LONDON — Japan's prestige abroad has continued to decline despite the change from the clapped out Liberal Democratic Party with its series of old hack prime ministers to a government led by the Democratic Party of Japan. Foreign observers thought that surely a DPJ government must represent a change for the better, but Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama was indecisive and a disappointment.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan began with one great advantage. He was not the complete throwback to the old days of money politics, which the election of Ichiro Ozawa would have meant. But Kan's handling of foreign affairs has been disappointing at best.
Relations with the United States are crucial. At a recent meeting between Kan and U.S. President Barack Obama in Yokohama, Kan is reported to have assured Obama that the agreement on the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps base on Okinawa would be carried out, but after all the shilly-shallying in the past, many fear that the Japanese government may once again be tempted to find excuses for further delay. Local Okinawan opposition is understandable but the Japanese government's reputation will be seriously damaged if the agreement is not fully implemented.