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"Sayonara Suu Kyi-san" Burma Debat



"Since the Japanese public tends to see the country's problems in terms of
[sung San Suu Kyi's] struggle with the junta, Ohmae's tactic of
delegitimizing her by linking her to something resented... is an effective
way of getting public support for normalization of Tokyo-junta economic ties."

[Ohmae] concludes by suggesting that young Japanese people should visit
Burma in order to "confirm the reality that Myanmar is entirely different
from the image portrayed by Japanese and American media as 'military
dictatorship - repression -- poor Sue Kyi.' "

Burma Debate
Winter 1998

Sayonara Suu Kyi San?

"One Trip to Myanmar and Everyone Would Love the Country"

By Donald M. Seekins, Ph.D.

Burma-Japan relations go back to before World War II, and the opinions of
Japan's "old Burma hands" are often better informed about internal
conditions than those of Western observers, even if one doesn't entirely
agree with them. But a new Japanese perspective on Burma has emerged, which
could be described as "Aung San Suu Kyi-bashing" or "hitching one's wagon to
the star of Asian values."(1) A representative of this approach is Ohmae
Kenichi, a well-known business consultant, who warmed the hearts of the
generals in Rangoon with a couple of articles at the end of 1997. One
appeared in the year-end issue of Asiaweek, a Hong Kong publication, in
which he asserts that: 

"The West knows about Myanmar through one person, Aung San Suu Kyi. The
obsession with Suu Kyi is a natural one if you understand that U.S.
superficial democracy is golden in the United States; Americans love
elections. Just as Myanmar is Buddhist, and Malaysia is Islamic, America has
a religion called Democracy. There is merit in promoting democratic reforms.
But America is a simplistic country. Americans insist that what works for
them should work for others at any time and in any stage of economic
development."(2)

Ohmae recently went to Burma with a delegation of fifty-one Japanese
businessmen, and was impressed by the great "progress" which has been made
since the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC, known since
November 1997 as the State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC) seized
power in 1988.

Ohmae's Asiaweek comments are relatively restrained, but he shoots from the
hip in two articles which appeared in a popular Japanese magazine, SAPIO, in
November 1997: "Mrs. Suu Kyi is becoming a burden for a developing Myanmar"
(November 12,1997) and"Cheap and hardworking laborers: this country will be
Asia's best" (November 26, 1997). (3)  SAPIO is an example of new-breed
Japanese journalism, full of trendy neo-nationalist themes, reading bait for
Tokyo rush hour strap-hangers. The SAPIO articles are a fascinating
excursion into the little-known realm of Japanese-style Orientalism. They
tell us almost nothing about Burma itself but a great deal about the
worldview of a certain type of Japanese media-intellectual (hyooronka).
Given the importance of these people in Japanese popular culture and Japan's
importance to Burma, Ohmae's views warrant close examination.

He claims that the United States "has established her [sung San Suu Kyi] as
the Jeanne d'Arc of Myanmar and is using her to spread their propaganda and
pressure the regime. However, why the US feels the need to do this and to
achieve what end is beyond my comprehension." Yet America's policy of
isolating the country"despite its steady economic progress, engenders
suspicion." He believes that "in a year or two, Mrs. Suu Kyi will be a
person of the past." (4)

His accusation strikes a responsive chord with many Japanese, who believe --
not without justification -- that their own country has long been a victim
of American bullying. Ken-bei ("dislike America") sentiment has been on the
rise because of trade disputes and skepticism about the post-Cold War
usefulness of the Japan-U.S. security alliance.

Aung San Suu Kyi, however, is highly respected. Her "Letters from Burma"
appeared as a weekly series in the mass-circulation newspaper Mainichi
Shimbun in 1995-1996, winning a national journalism award.(5)  Mainichi
Shimbun and the more liberal Asahi Shimbun, another major newspaper, have
reported sympathetically on her activities since 1988. Her book, Freedom
from Fear, and her collected speeches have been translated into Japanese,
and her life has even inspired Manga, the popular Japanese genre of comic
books for grown-ups. (6)

Most Japanese media coverage of Burma -- as in other countries -- focuses on
the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize Winner. Regime abuses which affect ordinary
Burmese such as forced labor or the "pacification" of ethnic minorities are
given relatively little attention. Since the Japanese public tends to see
the country's problems in terms of her struggle with the junta, Ohmae's
tactic of delegitimizing her by linking her to something resented (American
gaiatsu, "external pressure" on Japan as well as Burma) is an effective way
of getting public support for normalization of Tokyo-junta economic ties.
This would include largescale resumption of official development assistance
(ODA), and lucrative aid procurement contracts for major Japanese companies.
It is probably not an exaggeration to say that following Burma's admission
to ASEAN last year the only obstacles standing between Tokyo and SLORC/SPDC
are Aung San Suu Kyi's international stature and pressure from the United
States government. Linking the two is a good way of "killing two birds with
one stone."

Washington's quarantine of the junta has been getting on the nerves of the
Japanese establishment. A major issue is modernization of Rangoon's
Mingaladon Airport, a pre-1988 ODA project which was frozen because of the
political crisis and problems internal to the project. After Burma was
admitted to ASEAN, the government sent a high-ranking Ministry of Foreign
Affairs official to Rangoon to investigate the possibility of a partial
restart of aid in order to improve the dilapidated airport's safety. But the
United States government strongly opposed a plan to release 7.0 billion yen
in funds for this purpose. (7) [Editor's note: Japan announced on March 11
that 2.5 billion yen would be released.] Tokyo has joined the European Union
in protesting the State of Massachusetts' Selective Purchasing Law before
the World Trade Organization. (8) This law and others passed by American
states and cities are having an impact on Japanese companies penalized for
doing business with the junta. Thus Burma has become a sideshow in
Japan-United States economic conflicts.

Ohmae is clearly enchanted with Burma, its people and their culture. "One
trip to Myanmar and everyone would love the county," he exclaims. (9)   He
contrasts the Burmese with the Chinese: "(i)n China, for example, on the
surface they appear sincere and serious, but in reality they do everything
for money." (10)  This off-the-cuff remark could be interpreted as
reflecting unease about China's growing economic power and its aspiration to
replace Japan as Number One in Asia. Also, there is concern in Tokyo about
Beijing's close ties with the SLORC/ SPDC regime. According to one newspaper
account, a reason the Japanese government proposed restarting the airport
project is to offset China's growing influence over the junta at a time when
the ASEAN countries are cutting back on investment because of their own
economic problems."

For a capitalist like Ohmae, an advocate of rigorous business globalization,
it is ironic that his SAPIO articles express a nostalgic longing for a pure
Asia outside of allegedly money-mad places like China and Vietnam, where
"everyone seeks to become rich quickly."(12)  Burma reminds him of his
boyhood village in Kyushu, southern Japan, where people worked hard, had
just about enough to eat, and lived simple lives without electricity or
running water: "(t)he current Myanmar mirrors these memories of farming
villages in Japan. Japan at the time was poor in comparison with the United
States but this was not detrimental to Japan." (13)  Logically, Ohmae ought
to oppose Japanese and other foreign investment in Burma to prevent the
undermining of its -- in his words --  "fervently Buddhist ethics."

Last year NHK, Japan state-run broadcasting network, aired a television
documentary on post-1988 economic liberalization. (14)  One sequence showed
young Burmese women recruited to dress up in bright red silk dresses and
hawk Chinese-made cigarettes ("Red Pagoda Mountain Brand") in Rangoon. The
sight must have disgusted both many Burmese passers-by, but that's
capitalism, global-style, the sort of thing both Ohmae and Japanese big
business are crusading for all over Asia.

The Bottom Line is never far from Ohmae's thoughts. He practically salivates
over the basement-level wages paid Burmese workers, about US$20.00 a month.
The Burmese "have a high level of education" and "(t)heir sense of morality
prevents them from stealing." " This," he exclaims, "is an unprecedented
top-class labor market." The title of his November 26 article says it all.
He is amazed at how cheap everything is. A massage is only ten dollars. A
friend of his bought a ruby originally priced at US$200, but bargained it
down to five dollars!

Ohmae's enthusiasm might be dampened by reading a little Burmese history --
about the University Boycott of 1920 or the Oilfield Workers' Strike of
1938. Or about the close association of nationalism and revolution in 1988
as well as 1938. He might also be discouraged by recent reports about labor
activism and work stoppages at textile factories run as joint ventures by
the junta and foreign investors or at Burma's largest mine at Namtu in Shan
State near Lashio.(15)

Ohmae's "Orientalism" is evident in his illogicality. Burma is pure and
unmaterialistic, unlike China or Vietnam; but it is all right to exploit
Burmese workers to make a profit. There is, in this sort of mentality, a
profoundly reactionary sentiment which is universal rather than uniquely
Japanese in nature. It idealizes a harmonious hierarchy of lesser and
greater peoples, a benevolent ruling class seated firmly on top, governing
humble, industrious and docile serfs as in feudal Europe or Japan -- or the
British colonial regime which Aung San and his comrades fought to overthrow.
Such fragile ideological tissue dresses up very large economic interests. (16)

One wonders how many days Ohmae spent in Burma after reading statements like
-- "Villages are extremely clean. There are no slums. This is due to the
lack of difference in wealth... Myanmar is a rare
case; it does not suffer from either overcrowded cities or destitution."
(17)  He is apparently oblivious to the many reports, published by the
United Nations and other agencies, about the country's endemic poverty and
neglect of public health and social welfare. It is unlikely that his hosts
informed him that the reason central Rangoon has relatively few slums is
forced relocation of thousands of residents to undeveloped "new towns." He
comments that the armed forces have outdated weapons -- "The technology is
so ancient that it is unnecessary to fear the government as a military
dictatorship." (18)  This will be news to the Karens and Shans, not to
mention the parents who lost their children in the mass shootings of 1988.
He also accepts uncritically claim of former economic planning minister
David Abel that SLORC/SPDC is doing its utmost to combat narcotics, and that
the real source of the drug problem is the United States,"the largest
consumer of drugs."

He concludes his November 26 article by suggesting that young Japanese
people should visit Burma -- there are three flights to Rangoon weekly from
Kansai International Airport -- in order to "confirm the reality that
Myanmar is entirely different from the image portrayed by Japanese and
American media as 'military dictatorship' -- repression -- poor Suu Kyi.'"
 
How representative of Japanese opinion are Ohmae's articles? This is
difficult to assess. SAPIO is not a mainstream publication like the Mainichi
or Asahi Shimbun, or prominent monthly reviews such as Chunoo Kooron, or
Bungei Shunjuu. But Ohmae, author of popular business-oriented books like
The Borderless World and End of the Nation-State, is a big gun in the
arsenal of Japan Incorporated. A strong believer in the dynamism of the
marketplace, he excels at the role of the "tough-minded internationalist"
(Shitataka na Kokusaijin), who forcefully speaks up for the national
interest rather than hiding behind a mask of diffidence like many of his
countrymen.(19)  Many if not most high-ranking businessmen and bureaucrats
with an interest in Asia probably share his sunny view of the junta. Many
other Japanese people do not, including a good number of "old Burma hands."

What should not be overlooked is the way Ohmae's rhetoric fits into an
ideological context. A concept known as "Re-Asianization" has become
fashionable within the business and bureaucratic establishment: a
refashioning of Japan's "identity" as a part of Asia rather than an aspiring
western-type country, and an affirmation of undemocratic "Asian values."
Popular politician and novelist Ishihara Shintaroo writes in his 1995 book,
The Voice of Asia, coauthored with Malaysian prime minister Mohamad
Mahathir, that Japan should "come home" to Asia and establish a
mutually-supportive regional community of nations based on "Asian" identity.
(20)  In part,"Re-Asianization" is fueled by a resentment of the West, which
allegedly can never accept Japan as an equal. As Laura Hein and Ellen H.
Hammond write in a recent article, "Re-Asianization" promoters tend to
portray this Asian community in terms of hierarchy, with Japan occupying the
highest position. The resemblance to the wartime "Greater East Asia
Co-Prosperity Sphere" is striking. (21)

It is unclear from the articles whether Ohmae can be considered a proponent
of this view. Liberal in many ways, he might protest being put in the same
category as Ishihara, a romantic rightist. But the hierarchical view is
consistent with his reactionary view of the "ideal" Burma, a "country which
will be Asia's best," where a comfortable alliance of domestic generals and
foreign businessmen can reap the benefits of rich natural resources and a
docile, hardworking and population.

Burma's new role as an ideological football between Japan (or Asia) and the
West does not portend a happy future. The origin of the political crisis
afflicting the country since 1988 -- fundamentally since 1962 --  is wholly
within Burma's historical experience and the dynamics of its multiethnic
society, though foreign actors have played an often disruptive role.
International support for a peaceful resolution of the crisis -- including a
genuine dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi, the ethnic minorities, and the
junta -- can only be effective if foreigners appreciate the country's
distinct situation rather than making it a part of their own ideological or
self-interested fantasies.

Donald Seekins is professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Meio University in
Nago, Okinawa, Japan. He has been following developments in Burma and
Burma-Japan relations since 1988, and is presently working on a modern
political history of Burma.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Dr. Kenichi Ohmae, the author referred to in this article, refused Burma
Debate permission to reprint translations of his articles "Mrs. Suu Kyi is
becoming a burden for a developing Myanmar" and "Cheap and hardworking
laborers: this country will be Asia's best," which appeared in SAPIO
magazine. SAPIO is a popular Japanese-language magazine published by
Shougakukan.

END NOTES:
1: The term "Suu Kyi-bashing," (Suu Kyi Basshingu in Japanese) is used by
journalist Nagai Hiroshi to criticize this orientation in the mass media.
Nagai Hiroshi, "Yuganda Media No Naka No Biruma [Burma as depicted in warped
media]. SEKAI, no. 638, August 1997: pp. 293-304.

2: Ohmae Kenichi. " 1997: A Year of Transition. Asiaweek, "Special
Collectors' Edition," December 1997, p. 5.

3: Translations of these articles were provided to the author by the Burma
Relief Center-Japan.

4: Ohmae Kenichi,"Mrs. Suu Kyi is becoming a burden for a developing
Myanmar," SAPIO, November 12, 1997.

5: The English Versions of"Letters from Burma" were published in the
Mainichi Daily News, and compiled in Aung San Suu Kyi. Letters from Burma.
London: Penguin Books, 1997.

6: Aung San Suu Kyi. Jiyuu [Freedom]. Translated by Yumiko Jannson. Tokyo:
Shoueisha, 1991; Aung San Suu Kyi,?Enzetsu Shuu [Collected
Speeches].Translated by Ino Kenji. Tokyo: Misuzu Shobo, 1996. For a comic
book version of her life, see Akazu Mizuha, Aung San Suu Kyi: Tatatkau
Kujaku [Aung San Suu Kyi: the fighting peacock]. "Super Nobel Prize Story"
No. 2. Tokyo: Ootoo Shobo, 1994.

7: Mitsubishi Soogoo Kenkyuujoo. AJIA 1998 [Asia 1998]. Tokyo: Diamondo-sha,
1997: p. 201; "Yangon kuukoo enjo minokuri [Wait-and-see over aid for Yangon
airport]:' Ryuukyuu Shimpo, August 31, 1997.

8: Masaki Hisane. "US Economic Sanctions Come Under Fire at the WTO." The
Japan Times, February 5,1998.

9: Ohmae Kenichi,"Mrs. Suu Kyi."

10: Ohmae Kenichi, "Cheap and hardworking laborers: this country will be
Asia's best." SAPIO, November 26,1997.
11: Onaka Kaori. "US said to be resisting Tokyo's ODA for Burma." Mainichi
Shimbun, January 12, 1998.

12: Ohmae Kenichi,"Mrs. Suu Kyi."

13: Ibid.

14: Nippon Hoosoo Kyookai (NHK). Shissoo Ajia?Myanmaa ["Asia dashing
ahead?Myanmar], broadcast May 23, 1997.

15: FTUB. "Textile workers' activities." BurmaNet News, no. 906, January 7,
1998; All Burma Students' Democratic Front. "8,000 protest over workers'
rights at Burma's largest mine." BurmaNet News on-line service, received
February 10,1998.

16. For a discussion of reactionary themes in contemporary Asian discourse,
see Kanishka Jayasuriya. "Asian Values as Reactionary Modernization." Nordic
Newsletter of Asian Studies. 1997, pp.1922.

17: Ohmae Kenichi, "Mrs. Suu Kyi:'

18: Ohmae Kenichi,"Cheap and hardworking laborers."

19: On the "tough-minded internationalist" and the ambiguous meaning of
"internationalization" in Japan, see Harumi Befu. "Internationalization of
Japan and Nihon Bunkaron." In Hiroshi Mannari and Harumi Befu, eds. The
Challenge of Japan's Internationalization: Organization and Culture. Tokyo:
Kwansei Gakuin University and Kodansha International, 1983: pp. 232-265.

20: Mahathir Mohamad and Shintaro Ishihara. The Voice of Asia: Two Leaders
Discuss the Coming Century. Tokyo: Kinokuniya, 1995: pp. 31-36.

21: Laura Hein and Ellen H. Hammond. "Homing in on Asia: Identity in
Contemporary Japan." Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, vol. 27: 3,
July-September 1995: pp. 3-17.

(This is an expanded  version of an article that appeared on Burmanet,
January 1998)
http://www2.gol.com/users/brelief/Index.htm