Restoring confidence in Japan's foreign ministry

The Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo

Suspicions have emerged surrounding the activities of Lower House lawmaker Muneo Suzuki. A particular focus is the allegation that Suzuki, a powerful member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, used his political clout to influence bidding for a goodwill facility construction project on Kunashiri Island in the disputed Northern Territories. The episode has strikingly underscored the collusion between politicians and the bureaucracy, and must not go unchallenged.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has instructed new Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi to complete an investigation into the matter within 10 days.

The suspicions must of course be cleared up. But the facts must be set straight on the specific details of how, and to what degree, Suzuki has meddled in Foreign Ministry policy-making and personnel affairs.

Kawaguchi has announced that she will replace Deputy Vice Minister Kyoji Komachi and Toshinori Shigeie, director-general of the ministry's Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau. Masaru Sato, a close acquaintance of Suzuki, has been removed from his senior post with the Intelligence and Analysis Bureau. But such moves are only the first step in rooting out Suzuki's cozy ties with ministry bureaucrats.

Numerous Foreign Ministry officials are keeping quiet about the controversy, fearing reprisals from Suzuki. With public trust in the ministry at an all-time low, thorough disclosure of all shady dealings is essential.

The Diet also has a lot to undertake, and should summon Suzuki to give sworn testimony at once. With Suzuki reportedly willing to talk, attention will turn to the opposition parties' ability to dig up the dirt.

According to a document presented to the Lower House Budget Committee by the Japanese Communist Party last week, Suzuki intervened in the bidding for construction of the Kunashiri evacuation center. It is said he arranged it so that only one firm was qualified to bid, a company based in his own political stronghold of Hokkaido's Nemuro district.

There is also evidence that officials of a consulting company with access to the proposed price of the project, as well as managers of the Nemuro firm that won the contract, met at Suzuki's office. The collusion between Suzuki and the Foreign Ministry has never been spelled out in such blunt terms.

The opposition parties must exercise their administrative investigation rights, proceeding from a nongovernment perspective to elucidate the true story. No effort should be spared in pursuing any suspicions of perjury and uncovering facts related to Suzuki's official authority, nor should potential criminal indictments be ruled out.

There has also been a major shift in sentiment toward Suzuki within the LDP. When Suzuki resigned as chairman of the Lower House Committee on Rules and Administration, he effectively took with him Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, a long-time political enemy. Tanaka was dismissed from her post largely as a result of her dispute with Suzuki over nongovernmental organizations being excluded from last month's conference on rebuilding Afghanistan.

This sacrifice drew applause from the LDP faction headed by former prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, of which Suzuki is a member. However there have been direct calls from the LDP for Suzuki to leave the party.

Apparently, it has finally dawned on LDP leaders just how much the party stands to lose in the public eye by continuing to shield Suzuki. We are appalled once again at just how obtuse the nation's most powerful political party can be.

Politicians manipulate the bureaucracy with a carrot and stick approach, flocking to feed on vested rights and interests.

The government allows this debacle to continue. It is this character, or lack of it, that the Japanese people are truly fed up with.

Koizumi must not gloss over this problem as a matter limited to the ties between Suzuki and the Foreign Ministry. Unless the scalpel is taken to the true heart of the collusion between politicians and bureaucrats, public trust will never be restored.