The year 2000 witnessed a complicated scene in Japan. The replacement of the setup of a strong government over a weak opposition by a confrontation between the ruling coalition under the Liberal Democratic Party and t...The year 2000 witnessed a complicated scene in Japan. The replacement of the setup of a strong government over a weak opposition by a confrontation between the ruling coalition under the Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition camp led by the Democratic Party resulted in continued political instability. Under heavy pressure from the media, the opposition and his own party, the Mori regime was in jitters. Though having bottomed out, the Japanese economy has shrunken with faltering steps towards a self-generating recovery yet to come. The heavy burden of fiscal deficits had hampered recovery and sustained development with financial risks lingering. Even so Tokyo still launched diplomatic offensive on some key fronts. It cut a figure in playing host to the Group Eight Summit and realized diversification of its Asia policy by achieving diplomatic breakthroughs in relations with Pyongyang and Moscow and beefing up ties with New Delhi. Meanwhile, it showed bigger national assertiveness toward Washington and raised stricter demands on Beijing. In 2001, the ruling coalition will most probably once again face government with the image of the Mori regime hard to win popular trust in the scheduled senate election. Its conservative political line is discredited with calls for reform running high and a scene of evenly-matched trial of strength taking initial shape between two major political parties. In the economic arena, Tokyo will intensify reform and quicken the step of economic recovery. The government intends to take “a middle-course of rapid growth" by paying equal attention to reform and development by focusing on the IT industry and targeting Asia market. But there will be no plain sailing. On the diplomatic front, Tokyo is expected to rely on its alliance with Washington, yet tinged with bigger assertiveness. It will shift the focus to Asia by winning support from the ASEAN nations, strengthening ties with China and India, breaking up the diplomatic deadlock in relations with Russia and North Korea, thus turning passivity into initiative in accelerating the quest for a big power status on the world stage.展开更多
文摘The year 2000 witnessed a complicated scene in Japan. The replacement of the setup of a strong government over a weak opposition by a confrontation between the ruling coalition under the Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition camp led by the Democratic Party resulted in continued political instability. Under heavy pressure from the media, the opposition and his own party, the Mori regime was in jitters. Though having bottomed out, the Japanese economy has shrunken with faltering steps towards a self-generating recovery yet to come. The heavy burden of fiscal deficits had hampered recovery and sustained development with financial risks lingering. Even so Tokyo still launched diplomatic offensive on some key fronts. It cut a figure in playing host to the Group Eight Summit and realized diversification of its Asia policy by achieving diplomatic breakthroughs in relations with Pyongyang and Moscow and beefing up ties with New Delhi. Meanwhile, it showed bigger national assertiveness toward Washington and raised stricter demands on Beijing. In 2001, the ruling coalition will most probably once again face government with the image of the Mori regime hard to win popular trust in the scheduled senate election. Its conservative political line is discredited with calls for reform running high and a scene of evenly-matched trial of strength taking initial shape between two major political parties. In the economic arena, Tokyo will intensify reform and quicken the step of economic recovery. The government intends to take “a middle-course of rapid growth" by paying equal attention to reform and development by focusing on the IT industry and targeting Asia market. But there will be no plain sailing. On the diplomatic front, Tokyo is expected to rely on its alliance with Washington, yet tinged with bigger assertiveness. It will shift the focus to Asia by winning support from the ASEAN nations, strengthening ties with China and India, breaking up the diplomatic deadlock in relations with Russia and North Korea, thus turning passivity into initiative in accelerating the quest for a big power status on the world stage.
