NEWSWEEK: Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa favors an expanded Japanese military, and has implied that Tokyo should go nuclear. You oppose both ideas. Why join forces?
KAN: Two reasons. One, it is more effective to create a coalition among the opposition parties to smash and destroy the LDP-led government. The other reason is that we agree with the Liberal Party’s basic policies, especially the belief that we must change Japan. When we look at present-day Japan, Ozawa’s ideas are considered middle of the road. It shows how Japan has changed. And as far as I know, Ozawa has never insisted Japan should arm itself with nuclear weapons.
Your party’s popularity rating was something like 2.9 percent a year ago. How will you defeat Prime Minister Koizumi?
We fought three national elections after we formed the current party. Before those elections, our support was in the 6 to 10 percent range, but the results were different. Take the 1998 Upper House election, for example. We won and the LDP experienced a miserable defeat. Whatever the support rate is before the elections, we can wage a good fight.
What is the biggest philosophical difference between yourself and Koizumi?
All he does is talk. All I do is take action and achieve.
What would you do differently if you were in charge?
In Japanese politics it is the bureaucrats who come up with policies and carry them out. Politicians are like actors and actresses who perform according to the scripts written by bureaucrats. I write my own scenes.
Should failing companies, such as Daiei, be allowed to collapse?
In principle, we have to let the market mechanism decide. The present Japanese system is still “too big to fail.” Even inefficient companies [are kept alive] and, as a result, are not revitalizing the economy. Instead, they are bringing the economy down. I believe in principle that we have to let the market mechanism weed out some companies.
Optimists say that the stock market is on the mend and that GDP growth is better. Do you think this will continue?
I think this is a cyclical recovery. Structurally, nothing has been solved. I think it is going to be more difficult in the future because investments in plants and equipment, which increased recently after having stalled for so long, won’t continue to grow. I am afraid this is really a temporary recovery.
You have criticized Koizumi for blindly following the lead of the United States in foreign policy. How would you change that?
Unfortunately, Japan has emphasized relations with the United States and failed to build confidence and understanding with Asian countries. Take the North Korea problem, for example: I think we could find ways to solve things within the [region], though we need help from the United States. However, Japan has not taken the initiative. Ever since Koizumi took his post we have not achieved trusting relationships with China and South Korea. Our ties with the United States are vital, but our relations with Asian countries are equally important.
