Should we care about Japan's political turmoil?
These days, when a Japanese prime minister resigns, the temptation is to say just two things. One is 'ho'; the other is 'hum'.
Since the early 1990s, more Japanese politicians have crawled up to the heights of the prime ministerial throne - and then been bumped off - than even the Japanese people themselves can count. The one to stand out was Junichiro Koizumi, who made it through the full constitutional five years and kick-started national economic reform.
A lot of Americans, watching the debacle of Yasuo Fukuda's resignation this week, must be tempted to say: who cares? But caring about Japan's political direction is not a waste of time. It's one of the world's most powerful economies, and its engineering prowess is second to none.
Japan remains America's most notable ally in Asia. The last thing America wants Japan to conclude about America is that it doesn't care. To this end, wisely, the office of US Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama was quick to issue a statement at the weekend that went over quite well in Japan, expressing appreciation for Mr Fukuda's leadership on climate change and Japan's military assistance in Afghanistan. Senator Obama said he looked forward to the opportunity to work with Mr Fukuda's successor 'to strengthen and deepen co-operation between our two nations and to create a truly global partnership'.
In fact, Mr Fukuda was anything but a total loss. He did much to put Japan-China relations on a friendlier footing. He went out of his way to stretch a hand towards Chinese President Hu Jintao , meeting him four times in less than a year - unprecedented for a Japanese prime minister.
And on the ultra-touchy issue of Tibet , behind the scenes, Mr Fukuda kept politely urging the Chinese to enter into sincere engagement with the Dalai Lama. Even with America's stubborn president, he could be equally persistent in his characteristic low-key way, pressuring George W. Bush at the recent Group of Eight summit in Japan to stop ducking the greenhouse gas emission problem.
In many ways, Mr Fukuda was a good (if aristocratic) egg, as we might say in America. But, although the grandson of a relatively successful prime minister, he lacked the public stature and media-communication skills without which modern democratic government simply cannot function. The long shot to replace Mr Fukuda is a woman. That's the very reason, to be sure, that Yuriko Koike is a long shot. But she is a reformer and she has the public backing of Mr Koizumi.
Japan's strategic alliance with the US is so consequential that it was surprising that the office of Republican presidential candidate John McCain has issued (at the time of writing) no pointed appreciation of Japan and Mr Fukuda. In fact, Senator McCain's aides would be right to think that, in the US, no more than five people probably noticed or cared. But the Japanese noticed - and cared.
Tom Plate is a veteran journalist and author, most recently, of Confessions of an American Media Man
