Author: Andrew Levidis, Melbourne University and Kyoto University
At the beginning of the film Bokoku no Aegis (‘Aegis of a ruined country’), based on the popular novel by Fukui Haruhito, the special agent of the fictional Japanese defence intelligence agency DAIS reads from the thesis of a murdered naval student: ‘Aegis: the mythical shield of the god Zeus. A ship armed with the Aegis system is the ultimate defensive weapon but dare we ask: What is the purpose of such a shield?
If Japan cannot change, it will no longer be worth defending, then Aegis will be nothing more than a shield for a lost nation.’ Read more…
Author: Andrew Levidis, Melbourne University and Kyoto University
There has always been an element of incongruity between Ozawa’s great political conception and his actual performance. His decision to challenge Prime Minister Kan Naoto for the presidency of the DPJ reflects the grimness that has crept into Japanese politics, disfiguring those who seek real reform, and an almost metaphysical need by Ozawa to defend his legacy and previous ambitions.
His challenge can be seen as a metaphor for what has gone wrong with the DPJ since its moment of triumph, and Ozawa’s last fateful chance to redeem himself and his party. Read more…
Author: Andrew Levidis, Melbourne University and Kyoto University
In the life of nations, as of men, an apology carries within it the consciousness of the need for reconciliation with the past, and the awareness that all apologies are, in some important sense, strategic. An apology forces a state to make the painful reconciliation of its historic mission with the imperatives of the future. It is strategic because it reflects less the triumph of sentiment than cool and deliberate calculations of interest.
It seeks to transform enmity into a diplomatic asset, and alter the intellectual and philosophical contours within which states legitimate their strategic choices. Read more…
Author: Andrew Levidis, Melbourne University and Kyoto University
Hatoyama Yukio and the Democratic Party of Japan swept to power last year amid ecstatic hopes and extravagant claims of ‘regime change’ that promised to renew Japan and finally bring to a close the ‘post-war’ era. This scion of a great political family might have seemed an improbable leader of the opposition but was seen as a beacon of change into which all the frustrations stemming from years of economic and political malaise were poured. At home he sought to end the dominance of the ailing LDP and break decisively with its post-war legacies.
Abroad, he sought to augur a new era in relations with Asia and China and a new coolness in relations with the United States. Read more…
