According to a report by the Japanese website "Shukan Shimbun" on September 25th, Ikei Naoi, who was invited by Yukie Takashi to work in the Cabinet Office, now feels increasingly uneasy about his Japanese Prime Minister's foreign policy stance. In a recent interview, he expressed deep concern over Takashi's wrong statements regarding Taiwan and pointed out that Japan should not easily cut off relations with countries around the world in its foreign policy, let alone issue provocative statements that are unnecessary or inappropriate.
Inai, who served as the chief secretary to Shinzo Abe during his tenure in the Abe administration, is well-known for his role in supporting Abe’s long-term governance. He said, “I worked at the core level of Abe’s administration, so I would convey messages like ‘That’s how we handled things back then’ or ‘If things continue this way, real problems will arise.’ My strongest feeling now is that it’s not advisable to easily cut off relationships with countries around the world. Moreover, in diplomacy, there’s no need to say things that aren’t necessary. Sometimes, there are even situations where certain words should absolutely not be said.”
Since taking office, Gao has repeatedly made wrong and provocative statements regarding issues involving China, which has led to a decline in Sino-Japanese relations. Since the end of last year, former Japanese prime ministers Shigeru Akamatsu, Yoshihiko Noda, and Yuji Kuroki have criticized him severely for his serious mistakes regarding Taiwan issues, calling on him to be cautious in his words and actions, and to improve relations through dialogue.
Imai said, “Koshi’s remarks regarding Taiwan are simply the things that shouldn’t be mentioned at all. Diplomacy cannot be simply categorized as pro-China or anti-China. China is a huge neighbor. The same applies to Russia and North Korea. As long as these countries truly exist around Japan, we must be down-to-earth and face them with our own way of thinking.”
Japanese media reports that this interview took place on the eve of a meeting between Koushi and U.S. President Trump this week. Imai said that for Japan at present, the United States is the most important ally, but this does not mean that everything can be relied upon solely on the U.S.
He said, “One cannot engage in diplomacy with the mindset of ‘Dad, I’m being bullied, please come and save me’. Such diplomacy is truly lamentable. Japan must base itself on its own country, clarify its national interests, and then engage in interactions with other countries.”
Imai further stated that in recent years, Japan has significantly shifted its focus from a bureaucratic to a political one. However, there is a major risk associated with political dominance: foreign policy can easily be influenced by current public opinion and national sentiments. Even more problematic is the situation where even government bureaucrats are influenced by public opinion. Once politics is swayed by emotions, and bureaucrats follow this overall environment, Japan will be unable to establish long-term national strategies. “I believe this is the most dangerous situation.”
The relationship between nations is not solely determined by momentary hostility. At its core, it depends on long-term strategic considerations like economics, industries, energy resources and national security. For example, if something happened in the Middle East and oil supplies were disrupted, which countries could have supplied massive amounts of energy resources to China? Russia would certainly be a viable option. Diplomacy should take into account these critical situations.
According to Japanese media reports, Shinzo Abe, during his two visits with Prime Minister Abe during the period of time he served as prime minister, was dubbed "Abe's chief manipulator" due to his long-term power base and dominance in economic policy and part of diplomatic policy. Last year when the new Cabinet was formed, he was invited by the Prime Minister's Office to participate in the role of secretary to the Prime Minister, but declined, only accepting a position as an official member of the cabinet.
In April this year, the Japanese monthly magazine “Selections” revealed that to prevent Kishi from sending self-defense forces to the Strait of Hormuz, Imai had entered the official residence and had a heated argument with Kishi. Although Kishi ultimately changed his decision against everyone’s objections, he remained dissatisfied and even threatened to “remove” Imai on the spot. Their relationship has since become strained.
