Japanese voters yearn for ‘strong politician’ like Trump, but without his showmanship

A new public opinion poll released on the eve of the US midterm elections indicates that while few Japanese favour President Donald Trump’s policies, most say they wish Japan had a “strong” head of state who could make difficult decisions.

Analysts suggest that while many Japanese believe a strong leader will stand up for the nation on the world stage and not shy away from bold policies, this does not mean they want someone with the bombast, showmanship and arrogance associated with Trump.

According to the poll, released on Tuesday by Tokyo Broadcasting System News, just 23.1 per cent of the 3,544 people interviewed expressed “sympathy” for the Trump administration’s policies and political positions. Some 38.7 per cent were strongly opposed to the present White House’s policies.

But while 78.2 per cent rated Trump’s performance as president poorly, 52.6 per cent said Japan needed a “strong politician” in the mould of the US leader.

“Trump is a unique kind of president and we have never seen anything quite like him before in the White House,” said Yoichi Shimada, professor emeritus at Fukui Prefectural University.

While many conservatives strongly supported Trump’s policies, “there are lots of things about him as a politician and a person that would not work well in Japan”, Shimada told This Week in Asia.

“He is too aggressive and focuses on frivolous things,” Shimada said. “He changes his mind too easily and he is bombastic in the way he speaks and the promises he makes. That could never work with a Japanese electorate.”

According to Shimada, anyone who wants to be prime minister in Japan will need to display the ability to debate and hold a conversation, deliver a cogent speech that does not go off on a tangent, and make light of exaggerations and lies.

A leader in Japan, as in most other countries in the world, needed to show “elegance” in their political dealings, he said.

The late Shinzo Abe was arguably the best example of the attributes required for a Japanese leader in recent years, Shimada said, noting that Abe was able to be “naturally forceful” in his political deliveries.

“I see many challenges surrounding Japan now and I believe that Japan would be best served by a national leader who would be firm on our neighbours, such as China and North Korea,” said Ken Kato, a conservative-leaning businessman from Tokyo.

“I think there is little doubt that more Japanese are reaching the conclusion that China poses a threat to the security and stability of the region, and Japan needs a leader who is not afraid to stand up to that pressure,” he said.

“We have had a series of weak prime ministers since Abe who have not consistently put Japan’s needs first on the regional stage, although I do believe that Prime Minister [Sanae] Takaichi is doing a better job today,” he added. “I want a leader who is going to project self-belief and Japan’s strength internationally.”

Hiromi Murakami, a professor of political science at Temple University’s Tokyo branch, believes Takaichi may have taken a few leaves from Trump’s political playbook since coming to power.

“She has certainly been stronger than any of her immediate predecessors, she has been persistent, she has shown that she does not always listen to what others around her say and she has not been afraid to fire bureaucrats when they have not done as she wanted,” Murakami said.

“In many ways, that is exactly the same as Trump has done in the US.”

Takaichi’s government has maintained relatively strong public support during its first year in office, with a JNN poll conducted over the weekend putting cabinet approval at 64.9 per cent, up 1.9 percentage points from its previous survey.

“I also believe that because she has been strong and insisted on taking a firmer line on a whole range of issues, that has been appealing to the Japanese public. It may very well explain why her public support rating is still so high after more than a year,” Murakami said.

“But she has done it all without the brashness and arrogance of Trump because she knows that just would not work in Japan’s political world or this society.”