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Mr. Nakasone was a rarity in the nepotistic, insider-driven world of Japanese politics, a self-made man whose father was a lumber dealer in the poor mountainous prefecture of Gunma, north of Tokyo. As a paymaster in Japan’s Imperial Navy during World War II, Mr. Nakasone said, he developed an enormous pride in his country and an admiration for the strength and ideals of its former foe, the United States.
Two years after the war’s end, he gave up a promising career in an elite government ministry to run for Parliament with the belief that in its postwar remorse, Japan was in danger of discarding its traditional values. As a freshman lawmaker in 1951, he delivered a 28-page letter to General MacArthur criticizing the occupation, a brazen move. The general angrily threw the letter in the wastebasket, Mr. Nakasone was later told.
This established his credentials as a right-wing politician, and one of the rare Liberal Democratic leaders who escaped the taint of the party’s money-driven machine politics. Indeed, when asked about his career-long affiliation with the Liberal Democrats, he was quick to distance himself by proclaiming himself a lifelong member of what he once called Japan’s “conservative mainstream.”
He described the end of the Liberal Democrats’ half-century of governing as a national opening on par with the wrenching social and political changes that followed defeat in the war. He praised the appearance of a strong second political party as a step toward true democracy.
“FOR the development of Japan’s democracy, I did not think it was good for the Liberal Democratic Party to last forever, or for it to be a permanent ruling party. Being knocked out of power is a good chance to study in the cram school of public opinion.”
Yet, Mr. Nakasone said the victors, particularly Mr. Hatoyama, had a lot to learn, especially about leadership.
As an example, he pointed to his own diplomatic achievements as prime minister. He said he cast aside the deferential pose of his predecessors and seized a high profile at multilateral summit meetings, speaking out in support of the Reagan administration’s hard line against the Soviet Union. This won him a personal friendship with Mr. Reagan, which put the two men on a first-name basis and won Japan more respect globally.
The path to a more equal Japan lies with the United States, not apart from it, he said. He also faulted Mr. Hatoyama for giving Washington the impression that he valued ties with China more than he did those with the United States.
“Because of the prime minister’s imprudent remarks, the current situation calls for Japan to make efforts to improve things,” he said.
The relationship with the United States is different from that with China, he said, because “it is built on a security alliance, and not just on the alliance, but on the shared values of liberal democracy, and on its shared ideals.”
These shared values should be enough to bind the United States and Japan together even in tough times, Mr. Nakasone said. So should the personal bonds between their leaders, which can last a lifetime. Mr. Nakasone contributed a cherry tree to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., and attended the funeral of his old friend almost six years ago. He said he still corresponded with the former first lady, Nancy Reagan.
“In the end, friendly relations between nations depend on the sense of trust between their leaders,” he said. “Problems like Okinawa can be solved by talking together.”
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