A minister's slip of the tongue?
Why U.S./Japan workers need solidarity
By
John Catalinotto
A Japanese government official spoke his mind on New Year's
Day. What he said should be taken as a warning to the working
class in both the United States and Japan that it's past time
to build international solidarity.
Japanese Justice Minister Shozaburo Nakamura made some true
but usually unspoken remarks about U.S. policy. Greeting
ministry officials and prosecutors, Nakamura accused the U.S.
government of using military threats to protect U.S.-based
economic interests.
"America's `free-market economy' is not free," he said. "It
is the kind of freedom that can let loose atomic bombs and
missiles when another country looks to be winning."
Facing a U.S. government protest, the Japanese prime
minister quickly demanded an explanation from Nakamura. He
apologized at a cabinet meeting the next day and withdrew his
statement.
While Nakamura had to pull back, really he said little more
than U.S. policymakers admitted in the 1992 Pentagon "White
Paper," which insisted on U.S. economic and military hegemony
in every world region.
No accident
But that doesn't end the story. Nakamura is no accidental
figure. He is a former business leader who has been elected
seven times to Japan's lower house of Parliament. He has been a
cabinet member since July 1998.
The fact that a mainstream Japanese politician accused
Washington of bullying reflects an attitude undoubtedly shared
in important sections of the Japanese imperialist ruling class
that are tired of being pushed around by U.S. interests. This
weariness grows as the Japanese capitalist economy stays mired
in its worst depression since World War II -- and as
international economic competition sharpens.
Nakamura also complained that Japan has been unable to
change its pacifist constitution. Washington imposed this basic
law during the occupation. It dictates that the Japanese armed
forces be used only for defending Japan's islands. It makes
Japan's military perpetually subordinate to the Pentagon, even
in the Sea of Japan.
Tokyo's military expenses are a distant second to
Washington's, but they have been expanding every year. If
Japanese imperialism continues to expand its war machine, this
will increase the burden on the Japanese workers and be a
threat to other Asian nations.
Working-class and anti-war organizations in
Japan--especially the communist organizations--will undoubtedly
oppose a militarist policy.
It may seem unreasonable that U.S. and Japanese imperialism
would confront each other militarily at present. Ever since
U.S. imperialism dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, and then occupied the country, Japan's ruling class
has subordinated its interests--albeit unwillingly--to the
joint conflict against the Soviet Union, People's China and the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Today, however, there is no longer a Soviet Union.
Differences between the two powers emerge almost daily.
Nonetheless, U.S. and Japanese bosses still find time to unite
in their criminal aggression against north Korea.
U.S./Japan workers need solidarity
Whatever happens in Japan, workers in the United States can
serve their own interests only by opposing Washington's
bullying and by striving to build solidarity with the working
class throughout Asia, including the Japanese workers.
In a 1997 conflict over port rules, that's exactly what the
International Longshore and Warehouse Union did. In the fall of
that year, Washington tried to impose work-rule changes in
Japanese ports--in effect telling the Japanese unions that the
U.S. government should set their labor rules. The U.S. Federal
Maritime Commission even called on the Coast Guard to stop
Japanese container ships from entering or leaving U.S.
ports.
ILWU President Brian McWilliams pledged that the North
American union, which loads and unloads ships on the West Coast
in the United States and Canada, would defy the FMC and work on
any Japanese ships calling here.
This type of united labor action needs to be fortified. It's
unfortunate that the Steel Workers union has recently joined in
steel company ads pushing the phony and racist slogan of "buy
American." This is a bosses' slogan. It is designed to break
solidarity between Japanese and U.S. workers--and it totally
ignores the fact that U.S. firms are notorious for their
runaway shops.
The anti-war movement here must also make it clear that it
opposes the continued occupation of Japan by 47,000 U.S. troops
in 78 U.S. military bases and installations--40 in Okinawa
alone. The International Action Center set a good example here
on Oct. 21, when it held a demonstration in solidarity with the
Japanese and Okinawan movement to oust U.S. bases. And of
course the movements in both Japan and the United States should
fight to stop any aggression against Korea.
Nakamura's statement is an early warning of a bosses'
conflict that workers must not take sides in, except to fight
the ruling class at home.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
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