JAPAN: Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, yesterday laid out his vision of a "beautiful country" that can be proud of its traditions and culture while also being respected - and loved - by the world.
Mr Abe (52), who took over this week as Japan's first leader born after Japan's defeat in the second World War, has made it a central part of his agenda to escape a "postwar regime" that conservatives believe deprived Japanese of pride in their history and culture.
"Our country, Japan, is a country endowed with a long history, culture, tradition and beautiful natural environment of which we can be proud before the world," Mr Abe told parliament in his first policy speech since becoming prime minister on Tuesday.
"The time has come for us to step forward, with quiet pride in our hearts, to create a new country," he said in a low-key manner that contrasted sharply with the often emotional style of his popular maverick predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi.
Mr Abe's rise to Japan's top job has aroused concerns in some quarters, both at home and abroad, about a rise in nationalism, even as Tokyo seeks to repair ties with China and South Korea.
Relations with Beijing and Seoul were soured by Mr Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine, seen by many as a symbol of Japan's past militarism because Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals are revered there, along with the war dead.
But Japan is in talks to hold summit meetings with both China and South Korea in the second half of October, Kyodo news agency said yesterday. Both countries had shunned summits with Mr Koizumi over his pilgrimages to the shrine.
Yesterday Mr Abe spoke of his commitment to closer ties with Tokyo's security ally, the US, but also expressed his determination to boost Japan's say in global affairs, a break from past diplomacy, which has tended to follow Washington. "The time has come for our country to shift to an assertive diplomacy based on new thinking," he said.
Mr Abe said he wanted to build mutual trust with Beijing and Seoul, but devoted little space to the topic in his 15-page speech. "Strengthening trust with the two is key for the Asian region and for the international community, and it is important for all sides to work to have honest, future-oriented discussions."
He also reiterated his determination to revise a 1947 law on the goals of education to put more discipline in Japan's classrooms, and said he wanted to address a sagging birth rate by promoting "family values" and making it easier to raise children.
Repeating his commitment to pursue growth and fixing Japan's fragile state finances, he also promised steps to keep Japan from becoming a society of permanent "haves and have-nots".