Pairing Cerebral With Raw and Tough : Japan offers the world an odd but shrewd couple at the top

Japan now offers the world an odd leadership couple: Kiichi Miyazawa as prime minister and Michio Watanabe as foreign minister. There is nothing new about either of these well-known Japanese politicians, of course. They have been around for decades. What’s new is the pairing: They are a study in stylistic contrasts. Will these familiar faces bring new life to Japan’s tired diplomacy? It doesn’t seem likely on the surface--but they may surprise everyone.

Their delicate task is to operate within the ritualistic form of Japanese politics while delivering substantive changes. And early indications are that the new government might be nudging the country in a more active direction. Miyazawa, in his inaugural speech to Parliament, indicated that Japan may ease its ban on rice imports, a highly sensitive trade issue, particularly in the United States. Japanese prime ministers traditionally have used their inaugural speeches to oppose opening the rice market, so this could be significant.

In another gracious flourish, Miyazawa described ties with Washington as “the cornerstone of Japanese foreign policy.” He also pledged passage of a bill to allow Japan to participate in the U.N. peacekeeping force that will be sent to Cambodia. And the new prime minister exhibited diplomatic sang-froid in the face of President Bush’s abrupt cancellation of his Asia trip, which was to have included Japan. Miyazawa had hoped to use the visit as an opportunity to reaffirm the U.S.-Japan partnership.

That opportunity may still exist during Secretary of State James A. Baker III’s visit to Japan this week. It will mark the debut of the outspoken Watanabe as Tokyo’s new foreign minister. He is renowned for his blunt, right-wing views, which make cautious, seasoned Tokyo diplomats jittery. Watanabe offended U.S. blacks in 1988 when he criticized Americans, singling out blacks, for opting out of their debts by resorting to bankruptcy. He also insulted the Chinese. He later apologized to both.

The pairing of the cerebral and elitist Miyazawa with the raw and tough Watanabe reflects politics within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Miyazawa’s pay-back to old-line party power brokers for his triumph as prime minister is clearly reflected in his Cabinet appointments. Seven appointees, including Watanabe, who wanted the prime minister job, are from the most powerful LDP faction, that of former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita. Miyazawa, Watanabe and two other Cabinet members were tainted by the influence-peddling stock scandal that toppled Takeshita.

Is party populist Watanabe’s role to rein in the more independent Miyazawa? Former Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu never escaped the puppet strings of the party leaders. He proved largely ineffective in shepherding Japan through the Persian Gulf crisis. Even when he led his country to contribute $13 billion to the war effort, Tokyo was accused of checkbook diplomacy.

Perhaps Japan can now move on to those pressing issues that detract from its world status. Working toward loosening its rice import ban--a key symbol of Japan’s restrictive trade policies--and taking a greater leadership role internationally, especially in Asia, are good places to begin the change. The unlikely duo of Miyazawa-Watanabe must find a way to pull in the same direction.