What price does Japan have to pay to enjoy peace?
(Mainichi Japan) June 24, 2010
No one would dispute that ever since the end of World War II, Japan has enjoyed peace and prosperity. But as to why it was so, two opposing views coexisted without ever coming across one another. One narrative penetrated the Japanese psyche as "exoteric teachings," forming a space where words such as "pacifism," "article nine," and "three nonnuclear principles" reigned. The other formed an "esoteric worldview" in which the "U.S.-Japan alliance," "extended deterrence," and "nuclear umbrella" were the dominant concepts.
The exoteric teachings resonated with the common sense of the Japanese public, gaining the status of a civic religion, which transcended ideological groupings. On the other hand, esoteric teachings allowed the exoteric teachings to endure, but never allowed them to penetrate the reality of politics. Surely, at heart, the public was well aware of the existence of the esoteric world. But immersing oneself in the morally comfortable world of exoteric teachings, the public entrusted the gatekeepers of esoteric teachings to handle the difficult issues behind closed doors.
These two differing worlds coexisted in a strange balance. Indeed, there were times when the two worlds clashed, and gatekeepers tried opening the door for good. Despite this, the binary construct remained unchanged.
Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama tried to break down this strange balance, and defined the opening of the gate an end unto itself. It was, so to speak, an effort to get rid of the esoteric language, and replace it with a civic religion. His attempt was to transform the narrative that defined national security matters. We all know how that story ended.
Listening to his last speech as prime minister, it became clear that this was not a mere sudden impulse but based on firm conviction, despite not being thought through thoroughly.
Now, what should we think of Prime Minister Naoto Kan? His first policy speech as prime minister only hinted on the contours of his foreign policy thinking. For the time being, he must focus on rebuilding the trust that holds the alliance together. Mr. Kan is not known to be a foreign policy specialist. To cast aside that image, Mr. Kan cited Yonosuke Nagai, an arch-realist well known for his masterpiece Heiwa no Daisho ("The Price of Peace").
It is a bit odd that Kan, who started out his career as a grassroots activist, is citing a realist with a conservative twist. However, Nagai is not someone who you could easily locate on a left-right ideological spectrum. The title of his book, "The Price of Peace," was meant to highlight the difficult decision that Japan faced. What was being pointed out was that due to peculiar circumstances in which Japan was positioned, if it wanted to enjoy peace, it had to sacrifice a certain degree of autonomy, and if it chose to be fully autonomous, peace was the price it had to pay.
Nagai was attempting to search for a "radical center," rejecting both "the autonomy of independent national defense" and "the autonomy of unarmed neutrality."
Times have changed since Nagai made his argument. But the divide between the exoteric and esoteric worlds basically remains the same. It is true, too, that the delicate balance is exhibiting signs of trouble. There is a cost to everything we enjoy in life. What price does Japan have to pay in order to enjoy peace as we did in the latter half of the previous century?
This time around, Japan has to fully engage itself in a soul-searching debate on where it wants to go. (By Toshihiro Nakayama, professor, Aoyama Gakuin University; Adjunct Fellow, Japan Institute of International Affairs)
