A French Diplomat’s Perspective on Japan

Everyone knows that information about the Asian continent or its populations is rare and often filled with clichés. To remedy these shortcomings, one must read specialized journals for better analysis. However, the length of the articles and the jargon used can often be discouraging for the reader.

I have been fortunate to spend a large part of my diplomatic career in Asia, and thus my perspective on it is of certain interest, even if I am aware that it pertains to a relatively old era (1990-2018). Today’s Asia is no longer the same as the one I once knew, and the viewpoint I had may not align with that of other diplomats who were stationed during the same period, especially regarding such a large and diverse country as Japan.

Even now, in my retirement, I go to Japan every year for personal reasons, and I find that contrary to what is often said, Japan continues to change. So, what can these few lines contribute to a reader interested in Asia? Let us set aside—the unfairness of this aside—the approximately 250,000 visitors to the "Japan Expo" in Villepinte, which are roughly as numerous as the French tourists passing through the archipelago and six times more than the French residents there. Is it not bold to think that the perspective of a former diplomat, even after spending much time there, is more significant?

One of the first books I read before even going to the Japanese archipelago was "The Empire of Signs" by Roland Barthes, published in 1970 following a trip to the country. One could imagine after reading it: he has understood everything, despite his brief stay and his inability to speak Japanese. I am currently reading the latest book by my friend Philippe Pons, a keen observer of this country where he has lived since the late 1970s: "Tokyo-Bohème: Through Encounters (1970-2024)," and he conveys the same idea: a long-term personal experience is essential for knowing and discussing a country, a people, or another culture.

With all these reservations, we still have what we have seen and heard, which helps us better understand the present. I will highlight four aspects, without overlooking their fragmentary nature. I will begin with what constituted a significant part of my work: observing politics. Since 1955, Japanese heads of government have all come from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), except for two brief interruptions in 1993-1996 and 2009-2012. Moreover, some prime ministers from the opposition were actually defectors from the LDP, one of the most recent being Yoshihiko Noda (2011-2012), a member of the Democratic Party (DPJ), who was blamed for the Fukushima nuclear disaster (March 11, 2011) despite being in no way responsible, as he did not decide to construct that vulnerable nuclear plant; instead, he sought to clarify the causes of the accident that the operator TEPCO had attempted to conceal.

Why recall such a tragedy today? For at least three reasons:

1. In Tokyo, even though it is 300 km from the site of the disaster, people still carry Geiger counters when visiting the capital’s parks, especially with children who are more vulnerable to radiation.
2. The former inhabitants of the contaminated zone are, of course, excluded from their homes—some return at their own risk.
3. It remains a constant source of discord with neighboring countries, particularly China, with which negotiations are ongoing regarding the discharge of tritiated water from Fukushima into the Pacific.

But above all, this issue is symptomatic in that it reveals a penchant for secrecy and sometimes for deception that has pervaded Japan’s history. If former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was forced to resign due to unpopularity, it is because public opinion recognized that corruption had infiltrated the factions within the party. As these lines are being written, one of the nine candidates—two of whom are women—has been elected as the president of the LDP, a position that is widely regarded as automatically designating them as Prime Minister (an electoral process that escapes voters; this is evident elsewhere...) since the opposition (the Constitutional Democratic Party), whose representative will be Yoshihiko Noda, mentioned above, is unable to propose a credible alternative to the predominantly dissatisfied citizens, prior to the final decision of Parliament, which will be announced on October 1. Shigeru Ishiba, aged 67, elected as the head of the LDP, is expected to be the next Prime Minister (Note: Mr. Ishiba was indeed elected Prime Minister on October 1).

The first lesson from this history is thus the resignation-accepted confiscation of political power by a small, often hereditary elite.

Politics is largely about the security of the archipelago, and this has changed little since 1945: it has been entrusted to the United States, and the years have not altered this reality. Since the U.S.-Japan security treaty was concluded in 1951, Americans essentially do as they please, and many Japanese ironically refer to their country as an "American state." Japan benefits from this arrangement: it is surrounded by hostile countries—China, North Korea, and often South Korea, and Russia, with which no peace treaty has been concluded since World War II. The American umbrella, including nuclear protection, is there to safeguard the archipelago.

Regarding defense equipment, a significant portion (about 30%) of subcontracting is handled by the Japanese industry. However, every time the government plans to construct a successor to the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter bomber, a deadly aircraft from the Pacific War, Washington prohibits it.

This is why Shinzo Abe, who held the longest term as Prime Minister in Japan's history (2006-2007 and then 2012-2020), wanted to revoke Article 9 of the Constitution, which states that "the Japanese people renounce war forever..." and commit to "never maintaining land, naval, or air forces, or any other potential for war." Shinzo Abe was unsuccessful in this endeavor. Even today, some politicians speak of building a nuclear force, but the majority of the population remains opposed to revising Article 9.

Allow me to share an anecdote from an early visit in the 1990s that speaks volumes. A Japanese diplomat friend, perfectly fluent in French and a former ENA student, now an ambassador, invited me to a grand review of the Japanese naval force—it has always been the spearhead of Japan's Self-Defense Forces since 1945. I came away with a strong impression and asked him, "Isn't it a shame that it's in the hands of Washington?" His response: "I love France, but if one of our neighbors wants to make war on us, your country is too far away to come to our aid; that’s why we rely on the United States."

Is it known that any project from the Gaimusho (the Japanese Foreign Ministry) that could affect the security relationship with the United States must obtain a visa from the North America Directorate of this ministry before implementation?

In the 1960s, powerful pacifist demonstrations took place in Japan; today, the population, especially the youth, seems to be looking elsewhere. They are surprised that such a heavily indebted country promises a significant increase in military spending (a 17% rise year-on-year), in a context of heightened Sino-American tensions that could likely draw it into an unwanted conflict.

The role that France could play prompts modesty: how can one intervene with a single aircraft carrier that only returned to its usual dock in May 2018 after 15 months in dry dock? Hence a certain skepticism about the QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) strategy, which may have made sense for its promoter Shinzo Abe in the Indo-Pacific space but whose Australian debacle has revealed its fragility for France.

It is remembered that its armed naval branch, Naval Group, which had sold 12 conventionally powered submarines to Australia for €56 billion, was disavowed by Australia, which opted instead for eight American nuclear submarines, alongside the secretly negotiated AUKUS trilateral cooperation pact (Australia, United Kingdom, United States). This was unveiled during a video conference broadcast from the White House between its three leaders: Joe Biden, Scott Morrison, and Boris Johnson, on September 15, 2021. The American technology allows the same fuel to be maintained for 33 years, while the diesel submarines that Naval Group sold (but have not yet been delivered) require fuel replacement every seven to ten years. Military cooperation between the three English-speaking countries continues without France, with China in their sights. An important detail of the AUKUS agreement (which is not legally a military alliance, thus creating no reciprocal defense commitment): British and American submarines will have access to the Stirling naval base in South Australia starting in 2027.

In response to the Australian affront, France, whose then-Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian deemed it "unacceptable behavior between allies and partners, the consequences of which touch on our very conception of alliances, partnerships, and the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Europe," subsequently recalled its ambassadors from Australia and the United States to express its strong dissatisfaction.

China and North Korea condemned the AUKUS agreement. While there is no evidence of their involvement in the unrest that destabilizes France and its territories in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, one might wonder if these two countries played a direct or indirect role in undermining the Franco-Australian agreement, which was one of the pillars of our Indo-Pacific strategy.

The second lesson is that the Indian and Pacific Oceans are far from the mainland, and defending them can only be costly and difficult.

What is the point of being a diplomat in Japan? For everything else! Here are a few examples in a limitless panorama:

First, the language and culture. How many Japanese people speak French? Less than a million in a country of 125 million inhabitants, yet the French influence remains considerable. Cuisine plays its part: a ceremonial meal at the Imperial Court consists of French dishes. None of the seven honorary Japanese consuls speak French, but they dedicate part of their personal fortune to the operations of French Institutes or Alliances and participate in the celebrations of our national holiday on July 14. Diplomats who can, including the author of these lines, take it to heart to visit the countless friendship associations across the country, where few speak French, but which, like during a tour by the French national football or rugby team, testify to the popularity, and sometimes rare affection, that the Japanese people can feel toward our country.

Among thousands, let’s mention one cultural operation in particular, which I had no part in but which still resonates in some Japanese magazines. "No Man's Land" was a major exhibition that took place in Tokyo from November 26, 2009, to mid-February 2010, in the former premises of the French Embassy, just before their destruction. Granting total freedom to 70 world-renowned artists (Claude Lévêque, Speedy Graphito, Jef Aérosol, Christian Boltanski, Hiromix, Jean-Luc Vilmouth, Georges Rousse, SANAA) or emerging ones (Pierre Filliquet, Agathe de Bailliencourt, Nobuhiro Fukui, Sir Alice, Mayumi Terada, Emmanuel Guillaud, Matthieu Manche, Nicolas Buffe, Pierre Jean Giloux), "No Man's Land" became one of the most visited exhibitions in Tokyo during the 2009/2010 season (85,000 visitors in 44 days of public opening).

The exhibition was organized by Hélène Kelmachter: "We titled this exhibition No Man's Land because we are indeed in a place that is not fully owned by anyone. Since November 1, the whole space is no longer French, although the walls belong to France until their destruction, but it is not Japanese either, even though the land is managed by Japanese companies," she explained. Such a unique ephemeral exhibition in such a deserted official venue also allows, according to Ms. Kelmachter, "to rethink the question of the territory of art."

The former embassy was built in 1957 by Joseph Belmont—one of the fathers of the BNF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) and the Grande Arche de la Défense. Its imminent destruction allowed Japanese and French creators to express themselves freely, showcasing sports billboards, families of robots, erotic culinary videos, and more.

What many Japanese people love about France, even more than some French people do, is the whimsy of events like the opening ceremony of the Olympics. It wasn't just for the recent Paris games; even for the Albertville games in 1992, the French embassy in Tokyo received hundreds of phone calls: the Japanese public wanted to know who created that superb opening ceremony—it was Philippe Decouflé, who has since made a career of it.

The third lesson is that France is recognized for its creativity.

This creativity has also contributed to the reputation of our cinema, even though it's becoming increasingly difficult to find successors to Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon—I've been told I resemble both! Regardless of the fantasy, they were France.

It's worth noting that significant Japanese figures have contributed to this popularity: the mayor of Yokohama, where a remarkable French film festival was held until his successor deemed it too expensive; the multi-thousand-seat cinemas in the Bunkamura complex in Tokyo, where the Tōkyū group recently programmed many French films; and the late Tokyo governor Shintarō Ishihara, who even lectured France, rightly asserting that the French language does not belong to it.

Even today, French films, while not as popular due to the pandemic's impact on the industry, still hold their ground, whether with big-budget films by Luc Besson or low-cost productions like "Amélie," which gained traction in the early 2000s. This popularity has even led to the organization of tourist circuits around filming locations, including the recent "A Beautiful Race."

Finally, the countryside, contrary to what one might think, also serves as a bridge. Although production structures differ—Japan's small territory being more conducive to family farms—both countries share a strong attachment to diversity and food quality. They also face the agricultural crisis: how to deal with the aging population in this sector? How to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and GMOs? How to protect geographical indications?

Official bilateral meetings have explored student exchanges and cross-cultural and food transformation projects.

What is unfortunately common to both countries is the desertification of rural areas, which contrasts sharply with the hypertrophy of large cities. Besides Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Hamamatsu, and Sapporo are among the largest cities where the majority of the young population and activities are concentrated, while in the impoverished areas, municipalities, like in France, offer facilities or stays to attract young generations. Overall, urbanization in Japan is the most advanced in the world, including compared to France, but the forests are so deserted that hermits have made them their homes.

In brief, staying in Japan is an ambiguous experience. One can never forget being a foreigner, as interlocutors are eager to remind you, even if you have lived there for a long time, speak the language, etc. Yet, at the same time, foreigners, at least Europeans, are treated well enough that even former enemies have managed to survive, relegated to the countryside while enduring the same shortages as the Japanese at the end of the war.

Today, this blend of Japanese and foreigners offers advantages to everyone in a country where many of the author’s acquaintances have chosen to live and remain.

Yves Carmona, a former student of the ENA and diplomat, has spent most of his career in Asia: serving as Foreign Affairs Advisor in Japan twice, as First Counselor in Singapore, and as Ambassador to Laos and Nepal (2012-2018). In these positions, as well as in those he held in Paris, he focused—also as a student of Japanese—on the rapid evolution of Asian countries and their relations with France and Europe. Now retired, he is committed to sharing his experience with those who may benefit from it.