Aso Focuses On Diplomacy

身陷困境的日本首相麻生太郎(Taro Aso)正把自己的政治前途押在了手中为数不多的一张政策牌上：外交。68岁的麻生太郎即将访问美国，成为美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)入主白宫以来首位到访的外国首脑。但在日本国内，麻生太郎却面临着日益烫手的麻烦问题。由于出口锐减，去年第四季度日本经济出现了35年来最为严重的收缩。Associated Press日本首相麻生太郎（中）乘坐飞机前往华盛顿但日本却没有多少政策施展空间，因为政府面临着巨额财政赤字，利率也已经降至接近零的水平。而且，日本政府还得不到选民的支持，麻生太郎的政策摇摆不定和出言不慎是原因之一。《日本经济新闻》(Nikkei)周一公布的一项调查显示，目前麻生太郎内阁的支持率只有15%。而在对另一个问题的回答中，70%的受访者表示应当在未来数月提前进行大选，早于10月份的最后期限。这种结果可能会导致麻生太郎所在的日本自民党(Liberal Democratic Party)被迫下台，这对将自民党视为盟友的华盛顿来说，可能是个麻烦。除了在上世纪九十年代初短暂下野之外，自民党执掌日本政权已经有50多年了。日本民主党(Democratic Party of Japan)是目前的主要反对党；如果自民党届时落败，民主党可能会接过政权。民主党提倡在美日双边安保联盟中与美国发展“更为平等的伙伴关系”，并多次反对执政党通过议案授权日本与华盛顿发展军事合作，包括在印度洋为美国舰船提供加油的行动。麻生太郎可能希望借周二与奥巴马的会谈展示自己的成就。尽管遭遇国会僵局，他的国内经济措施一再受到拖延难以通过，但麻生太郎最近几周一直侧重于会见全球领导人，突出日本在应对全球金融危机中发挥的重要作用。周二美日两国领导人会谈的重要议题就是阿富汗的重建和对巴基斯坦的支持。麻生太郎还将强调日本近期向国际货币基金组织(IMF)提供1,000亿美元贷款的行动，该行动旨在确保IMF能向遭受危机冲击的国家提供援助。在离开东京之前的电视直播新闻发布会上，麻生太郎说，我们希望与美国达成共识，两国将携手应对这些全球性和长期性的问题。出访华盛顿之前，麻生太郎度过了繁忙的一周。他先是在东京欢迎来访的美国国务卿希拉里(Hillary Clinton)，然后又飞往俄罗斯远东地区的库页岛与俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫(Dmitry Medvedev)讨论了双边领土问题。然而，麻生太郎此番赴美却没能带着他原先希望带去的好消息：日本正紧随其他主要国家采取措施刺激国内经济。自去年10月以来，麻生太郎已经宣布了总计价值75万亿日圆（8,400亿美元）的三项经济计划，其中包括12万亿日圆的财政支出。但由于国会僵局，在这三项计划中，只有价值11.5万亿日圆的第一项计划得到批准付诸实施。麻生太郎曾希望国会批准始于4月1日的下一财年预算案，其中包括了价值37万亿日圆的刺激计划。但在反对党的炮轰促使财务大臣中川昭一(Shoichi Nakagawa)辞职后，麻生太郎不得不放弃了上述计划。由于记录了他在七大工业国(G7)一次会议上失态表现的录像在网络上广泛流传，中川昭一饱受批评。他将自己表现失态归咎于感冒药的副作用。目前日本反对党民主党已经在国会两院之一获得了多数席位，并借助这一优势拖延经济刺激举措的通过，从而给麻生太郎带来打击。五个月前上任时，麻生太郎就宣布经济问题是他的头等大事。Yuka Hayashi相关阅读希拉里出访日本 美国做两手准备 2009-02-18经济乌云蔽日 日本群龙无首 2009-02-18


Taro Aso, Japan's embattled prime minister, is betting his future on one of the few policy cards he has left: diplomacy. On the eve of becoming the first foreign leader to meet President Barack Obama in the White House, the 68-year-old Mr. Aso faces mounting problems at home. Japan's economy contracted at its fastest pace in 35 years during the October-December quarter as exports plunged. But the nation doesn't have much room for policy maneuvering, as the government faces a huge fiscal deficit and interest rates are already close to zero. Furthermore, the government is unpopular among voters, in part because of Mr. Aso's policy flip-flops and gaffes. A poll released Monday by the Nikkei newspaper showed only 15% of respondents approved of Mr. Aso's cabinet. In response to another question, 70% of those polled said a general election should be held within the next few months, well ahead of the October deadline. Such a vote could force Mr. Aso's Liberal Democratic Party out of power -- which would be a headache for Washington, which has counted on the LDP as an ally. The LDP has been Japan's ruling party for five decades, except for a brief period in the early 1990s. The Democratic Party of Japan is the main opposition party that could take power if the LDP is defeated. The Democratic Party advocates a 'more equal partnership' with the U.S. in its bilateral security alliance and has clashed with the ruling party on legislation authorizing Japan's military cooperation with Washington, including refueling of U.S. ships operating in the Indian Ocean. Mr. Aso may be hoping his meeting with Mr. Obama Tuesday is an opportunity to show off his achievements. While a deadlock in the parliament has delayed passage of his domestic economic measures, Mr. Aso has focused in recent weeks on meeting world leaders and pitching Japan's role in the global effort to address the global financial crisis. Atop the agenda for Tuesday's meeting is the reconstruction of Afghanistan and support for Pakistan. Mr. Aso also will highlight Japan's recent $100 billion loan to the International Monetary Fund to ensure help to countries affected by the crisis. 'We'd like to share the conclusion with the U.S. that the two nations will join hands to respond fully to these problems that are global and long-term in nature,' Mr. Aso said in a televised news conference before his departure from Tokyo. The visit to Washington follows a busy week for Mr. Aso. He welcomed U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Tokyo and flew to Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East to meet with President Dmitry Medvedev to discuss bilateral territorial issues. However, Mr. Aso is visiting Mr. Obama without the news he had hoped to bring: that Japan is implementing steps to stimulate its domestic economy in lockstep with other major nations. Since October, Mr. Aso has announced three economic packages with a combined value of 75 trillion yen, or $840 billion, including 12 trillion yen in fiscal spending. But of the three, only the first package, valued at 11.5 trillion yen, has been cleared for implementation because of a parliamentary stalemate. Mr. Aso wanted to secure parliamentary approval for the budget for the next fiscal year starting April 1, which includes a stimulus package valued at 37 trillion yen. He had to give up the plan after the opposition party became fired up by the resignation of Finance Minister Shoichiro Nakagawa. Mr. Nakagawa came under criticism after videos of his odd demeanor at a Group of Seven meeting went public on the Internet last week. Mr. Nakagawa blamed the effect of cold medicine. With a majority in one of the two chambers of the parliament, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan has used its clout to delay the passage of stimulus steps -- a blow to Mr. Aso, who started his tenure five months ago by declaring the economy his No. 1 priority. Yuka Hayashi