Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shake hands at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Feb. 9. The Philippines is one of the candidates to receive funds from Japan under the official security assistance program. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

“Doshikoku” is a word I’ve begun hearing frequently of late, but it just doesn’t sit right with me.

The government explains that the term refers to “like-minded nations,” or any nation whose diplomatic goals are the same as Japan’s.

But I still don’t quite get it.

It must be my generation, but I automatically associate “doshi” with “comrade,” an all-too common appellation in communist regimes of the past. During the Josef Stalin (1878-1953) and Mao Zedong (1893-1976) eras, no longer being addressed as a comrade meant you were about to be purged.

It must be for these reasons that doshi has an outdated, chauvinistic ring to it.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced last week that his administration will create a new system, dubbed official security assistance (OSA), for providing free defense equipment to the armed forces of doshikoku nations.

Kishida is obviously switching from the traditional pacifist diplomacy of supporting developing nations solely in non-military matters.

With China’s military expansion, I can appreciate Japan’s need to tighten cooperation with various nations, but isn’t it risky to go so far as to militarily support them? Wouldn't that result in new alignments that will divide the international community? I have endless questions.

For the time being, the Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Fiji are said to be Japan’s four doshikoku candidates. I am told that we are all like-minded, but that doesn’t really strike me as true. Their China policies are different, and their approaches to democracy are also diverse.

Even in China, “comrade” is a dead word today except in official documents of the Chinese Communist Party.

Why, then, is such an old, ideologically loaded expression being revived on the stage of Japan’s national security affairs?

It truly feels odd.

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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