With Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike’s newly established Party of Hope expected to become a major force in the House of Representatives after the Oct 22 general election, her prospective foreign and security policies have begun to attract attention. Should Koike, believed to have an ambition to…
With Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike’s newly established Party of Hope expected to become a major force in the House of Representatives after the Oct 22 general election, her prospective foreign and security policies have begun to attract attention.
Should Koike, believed to have an ambition to become Japan’s first female prime minister, come to influence policymaking in national politics, some experts suspect her diplomatic stance would have negative implications for the country’s ties with South Korea and China.
Koike, a former TV anchorwoman, has been regarded as a right-leaning conservative politician, given that she is supportive of amending Japan’s Constitution and making the nation’s defense system more muscular, analysts say.
In Japan, politicians are generally labeled conservative if they argue for revision by Japanese nationals of the supreme law including the war-renouncing Article 9, on the basis that it was imposed by occupying U. S. forces after World War II.
At the same time, such lawmakers also emphasize the importance of the Japan-U. S. alliance, especially when the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region has worsened amid North Korea’s attempt to develop nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles and China’s military buildup in the East and South China seas.
Last Friday, Koike, who served as both defense and environment minister in the early 2000s when she was a lower house member of the Liberal Democratic Party, announced her new party’s platform for the upcoming election.
The party vows to promote debate on amending Article 9 of the Constitution and support the “proper application” of the security legislation pushed through the Diet last year by the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, enabling the Self-Defense Forces’ expanded roles.
The legislation, which took effect last year amid strong public protest, has loosened the constraints imposed by Article 9 and allowed the SDF to defend the United States and other allies under an idea called collective self-defense.
