Japan monthly review: May 2008

By David Azócar

The visit of President Hu Jintao to Japan was May’s top story. The worst news had to be the current administration’s low ratings in the polls; 25%, in fact. The rest of the month included the Olympic Games and an attempt to employ Japanese space program advances in military technology.

Japan, as the leading economic power in Asia, is Chile’s most important trading partner and political ally in the entire region. While macroeconomic figures are positive, other issues are shaking up nation of 127 million.

A foreign president’s visit to Japanese soil is always news, but a visit by a Chinese leader is big news. Hu Jintao, and his Japanese counterparts, reached some important agreements aimed at resolving the dispute over the gas fields located in the South China Sea. They also set an agenda for the resolution of other outstanding disputes and strengthening bilateral ties.

Not all the news out of Japan was good this month, however. While May yielded positive results in foreign affairs, the ruling party is facing a difficult situation as regards public approval ratings. A worrying 25% at the polls is the lowest during Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda’s eight months in office. One of the main reasons for the poor results is the LDP’s unorthodox legislative maneuvering. An example of this was the passage of a road tax despite a wide disapproval by the citizenry.

In other negative news, the Japanese economy has given signs of stagnation in recent years. The one-year horizon, to May 2009, does not look much better, either. The Bank of Japan announced it expects the economy to grow by a mere 1.5% during 2008; a far cry from the 2.1% that had been forecast earlier this year, making it another casualty of the subprime crisis in the US.

Inflation in March reached its highest point in 10 years, with an increase of 1.2%. Japan’s Minister of Economy noted that this was due to an increase in the price of raw materials, as a result of high energy prices.

The Olympic torch and the Japanese space race

Rarely has the Olympic torch has had so many interruptions along the path to being lit. Its arduous 2008 pilgrimage has left it on the verge of being extinguished more than once. Happily for the Japanese people, the sports symbol remained lit, though it was besieged by hundreds of demonstrators protesting the human rights situation in the Chinese province of Tibet.

The torch procession, which took place in the city of Nagano, was slated to begin at a Buddhist temple. But the monks at the site were obviously sympathetic to the cause of the Dalai Lama. Once the torch procession finally began, two Japanese citizens tried to stop it, despite strict security measures by Japanese police.

In science news, Japan is literally setting its sights on the stars. A current bill even seeks to override laws preventing the use of military technology in space. The Japanese Constitution ostensibly precludes such measures.

The bill, which enjoys the unanimous agreement of both the government and the opposition, seeks to leverage innovation in the space sector, especially at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). To this must be added that at least three large Asian economies, India, China and Japan are investing huge budgets in an, as yet, undeclared "space race".