TAKAYAMA: What do you think of the high rate of support for the Obuchi administration? KATO: What Obuchi has been doing is giving a camphor injection from time to time, such as tax reduction, putting aside financial structural reform. Such injections are not a real solution, but give an impression to the people that the economic situation is taking off from the bottom. People need a little comfort, so Obuchi has been practicing the politics of “healing.” Maybe that’s why the support rate has been high.
What’s the major difference between you and Obuchi? Obuchi doesn’t express his vision clearly. He takes a very traditional approach to managing politics. He says he has no opinions or even calls himself “empty” or a “vacuum,” meaning he can absorb others’ opinions. His style of leadership worked as long as society and the economy functioned well without problems. But at a time when we are facing the millennium, people are longing for a strong message. That’s what I want to give.
Why challenge Obuchi now–when you are likely to lose–instead of waiting until you have a better shot? I know that the present situation is advantageous to Obuchi. But I can see so many people losing confidence in Japan’s future. They are worried that Japan’s industrial competitiveness is finished; worse, there is tremendous concern about whether people will have a dignified old age in our rapidly graying society. I am running in the presidential race because it’s time the members of the party expressed strong visions for the future. It’s important to assure the Japanese people that Japan is still hanging in there and that there is a future for them. The presidential election should be a place for such a debate. To become prime minister should not be a goal of a politician. What’s important is what you do when you become one. The election will give me a chance to express my vision to the people. If they like my ideas, I may have a better chance to become prime minister in the future.
How would you revitalize the economy? We should pour human and financial resources into basic scientific research and try to remove barriers between the research sector and industry. Japan’s national universities and research institutes have lost flexibility to encourage their creativity. I think they should be privatized.
What’s your view of present and future Japan? Britain suffered the English disease 25 years ago. The situation in the United States 10 years ago was very much like Japan today. They overcame hard times. Why can’t we? Japan spent decades catching up with the West, and Southeast Asian countries followed Japan. About 10 years ago, Japan started looking for a new direction, its own dream. Not money or military power. The answer for Japan may be to find a new frontier in human resources, in its intellectual assets.
What would you say about Japan’s English education? At Japanese high schools and universities, students are required to read T. S. Eliot or Somerset Maugham. Yet they cannot shop in English in New York or express their opinions at international conferences. English is needed for international financial dealings. We should consider English as a tool of communication or a tool to use the Internet. We need radical reform of our English education.
What do you think of North Korea? The only way for North Korea to be a threat to Japan is via guerrilla warfare. Its military capacity is too weak to face the U.S.-Japan alliance. Its economy is very weak, and the only way for North Koreans to survive is to use threats to compensate for their weakness. They threaten a Taepodong [missile] launch or pretend they have nuclear capabilities; in exchange, they try to get [foreign] energy assistance and food. I think this sort of diplomacy won’t last long. We need to bring them into international society as quickly as possible.
What about China? The North Korea issue will be solved within five to 10 years. But how to deal with China will be a theme for Japan for the next 100 years. We need to have constructive engagement with China and build mature bilateral relations through frank talks. Unfortunately, Japan tends to overestimate Chinese power, and China tends to be overly suspicious of Japan’s economy and its so-called nationalism.
