JPRS ID: 8265 TRANSLATIONS ON JAPAN

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S FEBRUARY i979 CFOUO 4l79) i OF i
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, ?7I~it5 L/8265
5 ['cbruAry 1979 ~
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_ TRAHSlATIONS ON JAPAN
(F~UO 4~79)
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;~U�Ct~.
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pIBL10GRAPHIC dA?A 1. Reporc No, i. 3~ Ftccipient's Acceaeiun No. -
- SNEET JI'f~5 i./ 8265
~ .
, t e ~n , u tu e 5� lepnrt Date
TEtANSLATIONS ON JAPAN, (FOUO 4/79) 5 Februa 1979 -
6~ -
_ 1. Author(a) 8. Ne~rtotming Organizotion {lept.
9. Petformi~R Ors~nizuioo N~mc ~nd Addre~s 10. Pioject/T~ak/Wuc{c Unit No,
Joint PublicaCions Research Service -
1000 North Clebe Etoad tt. Contt~ct/Gt~nt No. -
Arlin~ton, Virgini~ 2220L -
12. Spoo~oring Or6au~is~tioo Name ~od Addtc~~ 13. Typc of Rep~ct ~ Period
Covered
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t~. '
= 1S. Supplea,eotary Nae� '
16. Ab~tnct~ ~
- The report contains press and radio coverage on politica.l, econ~mic, military,
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�o~w Nrit� ~~o-~o~ usconwr�oc .o~:o�P~~
~ II
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JPRS L/8265
5 ~'obruary 1979 _
TRANSLATIaNS ON JAPAN
(FOUO 4/79)
1
CONTENTS PAGE
POLITICAL A,ND SOCIOLOGTGAL
'ASAIiT JANARU'Discusses Outlook for Ohira Government
(asaxz JArraRU, i5 nec 78) a.
Initial Assessment of Ohira
y Ohira~s Churacter and Phil.osophy
RealisII in Ohir~ Government
ECONOMIC
Trade Policy Chief Sees Turnaxound in Current Account
(Shigenori Okazaki; MAINICHI LIAILY NEWS, 3 Jan 79) 20 -
'MAINIC~iI L1~1ILY' Interviews Economic Mi.nisters
- (MAINICFiI LIAILY NEWS, various dates) 23 :
- a- IIII - ASIA - 111 FOUOj
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E'ULI'rICAL ANT) 50CIULOGiCA1, -
,
'ASAHI JANARU'bISC~~SE5 OUTLOOK FOR CHIRA GOVERNMEN'T ~
lnitinl Assessment of Ohira
_ 'rokyo A5AHI J~?NARU in Japaneye 15 Dec ~8 p 3
[Article: "Uo NoC Let It E:nd as Mere '5aying
['C~xtJ An ~nssessment of tt~e nature of the newly formed Ohira Cabiner
_ mu~t wait until lal�er, but the core of the new strucCure is said to be
' com~~osed oE three faction~, Ohira, Fukuda und Miki. The Tanaka faction,
in tliis case, maintains, as a pre~idential facCion, a double-dealing
relation with the Ohira fnction. The Ohira Cabinet, probably would not
i~ave escaped the strong criticisms as "Kakuei's Lockheed Cover" had the
new Cabinet's Justice and Transport ministerial posts been filled by mem-
bers of the Ohira-Tanaka presidential factions.
The prevailing fee.ling in the Liberal Democratic Party [LDP] is that the
Lockheed scandal ts a passing issue, fading from public memory. But
Ohira's political ptiilosophy should recognize that public sentiment is not
anJ should not be that mild.
_ Thoi~gh a conservative~ Ohira is far more liberal than ex-Prime rtinister
Fukuda. t1e may be called an enlightened conservative. This is clear from
tookin~;~~t the 64-page "Pol:[cy Guidelin~s of Masayoshi Ohira," released
immediately after Otiira was elected as the new party president. The key
portion on the administration of government deals with the differences
- between his and Fukud~~'s methods, using such expresRions as "the goal is
~0 4eek a flexible yet strong government, "the governnent should promptly -
ancl eCfectively cope with the rapidly changing era," and "we will govern
.~c~in~.l.y with tl~e people by explaining the facts about difficulties without ~
~ slmply relyinF on nuthority."
Witl~ regard to "political and administrative management, it calls for "the
est.-~blislimen[ of an effective and inexpensively-run government by modifying
the superior stature of the administrative arm and promoting the authority
oC tl~e le~islative arm." it also stresses that "measures will be taken to
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~ allow local nuton~n!c.us bodie~ ~o exercise independent, mobile ~dminie~:ra-
_ , Cive power" t~y "elimi~~,~Cing inefficiency due to bloated administration
_ and verticxl reluCior.el~ip."
The issue, however, is in implementntion. Does Ohtra'~ strength acCually
lie in denlin~ prompely and effecriv~ly? Woul.d he be abl~ tfl overcome
burenucratic resiat~nce to administ;~at.ive reforms that are most dislik~:d
by bureaucrats--"the reform of the inefficient v~rtical relationship" and
- ":~tren~thening of the decentrnlization of rawer?"
Uhira, it se~ms, has available Co him a number of ~tudy sessions with
government officials, sch~lara, financial leadcrs and policy "brains" as `
participants, and h~ does not hesitate Co lisCen Co the people's voi.ces.
~ukud~~ in the true sense of the word, seems to have lacked policy ''br:,ins."
Tn~iaka gathered other government officials around him to hear tr.eir poli-
- cies and took tham into his confidence. Miki had acholars as his brains
but waq igolated from administrative agencies. That probably was the reason
why from bureaucratic resietance, Miki's "life cycle" concept, though out-
= standing, was shelved. Ohira seems to be blessed with braina in the two
areas of ideology and practical business.
_ But can his "party plaCform" be really realized? Or will it end up as a
mere "saying"? In the midst of concern ov~er recession, unemploymei~t and
.Japan-U.S. military unification, there is a Crend of greater voices for
- stronger leadership and a powerful government. Will Ohira's philosophy .
be carried out?
Ohira's Character and Philosophy
Tokyo ASAHI JANARU in Japanese ].5 Dec 78 pp LO-14
(Text] Hayato Ikeda, the tutor of Masayoshi Ohira, frequently created
incidents by his alip of the tongue. Some of his famed, wild remarks are:
"The poor should eat barley," and "It doesn't matter if two or three
medium and small buainesses go bankrt,pt." -
[keda's tutor, 5higeru Yoshida, uttered the word, "fool," in the Diet, and
us u result a non-confidence vote was passed and his Cabinet forced into
dissolution.
At that time, he was bit~erly assailed, but as time pasaed he came to be
_ known as an honest politician who always told the truth. That is why there
- probably was little resistance when Ikeda, who later became prime minister,
- said, "I do not tell lies," and "Leave economic affairs up to me." The
bond that links the people with politics is the individuality of the prime
minister. That the personality of candidates rather than policy has become
tl~e "isaue" in the recent party presidential elections is of some signifi-
- cance. 13oth Yoshida and Ikeda were highly popular politicians who repre-
geneed the postwar, conservAtive party history.
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'I'~ik~o Fukudn iH noted for his catch phr.uses, sotne of his "classic" pi-,rases
nre "Show~i Cenroku," "crar.y c~mmodity prices," "era c>� limiCed resource,"
nnd finnlly~ "thc world's 1~'ukuda." 'I'he "Fukuda gorol~:u [sayingJ" will most
' likely live on.
On the other h~nd, Ol~ir~ is ~3 taciturn poLiCician who is extremely careful
what t~e says. in his 26-yenr career as a biet member.~ one cannot recall ~
ev~n a sin~le cnse of a slip of tl~e tongue. LisCening to n press confer- ~
ence by tt~e new pnrty prasidenr at installution, the "vox populi [tensei
- Jingo]," wae dumbfounded--"Ne tl~rows such a slow ball. BuC ~ust nbour. Che
time when bntters and spectators have become sickened by the boredom,
impatience, resCleasness, reciundancy and disinterest, ehe ball would land
in the mitt" [ASAHL SHINBUN of 2 December 1978].
'Chat probably is due to his temperament as a"dull cow," which he acquired
as lon~-time aide to Ikeda us an assistant or right-h.and man. He admiCs
to being taciturn~ but deep inside, he seems to even take pride in it. He
once stated:
"Wt~en I resignecl as foreign minister, Mr Etsusabc::a ~ihiina became my
successor. At that Cime T gr~ve a farewell press coi;,ference at the Foreign
Ministry. A mtschievous repor[er asked, 'Mr Ohira, you think your -
successor, Mr Shiina, can c:rry out his responsibil.ities as foreign
minister?' When I asked, 'What do you mean by that7' he replied, 'Doesn't
t~e have difficulty with foreign languages?' Then I responded, 'No,
Mr Shiina probably will make a oreat Foreign Minister. He is not fluent
in foreign languages, but neitlier is he fluent ii~ Japanese. This, indeed, -
is the qualification for becoming a great Foreign Minister."
"One musC ponder deeply before answering yes or no, and assume responai-
bility fot one's statements. I feel it would be better to be like Mr Sh~ina
w}~~ is ver~ tiRht-mouthed" [Addressed at Kumamoto Postal Savin~s Kaiics~
Hall, 16 October 1971].
Indeed, this is an "argument" defending his use of ah's and oh's. This may
be the reason for his being called the "four and a half-mat politician."
He does appeal to the profesaionals but to the masses, it is uncertain.
- I.ack of IntensiCy Is His Character =
Afrer the overwhelm{.ng victory in the latest party presidential elections, ~
tl~ere was an appraisal of Ohira that he is dovish and he makes vague state- -
ments. But during the elections, it geems that there were even stronger
~ voices asking: "Are there any differences between Fukuda and Ohira? Both
- are T'inance Ministry bureaucrats, who served in the cabinet and in the -
pnrty. Moreover, they both belong to the conservative mainstream. There
; is no improvement from the chanRe." Obviously, Fukuda's supporters know-
in~ly disseminated such views, but it also was due to the lack of intensity
on the p~rt of Mr Ohira. Such lack of intensity can be viewed as Ohira's
r
- ctiarac ter.
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'fhe Ohira supportera sold this character during ehe elections. Ie wns -
"simple honeraty" und "restrained ~iceiot~." Ohir~? himself appealed for
"perepi,ratory politice." Ohira, who hr~d coined the Cerm "magnanimity
- nnd perse~?erence" for Ctie Ikedn Cabinet, is good at Caking such a poliCi-
CII1 etnnce. A~ ehe 1 November campaign rally, Ohira summarized his views -
~ander ttie thrae slo~ans: "Don't become arrogane with power," "Don't aow
sweet illusion~ on Che people," and "Don't become a ma~or miliCary power."
1.n other worda, Chey were the "poliCics of peace."
Those elecCion slogana cannoC be atCacked, but tihe question is wheChe.r.
they ar.�e wt~at Ohira truly believes in.
The p~~st oC prime minisCer is said to be a solitary one. After occupying
tl~e ~eat for a long Cime. t~e begins to hear only pleasant things and unin-
tc~ntionully he betrAys hiA true character. Eisaku SaCay wtio is also a
reticent politician, 1et oft' steam on the day of retirement by yelling at
- repor[ers to "get out" during a press conference and vented his anger he
haJ been suppressing. Announcing his candidacy for party president at a
pr.�ess conference, Fukuda boasted, "Throughout the land, Chere are rising
voicea seeking my reelection." But in those instances, the low posture ~
seen at the time he nssumed the post of prime minister was not evident.
[n 01~ira, who is ever cautious, there is very liCtle episodes to reflect
u political image like those Yoshida and Ikeda. Hence, there is no choice
~ but to rely on his "saying" to draw an image of his premiership.
I have here a m~emo pad containing notes on Ohira's statements made 7 years
- ago on 11 November 1971. I do not remember whethex ~he notes were Caken -
during an inkerview with Ohira at his home or when I was riding with him
in his car. I was then a political reporter.
As for the political climnte at tne time, it was the eve of the so-called
"Tan~;a-Fukuda war." Political interest was on whether Pri.me Minister Sato
~ woul~: pave the way for a Fukuda government through a"Tanaka and Fukuda
_ reconciliation" or whether Tanaka would confront Fukuda with the backing
of the Ohira faction. It sppeared that the "Tanaka-Fukuda reconciliation
concept" had a alight edge. In the Diet, the LDP maintained an overwhelming _
~ superiority wi.th 300 seats against thp Socialist Party's 90.
The contents of the memo pad, thoup,h somewhaC lengthy, are as below:
- The eras of Ikeda and Sato, including Yoshida and Kishi, were pleasant
nnd rom~ntic. Bluntly speaking, they were eras when even a fool could
conduct politics. That was because the world of the dollar was stable.
I'olitics can be said to have been non-existent. Frflm three and one half
years ~~~o, the dollur became shaky and that world collapsed. The period -
_ that followed was the sea~on of politics.
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- It iy neceseary ru real.ir.e ~h~i~ st~U.tl.tty achieved during Che postwar
- qu~.rter century is hif;hly ubi~nrm.il ,nnd ,in u~i5t