I was overseas on the 1st of every 3rd day ... "Kono Diplomacy" was evaluated on September 26 at 17:06
Taro Kono, 146th Foreign Minister. With the remodeling of the cabinet on September 11, we slipped to the Minister of Defense.
It has been 2 years and 1 month since I took office as Minister of Foreign Affairs. During this time, a total of 123 countries and regions visited. Of course, although it is the most numerous, “Stamp Rally Tour” was also performed.
“Kono Diplomacy” verified what was left.
(Hiroshi Takashima)
“Record” or “Memory”
“Records are records, and I want to make memorable diplomacy.”
In the words of the new Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, the auditorium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs laughed after a moment of subtle tension.
On September 17, the new and old foreign ministers were replaced.
“Records” refers to the number of countries and regions that Kono visited in the past 2 years and 1 month. The total number is 123. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it ’s the highest ever seen.
Kono and Motegi are both regarded as “Post Abe”. Innocent Mogi, while keeping his rivals conscious,
“We have developed diplomacy that fills the world map. In baseball, Sadaharu Wang ’s home run record makes it impossible to overcome.”
And I didn't forget to lift him in front of him.
During his tenure of 770 days, former Foreign Minister Kono spent 291 days on a business trip abroad. He had been on a business trip at a pace of nearly 40% for more than one day every three days.
“Excursion”. In Nagata-cho, Sakai, I still call foreign business trips.
The voice of “Stamp Rally Excursion” and Kono's frequent foreign business trips were raised not only by the opposition party but also by the government and the ruling party.
Reasons for “bullet” excursions
It is not easy for a Japanese minister to travel abroad, which is required by the constitution to attend the Diet.
Kono repeated two or three days of “bullet” excursions centering on Saturdays and Sundays, and “transit visits” to meet when stopping by flight connections. “There is no time off”, sometimes I tweeted on my own Twitter.
Kono stated the reason for sticking to a foreign business trip at a press conference for four months.
“In the past five years, Japan's Foreign Minister visited 97 countries, but during the same period, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited 262 countries, almost three times as much. You have to think seriously about how to fill it. "
While rapidly expanding its military power, China has strengthened its influence throughout the world against the backdrop of its abundant financial power with the concept of “One Belt and One Road”. Kono, who has a sense of crisis, preferred the term “naked diplomatic power”.
“Japan doesn't use military power for diplomacy. On the other hand, ODA = Government Development Assistance, which exceeded 1 trillion yen, has halved.”
“Political officers and diplomats attach great importance to the connection between people, meet directly with the foreign ministers of the partner country, and strengthen bilateral relations. Is sought after "
Aiming for "unexplored land"
89 countries have never been visited by the Japanese Foreign Minister when he assumed office.
Kono is surprised at the first time in 15 years when he visited Sri Lanka in January last year, and his blog reveals that the Japanese foreign minister had examined the country he had never visited.
“Japan calls on the international community to reform the UN Security Council, the resolution to abolish nuclear weapons, or to strengthen pressure on North Korea. How about this situation? I feel the need for direct dialogue. ''
In other words, this “incident” was a motivation to visit “unexplored land”.
One of these countries is Ecuador in South America.
Blessed with abundant petroleum resources, there are many mineral resources such as silver and magnesium. The anti-American left-wing regime has continued for a long time until the change of government, and China has increased its presence with a large amount of infrastructure investment.
Diplomatic relations with Japan have a history of more than 100 years, but none of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, nor any one of the ministers, has visited. Last August, Kono became the first minister to visit.
Over 20 hours from Narita via Houston, USA. There is also a visit to neighboring countries, so staying in Ecuador is a day.
The schedule was divided every minute, including presidential courtesy, foreign ministers' meeting, meetings with the Diet members, and exchanges with Japanese residents.
In response, the Ecuadorian government was accompanied by Foreign Minister Valencia on a schedule of 7 hours out of 10 hours of actual work.
At that time, Ecuador changed its administration from the left side to the middle road and began to aim for a more free and open economy. With the visit of Kono, the yen loan for ODA = official development assistance to Ecuador, which had been broken for 20 years, started to resume. The target is the energy field. It is part of resource diplomacy.
Diversification of resource import sources is a matter of life and death for Japan, which has few resources, but it takes time to produce concrete results.
Reasons for sticking to Myanmar
Some trips have made an impact on the world. A visit to Western Rakhine State, where foreigners are strictly restricted in Myanmar.
Myanmar led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Western countries have supported Suu Kyi for democratization, but have continued to condemn the Rohingya issue after the administration.
In August, more than 700,000 Rohingya people were evacuated to neighboring Bangladesh, triggered by the armed forces of the minority Muslim Rohingya and the Myanmar army. Rakhine State is the center of such Rohingya issues. The conflict between Rakhine and Rohingya has continued for over 20 years.
Kono's visit is the first foreign ministerial class since the battle. While visiting the villages of Rohingya people and being surrounded by many residents, Kono, who listens to the voices of the residents, was transmitted to the world through the media.
A month later, British Foreign Minister Johnson (current Prime Minister), who was criticizing Myanmar, visited.
During his tenure, Kono has visited Myanmar three times. What was the intention?
In January, he stated in the Diet's diplomatic speech:
“In the international order based on fundamental values such as freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights, we will speak for the voice of Asia aiming for democratization at each speed.”
The emphasis was on the importance of providing assistance from a medium- to long-term perspective, such as human resource development, so that developing countries in Asia can achieve independent economic development.
Little attention has been paid to diplomacy with developing countries.
However, the expectations of developing countries, especially Asian developing countries, are not small.
The “wall” that cannot be overcome
On the other hand, in many respects, it did not come to a concrete solution for many years of diplomatic issues with neighboring countries.
Recruitment issues with Korea
When I asked "What was left behind" at the last interview, Kono's regret that "I'm sorry to return it" was a worsening relationship between Japan and Korea.
Since taking office, there have been nearly 20 meetings with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa.
He established a relationship that frequently communicates with mobile phones, and Kono himself and Foreign Minister Kang said, “We know a lot about each other and have a deep relationship of trust.”
Based on the trusting relationship between ministers, Yasu tried to create a future-oriented relationship between Japan and Korea.
In October last year, the Korean Supreme Court sentenced Japanese companies to compensate for the issue of “recruitment” during the Pacific War.
Since then, the relationship between Japan and South Korea, which has deteriorated to the point of being the worst after the war, continues to find no clues to overcome the situation.
Russia and northern territories
Kono has negotiated the northern territory with Russia, following his grandfather Ichiro and his father Yohei for three generations.
The difficult diplomacy of Japanese diplomacy that could not be solved even after 70 years after the war did not move significantly.
Kono said at the last meeting, “I am very grateful that the person responsible for the negotiations when the peace treaty negotiations between Japan and Russia entered a new stage,” he said.
Middle East diplomacy as life work
Middle East diplomacy, one of Kono's five pillars of Japanese diplomacy.
Since the beginning of the legislature, Kono has been making human connections in the Middle East as a life work. The first foreign minister telephone conference as a foreign minister was Saudi Arabia. During his tenure, he visited the Middle East region eight times.
In Saudi Arabia, there was a reunion with the alumni of Georgetown University in the United States as ministers. The stability of the Middle East is vital to Japan's energy security.
One month since taking office. Kono launched the “Japan-Arab Political Dialogue” for the first time in order to step the economic relationship between Japan and Arab countries into a political and strategic one.
After that, he actively attended security meetings in the Middle East. However, contrary to Kono's feelings, the situation in the Middle East continues to be tense, triggered by the conflict between the United States and Iran.
The political dialogue with the Arab that was decided once every two years overlapped with the reshuffle of the cabinet, and two years later, the next meeting has not yet been decided.
"Naughty feeling"
One deputy lawmaker expressed Kono's charm as “a sense of mess”.
Kono continued to use English in many cases at the beginning of foreign ministerial meetings where the media entered.
However, in the “diplomatic protocol” that foreign bureaucrats say,
“Both foreign ministers talk in their native languages”
Is customary. It is said that it is misleading if it is not your native language, such as differences in nuances.
Although it may not be the intention of a foreign bureaucracy, criticism came out from some of the Kasumi clubs (Ministry of Foreign Affairs reporter clubs).
However, the horse ear eastern Kono
“I want the club to belong to someone who understands English at the beginning of the meeting.”
“Almost all reporters who belong to the Samurai Club belong to the Political Department, not the International Department.
And spelled it on blogs.
In addition, when the launch of a dedicated machine for the Foreign Minister was launched, it was in “bag dumpling”.
In the end, the introduction was postponed, but the cost of using the charter aircraft included in the budget request for next year's budget plan is 1,050 million yen for 500 hours. This was also criticized from some.
However, Kawano has been proclaiming “denuclearization” before entering the cabinet. now…
“I've become a lot of adults,” said a former deputy lawyer, who recently described Kono.
How should “excursion” be
Diplomacy may not have been so simple that even if it has its own breakthrough power, it will produce a visible result in over two years in office.
However, the criticism of “stamp rally trip” is not a concern.
At the last meeting, I asked you to sum up as a minister.
“No country shall be left behind”
I answered in my favorite English.
This wording, the philosophy of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals “SDGs”,
“No one will be left behind”
It is a phrase based on.
Kono said at the beginning of his office that he said "I don't think diplomacy can be done with a single phone call" at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
Direct visits will strengthen bilateral relations and convey the strengths of Japanese-style support. At the same time, I would like to raise Japan's presence in the international community toward the realization of the “free and open Indo-Pacific” set forth by the Japanese government.
That is the expression of the thoughts of “outing the country”.
“Over the past two years, requests for participation in international meetings with Japan have increased. For Japan to maintain its diplomatic influence and disseminate its position in Japan and Asia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will take the lead. We will continue to be required to stand and move. ''
What does Mogi think of his successor in the words of Kono?
"Diplomatic memorable than recorded"
What is waiting at the end of Japanese diplomacy led by Motegi?
(Honorifics omitted in the text)