Daily Yomiuri Online :: Thursday, July 23, 2009

• ELECTION 2009-BATTLE FOR POWER / Parties seek local unity at start of fight (Jul.23)
  The Yomiuri Shimbun
  A day after the House of Representatives was dissolved, the ruling and opposition parties went into full swing Wednesday in their battle for seats in the upcoming lower house election.
  
  Tuesday's lower house dissolution, with a general election set for Aug. 30, means political parties and candidates have 40 days to campaign for the election--the longest period allowed for electoral campaigning under the current Constitution, although formal campaigning starts Aug. 18.
  
  They started by closing ranks with their local party structures Wednesday.
  
  The Liberal Democratic Party held a meeting of local chapter secretaries general and policy research council chairmen attended by Prime Minister Taro Aso, who also is LDP president.
  
  The Democratic Party of Japan, meanwhile, held a meeting of regional officials in charge of the election campaign in their respective areas with President Yukio Hatoyama present.
  
  Aso reached his desk at the Prime Minister's Office shortly after 10 a.m. According to sources close to the prime minister, Aso has received more than 50 requests to deliver speeches for local candidates.
  
  LDP Acting Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara told reporters in Tokyo: "LDP candidates must canvass in their constituencies and speak their minds, even if it's only for five minutes. If we start doing this repeatedly, we can get through this tough situation."
  
  Hatoyama entered his office in Tokyo at 11 a.m.
  
  While expectations that the party will win the election are mounting with recent public opinion polls showing more people supporting the DPJ than the LDP, some party members are still concerned.
  
  "The LDP will continue with a negative campaign against our policies and other issues, and we'll be forced to go on the defensive," a DPJ executive said.
  (Jul. 23, 2009)


• ELECTION 2009--BATTLE FOR POWER / Sales tax, security key pledge issues (Jul.23) ★
  The Yomiuri Shimbun
  Political parties will soon announce concrete plans to realize the policies contained in their manifestos for the upcoming general election, with the issues of fiscal resources and national security expected to take priority.
  
  Following Tuesday's dissolution of the House of Representatives, major parties will announce their manifestos for the lower house election by the end of the month.
  
  The administration of Prime Minister Taro Aso has implemented pump-priming policies by accessing the reserves held in the government's special accounts--often dubbed "buried treasure"--and issuing deficit-covering national bonds.
  
  Amid tax revenue shortfalls, the government plans to compile the budget for fiscal 2010 in a similar way.
  
  The Liberal Democratic Party plans to raise the consumption tax rate after the economy recovers--with the tax revenues to be used as a fund to cover the increasing cost of social security programs. "If we can't raise [the consumption tax], we'll soon become unable to take any countermeasures [in terms of social security problems]," said Hiroyuki Sonoda, acting chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council.
  
  The LDP plans to spell out the tax hike policy in its election manifesto, aiming to highlight how its policy differs from that of the Democratic Party of Japan, which has promised to postpone a consumption tax hike.
  
  The government intends to raise the tax rate in fiscal 2011, but many LDP members are cautious about the idea, with the party therefore declining to specify in its manifesto the amount by which the tax would be raised, or when it would be raised.
  
  Meanwhile, in its election manifesto the DPJ promises to waive tolls for expressways and introduce a monthly child care allowance of 26,000 yen per child. The DPJ manifesto also includes a plan to establish an income indemnity system for each farming household, with an additional amount of 16.8 trillion yen required as funds for these programs.
  
  The DPJ and the ruling coalition have faced off over this sum, with the main opposition party insisting it will be able to secure the 16.8 trillion yen without issuing deficit-covering national bonds, and the LDP criticizing its plan as pie in the sky.
  
  Diplomacy and national security are also among the key election campaign issues.
  
  With the aim of beefing up the Japan-U.S. alliance, the LDP plans to promote the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to other locations in the prefecture as the centerpiece of its realignment of U.S. forces stationed in Japan. The party also plans to continue the ongoing Self-Defense Forces mission refueling U.S. Navy vessels in the Indian Ocean that are engaged in antiterrorism missions.
  
  For its part, the DPJ opposes the relocation of Futenma Air Station to other locations in the prefecture. The election campaign is set to shed light on the issue of the future of the Japan-U.S. alliance as next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the revised Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
  
  Policymaking is another key issue. The DPJ harshly criticizes the LDP administration, saying the government "has been letting bureaucrats lead politics."
  
  As a solution to establish a new politician-led system of governance, the DPJ advocates launching a "national strategy bureau" as a government section under the prime minister's direct supervision that would be in charge of devising strategies for the nation's future and outlining national budgets.
  
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  Ozawa unlikely to run in Tokyo
  
  Ichiro Ozawa, acting president of the DPJ, is expected to drop the idea of running in the lower house election in a Tokyo constituency and instead stand in his longtime home constituency in Iwate Prefecture, DPJ sources said Wednesday.
  
  Ozawa is poised to run in Iwate Constituency No. 4 in the Aug. 30 election, the sources said. The DPJ will field another candidate in the Tokyo constituency.
  
  Earlier, Ozawa reportedly was floating the idea of entering the race in Tokyo Constituency No. 12, the electoral turf of New Komeito leader Akihiro Ota. New Komeito is the LDP's coalition partner.
  
  Ota is scheduled to stand for election in Tokyo Constituency No. 12. DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama hinted when he was party secretary general that Ozawa might run in that constituency.
  
  An aide of Ozawa said the plan was hatched because if Ozawa was to run against the New Komeito chief, "Soka Gakkai, which is New Komeito's main supporter, would have to devote a lot of energy to supporting Ota, and as a result, it's possible that the party wouldn't be able to provide sufficient support to LDP candidates in other constituencies in Tokyo."
  (Jul. 23, 2009)


• Higashikokubaru's national politics bid folly (Jul.23)
  Masashi Mori / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
  MIYAZAKI--Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru's aborted bid to run in the coming general election on the Liberal Democratic Party ticket "on condition of being named a candidate for the LDP presidency" has antagonized Miyazaki Prefecture residents, who see him as having turned up his nose at the business of running the prefecture. continued ...


• Leaders under scrutiny in lower house contest (Jul.23)
  Editorial :: Leaders under scrutiny in lower house contest
  
  The House of Representatives election will have a direct bearing on the selection of the prime minister, who is chosen from the bloc that secures a majority in the chamber.
  As a result, voters bear a heavy responsibility as they will be choosing the person who will guide this country.
  The nation's leader needs to present voters with a clear indication of what course and shape this country should take, and what must be done to achieve stated goals.
  To realize the visions that will be presented during the campaign, the nation's leader must have the political skills necessary to keep a tight rein on his party, the ability to fully utilize bureaucrats and the capacity to offer voters convincing explanations on issues.
  However, both Prime Minister Taro Aso and Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama fail to live up to such expectations of leadership.
  
  ===
  Inconsistency fuels distrust
  
  What is particularly worrying are the inconsistencies in both their words and actions.
  Since taking office in September last year, Aso's inconsistencies and indecisiveness have been exposed at a number of crucial moments, such as his comments on what the flat-sum cash benefit program was meant for, the proposed division of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry into two new ministries, the reappointment of Japan Post Holdings Co. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa and disputes over the planned reshuffle of key posts in the Liberal Democratic Party, to name a few. In a sense, Aso has been digging his own grave with his words, which have pushed down his Cabinet's approval rating.
  People's distrust in politics will be fueled further if the country's top leader goes back on something he has previously said. Aso therefore should not forget the old saying "An imperial mandate is like perspiration"--once released, it can never be taken back.
  After dissolving the lower house, Aso called loudly for the realization of a society that feels safe to live in. But, given the current circumstances, voters will have doubts about this pledge and wonder whether it is possible to realize such a promise.
  Aso's tenure as LDP leader will expire at the end of September, and the outcome of the lower house election will hold the key to his future as party head. Aso will be faced with the difficult decision of whether he should step down or stay on in the position.
  
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  Will Hatoyama stand firm?
  
  Hatoyama, meanwhile, has long called for revision of the Constitution. Claiming that the incompatibility of Article 9 of the Constitution with modern political realities has undermined what he describes as a "healthy realism," Hatoyama has released his own proposal for constitutional amendment that approves the exercising of the nation's right of collective self-defense.
  Yet since taking the helm of the DPJ for the second time in May, Hatoyama has kept a lid on his aspiration for constitutional amendment. This apparently is in consideration of former Japan Socialist Party members within his own party, as well as the Social Democratic Party, which is expected to be one of the DPJ's coalition partners.
  Hatoyama recently referred to the possibility of taking a "realistic approach" to Japan's three nonnuclear principles of not possessing, producing or allowing nuclear weapons on its territory, with a view to allowing nuclear-armed U.S. vessels to call at Japanese ports. He also indicated his intention to continue, for the time being, the Self-Defense Forces' refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
  Hatoyama is believed to have made such remarks to highlight the "healthy realism" that he talks about, but has drawn furious criticism from the SDP for doing so. Yet if Hatoyama gives ground in response to such criticism, he is unfit to be the next prime minister.
  So, will it be Aso or Hatoyama that voters will entrust with the future of this country? The public is closely watching and carefully listening to what the two have to say and what they plan to do.
  (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 23, 2009)
  (Jul. 23, 2009) continued ...