EDITORIAL: Ruling bloc's power play

The scene that unfolded early Friday at the Diet was all too reminiscent of the era under Liberal Democratic Party rule.

The three-party ruling coalition led by the Democratic Party of Japan steamrolled a debt relief bill for small and midsized companies and housing loan borrowers through the Lower House. The bill encourages financial institutions to ease repayment terms for struggling customers.

Earlier, the ruling coalition, which also includes the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party, forced the bill through the Lower House Committee on Financial Affairs after only eight hours of deliberations over two days. Thus, the ruling camp threw away a good opportunity to debate the role of the nation's financial sector in the recession.

With the year-end surge in corporate demand for funds looming, the government and the ruling bloc apparently wanted to enact the bill as quickly as possible. But they deserve to be criticized for acting so hastily.

The ruling coalition explained that time was of the essence since other important bills need to be enacted before the current Diet session ends on Nov. 30. No doubt, the LDP and the other opposition parties tried to draw out the Diet deliberations. But that doesn't justify treating the process of Diet deliberations lightly.

The opposition bloc is toughening its stance. Does the DPJ intend to continue steamrolling bills through the Diet while the opposition parties boycott the sessions and votes?

Following the first genuine power transfer in postwar Japan, the nation's political system is undergoing a radical change, for example, by putting politicians in charge of policymaking instead of bureaucrats. This has raised expectations for a significant change in the way the Diet operates.

In fact, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's policy speech struck us as refreshing when he spoke about his political philosophy in his own words. Often during committee sessions, both opposition questioners and the prime minister and his Cabinet members engaged in lively debate without depending on memos prepared by bureaucrats.

Consequently, the forced passage of the bill seemed like a return to the old Diet, where center stage was often taken by partisan political dickering over the schedule, rather than the content of debate.

The move by the ruling camp put a damper on expectations for more vibrant and meaningful discussions at the Diet. As it is, plans for a one-on-one debate between the party leaders remain on hold.

Ichiro Ozawa, the DPJ's secretary-general, has been the main champion of Diet reform. He has called for a departure from such parliamentary traditions as getting bureaucrats to answer questions and wasting time on partisan negotiations on the schedule. That would allow politicians to engage in serious debate. The DPJ should try to figure out a new approach to managing Diet affairs in line with Ozawa's argument.

Among the bills waiting to be considered is one to freeze the planned sales of government-held shares in Japan Post Holdings Co. and its affiliates. The bill, which embodies the Hatoyama administration's pledge to review the process of postal privatization, demands especially exhaustive examination. The ruling coalition must not rush to enact the legislation by resorting to its majority in the chamber.

The government is opposed to an extension of the Diet session because it fears it would hamper work to draft the budget for next fiscal year in December. But it should consider a limited extension to ensure sufficient discussions are held on these important bills.

Some of the members of a group of opinion leaders have put together a set of proposals for Diet reform in response to Ozawa's request. They include making the Diet open throughout the year so lawmakers can consider bills without worrying about time limits.

Now, bipartisan debate should start on Diet reform toward the next year's regular session. The ruling camp's dependence on its majority to push through its political agenda is not in tune with the new era, as symbolized by the regime change.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 20(IHT/Asahi: November 21,2009)