TOKYO -- Japan should focus on mediating international peace negotiations, rather than sending troops to intervene in conflicts, former United Nations official Sadako Ogata said in a recent interview with The Nikkei. At the same time, she suggested Japanese forces cannot remain isolated and should contribute to peacekeeping operations.
Ogata, a Japanese national, served as the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in the 1990s. Now 87, she is a special adviser to the president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) -- an organization she led from 2003 to 2012.
Q: World War II ended when you were 17, with Japan surrendering to the Allies. How do you assess Japan's diplomatic achievements over the past 70 years?
A: Japan's diplomatic efforts could have had a broader international perspective. Relations with the U.S. are, of course, the cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy, but the U.S. acts on its global strategy. For instance, Washington suddenly got closer to China in the early 1970s as part of its strategy against the Soviet Union.
Rather than casting its sights globally, Japan thinks only in terms of bilateral ties, such as with the U.S. or with China. Tokyo also tends to follow what the U.S. does.
Q: Japan's relations with China remain shaky. What do you think are the reasons?
A: Japan needs to cooperate with China economically. This is understood better by the business community than the government.
Some sections of the Japanese political class subscribe to simplistic nationalism. At the same time, some in the Chinese government show arrogant tendencies.
How do we move forward? There are no easy answers. But it would be wrong to think Japan's relations with China would stabilize if ties between Japan and the U.S. were strengthened. The situation is not that simple.
Q: For a long time, Japan made economic assistance a pillar of its diplomacy. The country once had the world's largest official development assistance program, but the scale has been reduced significantly. What should be the focus of Japan's diplomatic efforts today?
A: Some countries that used to be poor have become affluent, but this has allowed conflicts over religions and ideologies to come to the fore. Clashes between nations have also been increasing, as seen especially in the Middle East and Africa.
Simply increasing the amount of ODA will not be enough of an international contribution.
Q: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aims to expand the scope of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' overseas activities. National security bills, which would enable this, have been debated in the Diet. What do you think of this?
A: Japan should not intervene in other countries' conflicts by using military power. And I don't think Japan is capable of doing such things. For starters, I don't believe our country has sufficient human resources to make that type of international contribution.
But providing a policelike presence and protecting people in foreign conflict zones are important. Peacekeeping is one way the SDF could be used to contribute internationally.
Q: So you would support an overseas SDF presence, provided it is for peacekeeping?
A: The SDF should be deployed overseas when there is a peacekeeping role the international community expects it to play. The troops should be trained sufficiently and sent abroad as part of an international operation.
Having said that, it would be difficult to make overseas deployment of the SDF the main component of Japan's international contributions. To begin with, there are physical limitations.
Japan should get more involved in mediating disputes between countries and seek to play the role of a peace broker. To make this possible, we must train people so they have a solid understanding of international politics and great negotiation skills.
Q: Opinion polls show the majority of the Japanese public is against the national security bills. Do you think the government should push to enact them anyway?
A: The government must be able to present a blueprint that clearly illustrates the key points -- what will become possible if the bills are passed, and how passing them will enable Japan to serve the world better. Unless these issues are clarified, I am afraid the government will not be able to gain public support.
I once said that it was unacceptable for Japan to remain "an isolated prosperous island." At one time, it might have been all right for Japan to avoid sending any citizens to dangerous areas [even as part of international efforts] and just wish for its own people's happiness. That time is gone.
Interviewed by Nikkei senior staff writer Hiroyuki Akita
