Opinion Thank you, Yoshiro Mori By Joseph LaPenta	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
森さん、ありがとう 森喜朗首相の退陣が確実となり、 後継者選びが注目されている。 森首相の行動や発言はさまざまな批判を生んだ。 しかし、彼のおかげで新しい言葉の意味を知ったり、 自民党とは何かを考える機会を得たことを、 私たちは感謝するべきかもしれない。

Yoshiro Mori may still be prime minister of Japan when this column is published, but it is clear that his days as leader are numbered. However, we all owe Mr. Mori a great debt of gratitude. His term as prime minister has taught us important lessons about Japan. It has also been an excellent opportunity to study Japanese politics in English and to learn some interesting expressions.

In English, the political organization led by Mr. Mori is called the Liberal Democratic Party. That is a bit misleading. Speakers of English who follow Japanese politics already know that the LDP is not "Liberal," not very "Democratic," and not really a "Party." To be "liberal" in politics means "favoring free trade and reforms that increase individual freedom." The LDP seems to favor free trade, but only for Japan's exports, not for imports from abroad. In addition, the LDP does not have much of a record of promoting individual freedom.

"Democratic" means "by popular choice" or "representative of the people." When former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi died, his replacement, Mr. Mori, was chosen by a small group of bosses in a smoke-filled room. There was no vote of LDP party members or elected LDP politicians. That was hardly what we would call "Democratic."

Finally, in English, a political party is a "group of people united by a cause or philosophy." The LDP does not seem to have a uniform cause or philosophy apart from getting its members elected. It is a collection of factions.

Mr. Mori has taught us a lot about what is acceptable public speech in Japan. Many people accused him of constantly putting his foot in his mouth, but he was clearly saying what he sincerely believed. He was not pretending to be politically correct, and he never denied even his most outrageous statements.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, it is unthinkable for a prime minister to use Nazi slogans. Mr. Mori called Japan "a divine nation with the emperor at its center." That was a prewar slogan with racist and militarist overtones. The rest of the world should know that some very influential Japanese still hold such views. Mr. Mori used other war-time expressions and made a joke at the expense of AIDS victims. His popularity continued to drop, but the majority of his party still supported him.

It is interesting to note that the straw that broke the camel's back had nothing to do with language. Mr. Mori continued to play golf after receiving news that the Ehime Maru had been sunk. Those who know about European history may have been reminded of an expression about insensitive leaders: Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

According to legend, the Roman Emperor Nero (A.D. 37-68) played the fiddle while fires swept through Rome. In fact, the "fiddle" was really a harp, but Nero did love music. Historians agree that Nero probably ordered the burning himself to rebuild a beautiful new Rome. He also tried to blame the fire on the Christians, a minority group at the time.

"Mori golfed while students drowned" may never become a famous expression, but the incident finally turned the tide against him.

So, thank you Mr. Mori for giving us a look at the mind of a rather ordinary local politician. The truth may sometimes be unpleasant, but in public life, where few people ever say what they actually think, Mr. Mori really said a mouthful.

Shukan ST: April 13, 2001

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