Japan’s new trade chief must act on nuke issues

Former chief Cabinet secretary Yukio Edano was named economy, trade and industry minister Monday to succeed Yoshio Hachiro, who resigned over insensitive remarks and actions toward disaster-hit areas.

Edano served as secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan and chief Cabinet secretary under the previous Kan administration, which made repeated policy blunders. The appointment of Edano, who won praise for his responses during Diet interpellations, reflects Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s expectations that Edano will be immediately effective as a Cabinet member in the extraordinary session of the Diet.

In the ongoing power struggle within the DPJ, Edano has kept his distance from former DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa. His appointment as Hachiro’s successor has been taken by some to indicate that Noda cannot stick to his policy of pursuing intraparty reconciliation.

Noda must take responsibility for Hachiro’s appointment because he emphasized “putting the right people in the right positions” as he formed his Cabinet. He will not be able to push his policy agenda unless he explains and apologizes for the change of a METI minister within days of the inauguration of his Cabinet.

Edano’s confrontational stance toward businesses, seen when he served as chief Cabinet secretary, could be a source of concern. He drew fire at the time from various sectors for calling on banking institutions that had transactions with Tokyo Electric Power Co. to forgive the utility’s debts.

Noda recently met with Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), and expressed the government’s policy to strengthen cooperation with the business world.

What concrete policies for industrial promotion will the government put forth? Edano’s ability to get things done will be put to the test in this area.

The most pressing issue is whether Japan will take part in negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement to promote free trade. Nine countries have been holding full-scale negotiations, led by the United States and Australia, and may reach a broad agreement at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum set for November.

At a news conference, Edano said: “I’ll make an appropriate decision after looking at the situation both at home and abroad. I won’t make a snap decision.”

However, not much time is left. Edano must act quickly in cooperation with Seiji Maehara, chairman of the DPJ Policy Research Committee, to make every effort to form a consensus on TPP participation within the DPJ.

It is also necessary to restart as early as possible nuclear reactors idled for regular inspections. It is of course essential to secure the safety of reactors, but resuming their operations should not be delayed.

Calling for national debate on the advisability of breaking with nuclear power generation, Edano said, “We must promote the development of new energy sources and energy-saving efforts to realize a society that can survive without nuclear power plants.”

Rather than insisting on abandoning nuclear power generation without a clear policy vision, the nation’s energy strategy must be restructured to secure a stable power supply.

It is also problematic that the nation’s growth strategy has yet to take concrete shape amid the rapid graying of the population and the languishing birthrate. It is necessary to promote exports of infrastructure, such as Shinkansen high-speed railway systems and nuclear power plants, through joint efforts of the private and public sectors. The government must also bolster measures for midsize and small companies that have been harmed by the extreme strength of the yen.

We want the government to present policies that will halt the hollowing out of industry and prevent the employment situation from deteriorating.

(Editorial, The Yomiuri Shimbun)

(Asia News Network)