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Tokyo’s top lobbyist in D.C. is going to miss ‘working at the epicenter of world power’ |
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By Albert Eisele
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Posted: 07/31/07 07:42 PM [ET] |
After three years as the Japanese government’s top lobbyist on Capitol Hill, Hitoshi Noda has some unlikely and perhaps undiplomatic advice for his successor as minister for congressional affairs at the Embassy of Japan.
“Somebody in my position has to be able to be more aggressive in making the case for Japan, and discussing in a very frank manner the issues affecting U.S.-Japanese relations,” said Noda, who will return to Tokyo this month. “This will be much more appreciated by Congress as well.”
Since he arrived here in August 2004, Noda has not hesitated to plead his government’s case aggressively with members of Congress on a number of key issues affecting U.S.-Japanese relations. One is Japan’s ban on importing U.S. beef because of concern about bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. Another is a pending House resolution calling on Japan to acknowledge and accept formal responsibility for the so-called “comfort women” who were coerced into sexual slavery during World War II.
Despite such controversial issues, Noda said he “can’t think of any serious difficulties” in U.S.-Japan relations. “There’s a very strong trust and friendship between the U.S. and Japan. I feel very fortunate, very lucky, that there is a good relationship and a very strong trust between the U.S. and Japan, and between most members of Congress and Japan.”
The 50-year-old Noda has won plaudits from key members of Congress as well. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) told The Hill that Noda has been an “excellent Hill representative for the government of Japan.”
“He’s smart, articulate, and very responsive to congressional concerns,” added Lantos. “The Japanese government has been lucky to have him here in D.C.”
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Noda “a man of remarkable endurance, very patient, [who] pays close attention to detail on topics ranging from agricultural trade to North Korea.”
Nevertheless, Noda admits he has sometimes been “frustrated” by the complex nature of Congress. “Everything related to Congress is very difficult,” he said. “In this country, Congress and the administration are independent of each other and have very clear lines of responsibility.”
And, as every lobbyist soon learns, staff members are almost as important as their bosses. “Even House members have more than 20 staff members, and you have to talk to them on many issues in a very detailed manner,” he said.
Noda does not yet know what his new responsibilities in the foreign ministry will be when he returns to Tokyo. But he said he already knows he will miss many things about Washington, including the comfortable life he and his wife family have enjoyed in Bethesda, Md., where their two children are enrolled in public schools.
But the thing he’ll miss the most is testing his diplomatic skills at the epicenter of world politics.
“For a diplomat, Washington is the center of politics, not just in the U.S. but the whole world,” he said. “I will miss working at the center of world power.”
Noda, who earned a master’s degree at Columbia University and has traveled to 48 of the 50 states, said he has gone to Capitol Hill almost every day over the last three years, even during recess periods, when he met with staffers.
And he said his job is not unlike that of other foreign diplomats who lobby Congress. “I don’t want to see something bad happen. We like to see a lot of good things done by Congress.”
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