship is at its worst ever.” “Bilateral economic ties are no longer warm amid cold political relations.” Expressions like these have characterized Japan-China relations for quite some time now. Against this background, I recently visited China to participate in the Japan-China Think Tank Forum hosted by the Shanghai Institute for International Studies on the topic of “How can we implement a breakthrough to resolve the strained bilateral relations?” Holding a track II meeting like this could be interpreted as an indication that the Chinese government is determined to move the strained bilateral relations forward. The conference was held on May 10th, directly after a series of visits to China paid for by delegations consisting of senior lawmakers of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). At the same time, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo was visiting Europe, and he directly criticized China’s military expansion at ... ... [Read more]

On June 24, 2014, the administration of Abe Shinzo endorsed the “third arrow” growth strategy for Abenomics (the economic policy of the Abe administration) by Cabinet decision. This is a revised version of the growth strategy of one year ago. In addition to incorporating the previously postponed reduction in corporate tax rates, it also gets to grips with regulatory reforms in the so-called “regulatory bedrock” of the agricultural, health and medical fields, which had been thought difficult due to strong resistance by existing groups with vested interests. Markets have reacted favorably, unlike last year when the growth strategy was met with disappointment by investors worldwide and led to a sharp drop in share prices that coincided with the announcement. Immediately after the announcement of the second part of the current growth strategy, even the British magazine The Economist, known for being outspokenly critical, commented ... ... [Read more]