MANSFIELD CENTER GROUP MEETS W=
ITH
TOP LEADERS IN JAPAN=
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp; A
delegation that included Mike Mansfield Center
director Terry Weidner and Mansfield Center board member John Menson gained rare acc=
ess to
top Japanese leaders during a recent visit to Tokyo.
&=
nbsp; The
group spent time with Japan’s
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Foreign Minis=
ter
Taro Aso and Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe. Abe and Aso a=
re
candidates to replace Koizumi when the prime minister steps down this fall.=
&=
nbsp; A
packed itinerary for the Mansfield group i=
n Japan i=
ncluded
a successful symposium co-hosted by Keidanren, a Japanese federation of
economic organizations, on bilateral issues and East Asian regional trends.=
The
group also attended briefings by U.S. Ambassador Schie=
ffer
and the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, lunch with several you=
ng
Japanese Diet members, and a reception and dinner at the ambassador’s
residence. They also participated in activities at Toyota Motor Corp. and at
Panasonic, owned by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Chairmen of both corporations=
are
on the Mansfield Foundation board.
&=
nbsp; The
trip was planned around a meeting of the foundation’s board held in <=
st1:City
w:st=3D"on">Tokyo.=
&=
nbsp; Weidner
said the group got access to the top Japanese leaders in part because they =
were
led by Mansfield Foundation board members Thomas Foley and Walter Mondale, =
both
of whom served as U.S.
ambassadors to Japan, =
but
also because of the continued high esteem in which Mike Mansfield is held i=
n Japan, where he also served as U.S.
ambassador.
&=
nbsp; “V=
irtually
every Japanese dignitary we met not only knew of Mans=
field,
but also volunteered their admiration for his integrity and interest in East Asia,” Weidner said. “We hope we c=
an
maintain that memory among the new generation of leaders.”=
&=
nbsp; The
delegation also traveled to China,
where they attended ceremonies to mark the opening of a joint training cent=
er
that the Mansfield
Center and Mansfield
Foundation will run with a Chinese partner. While in China,
the group also co-sponsored a seminar on East Asian security, met with U.S. em=
bassy
personnel and attended a range of briefings on Chinese foreign policy and
U.S.-China relations. Chinese party General Secretary =
Hu
Jintao and other top leaders of China were in the United States at the time of =
the
group’s visit.
&=
nbsp; Weidner
said Japan’s
Prime Minister Koizumi has broken the mold as a politician both by successf=
ully
defying a 50-year-old system of control by powerful political factions and =
by
displaying a personal style and charisma very much at odds with a more
traditional “button-down” political culture in the country.
&=
nbsp; “K=
oizumi
reminded me a lot of Bill Clinton in his ability to command attention in a
personal setting,” he said.
&=
nbsp; Both
Menson and Weidner said much of the conversation with Koizumi involved small
talk. He spoke of a recent meeting with Tom Hanks, where Hanks expressed en=
vy
for Koizumi’s long hair. Other conversations involved Koizumi’s
admiration for Elvis Presley and American rock and roll. But Koizumi also
touched on key issues in U.S.-Japan relations, including the continuing
problems with U.S. beef
imports and the question of payment for the transfer of 8,000 U.S. Marines =
from
Okinawa to Guam, an issue since resolved=
.
&=
nbsp; Secretary
Abe also was impressive, the two noted. He displayed an obvious command of =
key
policy issues while also evincing a dry wit, they said.
&=
nbsp; Conversa=
tions
with Foreign Minister Aso included a lengthy pe=
rsonal
analysis of the growing tensions between Ch=
ina
and Japan,
a topic that dominated many meetings the group attended.<=
/p>
&=
nbsp; “T=
he
current controversy is most directly tied to China’s anger over a se=
ries
of trips that Prime Minister Koizumi has made to the Y=
asukuni
Shrine,” Weidner said. “Because fourteen ‘Class A’ =
war
criminals are buried there, China
perceives high level visits to the shrine as celebrating or at least
sanctioning Japanese brutal expansionism during World War II.”
&=
nbsp; The
situation has been complicated because many Japanese see the Yasukuni issue as being manipulated by Chinese author=
ities
to divert attention from China’s
internal problems, Weidner said. The controversy has gained momentum, he sa=
id,
because Japan,
which often has responded to this kind of criticism with apologies, seems
disinclined to respond to Chinese pressure at a time when the country is
emerging from a long recession and exhibiting renewed pride and nationalism=
.
&=
nbsp; Weidner
said Sino-Japanese tensions are directly relevant to the Mansfield
delegation because the Ma=
nsfield
Center and Mansfield
Foundation can play at least a modest role in bridging the gap between the =
two
sides of the issue.
&=
nbsp; “W=
hile
leaders on both sides are firm in their beliefs, they also seem genuinely
committed to creating avenues for dialogue that could reduce tensions,̶=
1;
Weidner said. “They also are open to having the center and foundation contribute to that effort.”
&=
nbsp; Examples
of that commitment include the suggestion of Shoichiro=
Toyoda, honorary chairman of the board of Toyota Motor Corp., of a series of
forums on nonpolitical issues such as energy and the environment, similar to
past joint retreats held on those topics by the Mansfield Foundaiton
and Center. Weidner said Chinese colleagues also seemed to react positively=
to
the delegation’s suggestion of creating retreats on Sino-Japanese
relations for young leaders on both sides.
&=
nbsp; A
highlight of the delegation’s visit to Beijing<=
/st1:City>
was a high-level celebration to mark the formal opening of a joint training
center that the Mansfield Center will run jointly with the Mansfield Foun=
dation
and the All-China Youth Federation, a key UM partner in the People’s =
Republic
of China=
.
&=
nbsp; The
new center will facilitate China-based training on a range of subjects and =
also
can provide support for Montana faculty,
business people and other travelers as well as a venue for University and o=
ther
programs in China.
The ACYF also co-sponsored a successful seminar on East Asian strategic iss=
ues
during the visit, which included continued discussions at Nankai Un=
iversity
and with UM’s partners about a proposed <=
st1:country-region
w:st=3D"on">China c=
ampus
venture.
&=
nbsp; Further
information about the Man=
sfield
Center at UM is onl=
ine at
http://www.umt.edu/mansfield.
###
Editor’s Note: Photo of the Mansfield group with Japanese Prime Min=
ister Koisumi is available by calling Rita Munzenrider at
University Relations, (406) 243-4824.
TW/=
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al,
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