Ex-Pentagon official warns of Japan's decline - ‘‘Few in Japan share my concern’’

Ex-Pentagon official warns of Japan's decline
Japan Today, Friday February 06, 2009, 08:43 AM JST

WASHINGTON — A former senior Defense Department official warned Thursday that Japan must take action to arrest the decline in its regional and international standing. ‘‘The erosion of Japan’s international, regional position has begun,’’ said Richard Lawless, deputy undersecretary of defense for Asia and Pacific security affairs. ‘‘If this marginalization process of Japan is not addressed openly and proactively, the relative decline will accelerate,’’ he said, adding that ‘‘Few in Japan share my concern.’’

Lawless said in a speech that Japan’s decline is partly attributable to the ongoing global financial crisis, which has forced many leading Japanese companies to expect to fall into the red. As well, he pointed out inaction on the part of Japanese policymakers in relation to a plethora of challenges, as exemplified by the recent response to piracy off the coast of Somalia.

It took China ‘‘about 10 seconds’’ to decide to participate in an antipiracy mission there, but Japan spent a tremendous amount of time before deciding this week to send two destroyers on a similar mission, Lawless said.

‘‘It’s not bad, but sad,’’ he said.

A former CIA official, Lawless played a major role in talks with Japan and South Korea over the realignment of U.S. forces and military bases in the two U.S. allies in Asia. He was also active in promoting military exchanges between the United States and China.

He expressed hope a new Japanese government to be launched after the next general election, which must be held by September, will ‘‘get serious’’ about Japan’s decline and take steps to counter it.

‘‘That new government, I think, must take a long, hard look at Japan and the region and the world, and make its own decisions about what it’s going to do,’’ he said.

‘‘If Japan wants to be where it needs to be, it needs to act like it’s in the game,’’ Lawless said. ‘‘It’s not a spectator.’’