2023-04-19 03:30:00
Yuko Kishida, the wife of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, met with Jill, the wife of President Biden, during a visit to the United States on the 17th. She is the first wife of a former Japanese prime minister to visit the United States on her own. It’s her position that worries her. At the time of the Moritomo Gakuen scandal, she was decided by the Cabinet that “the Prime Minister’s wife is a private person.” Since it’s US-style first lady diplomacy, is it okay to just say that? (Haruka Osugi)
◆ “Private person” who “assists the Prime Minister in carrying out his official duties”
Yuko Kishida, the wife of Prime Minister Kishida, poses for a photo with President Biden (left) and his wife Jill (right) at the White House on June 17 (provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, jointly)
“On the morning of the 17th, Prime Minister Kishida visited the White House and held a meeting.” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno introduced his visit to the United States at a press conference on the morning of the 18th. By the way, “Mrs.” seems to be a “honorific title for the wife of a nobleman or someone else’s wife” (Kojien, 7th edition).
According to Matsuno, Yuko introduced Jill to the idea of ”once-in-a-lifetime chances,” and during the meeting, “we shared the wonderful relationship between Japan and the United States.” After the meeting, the two also explained that they planted a cherry tree in the White House garden, saying, “It shows that Japan and the United States are more closely and firmly connected than ever before.”
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when Prime Minister Kishida visited the United States in January, Yuko was originally scheduled to accompany him, but since Jill had just undergone surgery, she had to visit the United States alone. Although it was in the form of Jill’s invitation, the cost is “public expense”. “Like accompanying the prime minister on foreign visits, it is positioned as an activity that assists the prime minister in carrying out his official duties,” Matsuno said. A diplomatic passport was used and an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accompanied him, but his position was that he was a private person.
Regarding the position of the prime minister’s wife, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife, Akie, served as honorary principal of Moritomo Gakuen, which received a special sale of state-owned land, and recommended participants for the “Cherry Blossom Viewing Party”. was viewed as a problem. Each time, the government decided at a cabinet meeting that “the prime minister’s wife is not a public figure but a private person.” Further legal status remains to be determined. It is still difficult to understand, such as positioning it as “assistance in the performance of official duties” even though it was a solo visit to the United States, and using public funds even though it was a “private person.”
What if there is a problem with private diplomacy?
“The first lady of the United States has an office, an entourage, and comes out of the White House budget. Noriko Hirabayashi, Professor Emeritus of Saitama University (American Politics) speaks. “In the presidential election, the first lady candidate also has an impact on the outcome. Michelle Obama was more popular than Obama, and Melania Trump was also tested in speeches at party conventions.The prime minister of Japan is a member of the party. And the members of the Diet will choose her, and the people will not judge the aptitude of the ‘prime minister’s wife’ and choose her, so the origins are different.”
Mr. Hirabayashi points to the existence of the imperial family as a difference between Japan and the United States. “In Japan, there is a division of roles between the prime minister for power and the imperial family for symbolic authority. The president of the United States has both roles, and the first lady is a presence that helps the president as a symbol of the country. There is no need to expect the wife to perform as well as the first lady,” he said.
Hiroyuki Kamiwaki, a professor of constitutional law at Kobe Gakuin University, also pointed out that Akie’s accountability was not fulfilled because she was a private citizen, saying, “I still understand if she goes with the prime minister, but if she goes only with her spouse, diplomatic issues will arise. Even if a problem occurs, they will not take any responsibility,” he said. He said, “Under the Constitution, the Cabinet is jointly responsible to the Diet, but using a private individual for diplomacy is not what the Constitution envisions.”
Prime Minister Kishida has just been accused of making his eldest son a political secretary, but Mr. Kamiwaki lamented, “Political privatization has become the norm.” “With the single-seat constituency system, the position of the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, who has the right to approve the election, and the position of the prime minister have become inseparable, and no one has complained. We must continue to say that taxes and diplomacy should not be privatized.”
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