[Mb-civic] Japan is our partner in peace - Howard Baker (Yes, THAT Howard Baker) - Boston Globe

[William Swiggard]

Japan is our partner in peace

By Howard Baker  |  August 28, 2005

SIXTY YEARS ago this month, Japan laid down its arms, ending World War 
II and embarking on a remarkable journey that has led a great nation to 
peace, democracy, and prosperity.

The United States has found in its former adversary a steadfast friend 
and ally, and the world has come to know and respect Japan not only for 
the quality of its products but for the generosity and ingenuity of its 
people.

Some, of course, would argue for their own purposes that Japan has been 
a reluctant hero in this drama of the last six decades, that at heart 
the Japanese are unreconstructed, that beneath the benign exterior lies 
an unrepentant and still nationalistic nation.

After serving for almost four years as America's ambassador to Japan, I 
can say with the assurance of first-hand knowledge that Japan is fully 
prepared to play a constructive role in the diplomacy and commerce of 
the 21st century.

This does not mean the Japanese will jettison their past or that 
everyone will agree with their interpretation of their own history or 
their reverence for controversial national symbols. We do not have to 
agree. What the world seeks, and what Japan readily agrees to, is a 
forward-looking nation ready to use its economic power and its profound 
commitment to democracy for the good of the world.

The world has properly sought, and Japan has properly given, numerous 
apologies for the aggression of 60 and 70 years ago. But such acts of 
contrition for events in the last century must ultimately give way to 
more substantive acts of constructive engagement with the world of the 
new century, and here again Japan has not been found wanting.

Its example of a rapidly democratizing nation stands today as an 
inspiration to the people of Iraq and people in other countries yearning 
to breathe free. Its commitment of 500 of Japan's Self-Defense Forces in 
February 2004 to give humanitarian aid to the people of Iraq gives 
further substance to its new role as a model for emerging democracies.

Even the act of committing these forces was a test of the strength of 
Japan's democracy -- a special law had to be passed by the Japanese 
Diet, over vigorous minority opposition to Prime Minister Koizumi's plan 
-- and this spirited debate was itself a healthy affirmation of the free 
and open society that modern Japan has become.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/08/28/japan_is_our_partner_in_peace/
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