This afternoon media announced that Barack Obama had made history. He’s going to be the first Black US President in American history, as well as the President from the Democratic Party which has not sent the President for eight years.
Whichever will become the next US President, Obama or McCain, as a Japanese citizen our big concern is whether the new President will treat us well or not. We are afraid that Japan’s national benefit might be somewhat impaired by the Democratic administration. Unlike Republicans, governors and congresspersons from the Democratic Party have treated Japan coldly in the past. We are anxious about the so-called “Japan passing” attitude coming up again. We’ll never forget that, when the former President Bill Clinton visited China in 1996, he “ignored” to see Japan and returned home without dropping in.
Our national security is also an important issue. There are several countries of which we need to be cautious, including China and North Korea. The current President Bush, apart from his other policies, has been playing an important role together with Japan’s Prime Ministers to keep the Asia-Pacific area still safe and secured, with great influence over those countries. On the other hand, seeing that the Democrats will be dominant in American government and congress, we wonder how much the United States will help us to protect our country from those “dangerous” countries. How much will Obama Administration be cooperative to save abducted people out of North Korea?
Nevertheless, however much we feel uneasy about Obama’s policies, Japan can’t live without the United States. We have no other options but to keep up with America’s way. All Japan has to do is to keep good relationships with the US, and, more than that, to make its best efforts not to be “ignored” by America and the other countries in the rest of the world.
Comments コメント
One response to “What will Obama do for Japan?”
Barack Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope,” provides a catchy title. It has a taste of bravery mixed confidently. You’ll find nothing Pollyanna regarding it. I will possibly not support every part he tells, but he’s our president, and for me, he inspires confidence. Which will do more for any country than any amount of backroom deals. Hope gives us energy, and energy sustains us through trying times. Boy, we’ve had them. I’m from West Texas, and I did not vote for Bush. When McCain ran against Obama, I used to be a citizen of Arizona, but I gave audacious hope a chance. The fight for progress and laying the foundations of prosperity is not over. I have seen the quips of those who don’t think Obama is capable of it. But step back a moment. Would anyone have all of us fail simply to tarnish the star of an incumbent for whom they did not vote? Keeping our priorities straight, let’s work together with this president and build our future.