Ishihara On The Stump - Credit Rating Agencies Get An Earful
Back to Contents of Issue: August 2002
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 For someone who's supposed to be lining himself up to be Japan's next prime minister, Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara sure has a lot of negative things to say -- especially about the perceived enemy abroad: S&P and Moody's included. With the woefully ineffectual Koizumi's popularity heading south, many consider Ishihara as a possible successor. His four-year term as Tokyo governor will end next spring, and there has been widespread speculation that he will return to national politics if the Diet were to be dissolved before then. For now, though, Ishihara is keeping his cards close to his chest. Not that that stops him sounding off on a range of issues. We caught him in a particularly expansive mood at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. On the rating downgrades: -- What they did I consider very unreasonable. I think these rating companies still don't completely grasp the power or the potential that Japan possesses, yet hasn't been able to exercise. -- Japan may have a lot of bargaining chips or cards that we can play with. I'm not saying we should pick a fight with the US, but I think we should use them as part of legitimate diplomatic negotiations. For example, we could still negotiate on joint use of Yokota air base. It's like a game of poker. I still think Japan has cards to play, but it doesn't know what it's holding -- four of a kind or a full house. Because Japan doesn't know its potential, it has become a laughing stock. It's even ridiculed by moronic credit rating agencies. [Finance minister, Masajuro] Shiokawa may have talked back to them, but there is no genuine reaction coming out of Japan. I have no intention of making a complaint here in front of you but I am very regretful. On the allegation that China is openly infringing intellectual property rights: -- I have no prejudice against the Shina Jin (Chinese), but in many cases, they seem to be unconcerned by this daylight robbery. Since they are now a member of the World Trade Organization, I expect them to pay due respect to intellectual property rights or industrial property rights. I think patents and IPRs should be duly respected and appreciated. Otherwise, China is not qualified to be a member of the WTO. On Japanese financial potential: -- One potential is money Japan has. It is true that the Japanese government has issued many JGBs and is borrowing so much money from its citizens, but Japan isn't borrowing a penny from foreign countries. It's the largest creditor nation in the world and yet the economy is suffering so much. It is so strange. Japanese consumers spent JPY300 trillion last year -- a significant number, which is one indication of Japan's financial strength. -- The amount that Japan spends on US treasuries is JPY300 trillion. I think we should think about utilizing this amount of money. I'm not saying that Japan should sell US bonds. I'm just saying that there is a better way of utilizing these treasury instruments by using them as collateral to bring in foreign money. On Japanese bureaucracy controlling information: -- Currently there is a heated debate about information. These personal information bills will determine who is going to possess what kind of information. The essence of the matter is that Japan is a country where the central bureaucracy rules everything -- where the central bureaucracy possesses all the power based upon the information it holds. The idea is that bureaucracy knows it all, so the subjects may just as well follow their orders. That is to say, that Japanese people get information of the kind they should know, but shouldn't have the information they want to know. Even politicians are controlled by the bureaucracy. I think the most grotesque and ludicrous involvement of the kind is the LDP (ruling Liberal Democratic Party). On re-expansion of Tokyo Haneda airport: -- Ever since I was the transportation minister, so much has been said about the importance of Haneda's second re-expansion. After I became Tokyo governor, I pressed again on the issue, but MOF claimed it doesn't have money, saying, "If you are the one who is advocating it, why won't the Tokyo government put money on the table?" I'm not saying we cannot pay, but if they are asking the Tokyo Government to pay, I want to be able to operate the airport. I would securitize the project and I would sell it. @ | |
