Eric's Beijing Diary

Who is this extraordinary woman? How did she become such a popular figure, generating widespread support from the Japanese people? And how did she end up generating such rage from the Chinese, as reflected by this comment by the Xue Jian, the consul general in Osaka: “The filthy head that recklessly sticks itself in must be cut off without a moment’s hesitation?”

Could she have imagined her current popularity years ago when she was riding around Japan on her Kawasaki 400? What are the circumstances that came together to place her in this unique and powerful position? I had a history prof in college who said, "Men make a lot of history, but history makes a lot of men." The Bible says (Psalm 75:6-8), "For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.  But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another." But if it is God who makes these decisions, we are still left to wonder  at the actions of men or the accidents of history that made this person necessary at this time. After all, we are not just puppets on a string. We have a certain measure of agency, although I am hesitant to call that "free will," because that implies that we are completely free to act righteously apart from God's redeeming grace.

When we see someone rise to prominence, we tend to assign virtue to that person. But the older I get, the more I am inclined to see the majesty of God in raising up people for his own purposes. So our study of history is really the story of "His story." When it's actually happening, we say, "Lord, what are you thinking?" but as time goes on we begin to see the wisdom of his purposes. We don't see the answer to all things, but this does not stop us from searching. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. (Proverbs 25:2)"

She was a protege of Sinzo Abe. I don't think she ever would have gotten to where she is today without him. But she was also strongly influenced by Margaret Thatcher. But I don't know that Thatcher should be given all the credit for Takaichi's staunch conservatism. That, I think would have much more to do with her simple stable background. Her mother was a police officer, and her father worked for an automotive company.

So how did Sanae Takaichi manage to bring on the ire of the Chinese so soon after taking office? It has to me emphasized that she did not pick this fight. The culprit is a man by the name of Katsuya Okada. He challenged Takaichi repeatedly in the Diet. She finally answered his hypothetical about China. The Japanese weren't fooled by his antics, but the Chinese walked right into the trap he had set for them and lashed out at Takeichi.

Let's just get right to the point: China is not good at diplomacy. Over and over again, they take actions which have the exact opposite of the effect they intended. I don't care how big and powerful you are, you can't function very well in any arena if you don't have at least some allies. I don't know if Takaichi ever would have been an ally, but she had no intention of picking a fight with China, so in my opinion, they should have tried to make her a friend. But mostly they should have seen that they were being used by Okada for his own purposes. Okada is not an ally of China. He is an ally of the person he sees in the mirror.

Below you can see a British ballot. But where is the place for the Prime Minister? Answer: In a Parliamentary system, the people don't actually vote directly for the Prime Minister. They vote for or against his party. Is this a good idea? Well, it depends on how you look at it. In some ways, it is good, because it eliminates gridlock. Since the prime minister is always, always, always a member of the ruling party, you don't have a situation where the prime minister is from one party, and the House of Commons is being ruled by the other party. Isn't that good? Not always. In America, in the old South, there used to be Democrats who sould vote Democratic for local offices, and then vote for the Republican candidate in the Presidential spot. Why? Because they were southern conservatives, and the national Democratic party would often put in a northern liberal. Southern conservatives were never going to vote for a yankee. So they voted for the Republican choice. It must be admitted that a parliamentary system does not allow that level of flexibility.

So what does the future hold? I don't have a crystal ball, but I do believe that Sanae Takaichi will play an important role in keeping the peace in Asia. because of her firm stand and unflappable temperament. But there needs to be lots more communication between Japan and China on this issue. Good relationship between Japan and China favors both sides. And they need each other. Over the years I have had several students who went to Japan after graduation, both to study and to work. Japanese bosses love Chinese workers. Chinese workers tend to be multilingual. Japanese workers are more like Americans: They speak only their own language.

So what does the future hold? I don't have a crystal ball, but I do believe that Sanae Takaichi will play an important role in keeping the peace in Asia. because of her firm stand and unflappable temperament. But there needs to be lots more communication between Japan and China on this issue. Good relationship between Japan and China favors both sides. And they need each other. Over the years I have had several students who went to Japan after graduation, both to study and to work. Japanese bosses love Chinese workers. Chinese workers tend to be multilingual. The speak English, they speak Mandarin, many of them also speak a native village dialect, and they teach themselves Japanese very quickly.