Norimitsu Onishi on Aso Taro

March 23, 2007 Norimitsu Onishi tries to tarnish Aso Taro, the minster of foreign affairs of Japan.

Norimitsu Onishi wrote:

Foreign Minister Taro Aso said “yellow-faced” Japanese could play a more constructive role in Middle East diplomacy than Americans. Japan is doing what Americans can’t do,” he said, according to the newspaper Nikkei. “Japanese are trusted. If you have blue eyes and blond hair, it’s probably no good.” Mr. Aso is often mentioned as a successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

His point is that Aso Taro is racist. Onish started the long long term negative campaign against Aso because Aso is likely to be a next prime minister.

I could not find the original in Nikkei. Perhaps it went through Jiji,

2007/03/21-19:50 中東外交「青い目、金髪は駄目」＝人種引き合いに日本の貢献強調−麻生外相発言

2007/03/21-19:50 中東外交「青い目、金髪は駄目」＝人種引き合いに日本の貢献強調−麻生外相発言 　麻生太郎外相は２１日午後、長崎県時津町で講演。日本独自の中東和平外交として、ヨルダン渓谷の開発を進める「平和と繁栄の回廊」構想に触れ、「米国人にできないことを日本がやっている。日本人というのは信用がある。青い目で金髪だったら多分駄目よ」と述べた。
　 外相は「われわれは幸いにして黄色い顔をしている。そこ（中東）で搾取をしてきたとか、ドンパチ、機関銃撃ったとか一回もない」と語った。中東での日本の 貢献を強調するのが真意とみられるが、外交と人種や外見を重ね合わせた表現には欧米などから批判を受ける可能性がある。

Aso Taro stressed "It is fortunate that we have yellow face. There (in the middle east), we have not a single incidence of exploitation (of the middle eastern people), fighting wars, or machine-gunning." His point is not how he perceives races, but how people of middle east perceive races. Based on that reality, he claims Japan can play a different role than what America does.