Editorial
Parties should announce manifestos, play fair in election
The next election of the House of Representatives -- one in which the public will demonstrate whether they want a change in government or to maintain the current one -- will officially be announced on Aug. 18, with voting to take place on Aug. 30. The Lower House is expected to be dissolved on July 21 at the earliest. Though long overdue, we welcome the announcement of a set date for a political showdown and the opportunity to choose our government.
It can hardly be said, however, that the dates were set by Prime Minister Taro Aso himself in order to receive the input of the people. His own plans were likely overridden by a ruling party bent on pushing back the general election no matter what.
Aso must have planned to dissolve the Lower House immediately after the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election on Sunday, with snap elections to take place in early August. Such a sequence of events would have been his last chance to demonstrate initiative in dissolving the Lower House, with the Sept. 10 end of the Lower House members' term of office approaching. With the landslide defeat of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, however, claims that a general election soon afterwards would lead to defeat in the election spread among the ruling coalition along with the push to delay it, and the prime minister had no choice but to accommodate those views.
Having his plans for dissolution thwarted soon after he was prevented from exerting his authority over LDP personnel is evidence of the difficult situation in which Aso has found himself. Moreover, the ruling bloc's efforts to postpone the final battle as far back as possible only shows that protecting itself takes precedence over everything else.
Through the uncommon practice of making a pre-announcement of the House of Representatives' dissolution, Aso probably wanted to claim his authority to dissolve the Lower House, with the aim of silencing calls within the LDP for him to step down. Surprisingly, however, such calls have not been tempered. Within the party, some are pressuring the prime minister to step down prior to the dissolution of the Lower House, while others who are not going as far as calling for the prime minister to be replaced are proposing a "separation of LDP president and prime minister." Under this plan, the LDP president would be replaced so that the party can embark on the next general election with a new frontman, who can then be nominated for prime minister after the election if the ruling bloc wins.
It feels inappropriate for the prime minister -- the very person who initiated the dissolution of the Lower House in order to directly ask the public if they support him -- to be replaced right after the election. The public has become distrustful of the irresponsibility of a party that has repeatedly replaced its leaders, as if changing its facade could somehow fool the public. Party members convinced that the election cannot be won with Aso at the top of the party would more easily earn the understanding and acceptance of the public if they withdrew from the LDP and formed a new party.
The opposition bloc including the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) submitted a non-confidence motion against the Cabinet to the Lower House and a censure motion against the prime minister to the Upper House on Monday. For all practical purposes, the long election race has already begun. A benefit of having the general election in late August is the fact that voters will have the time to scrutinize the policies proposed by different parties.
The various political parties should hasten to compose and announce their manifestos. Prime Minister Aso and the ruling bloc, who have continued to evade voters' choices, must avoid any tricks and fight this election fair and square with their policies. Hopefully, opposition parties will come up with concrete manifestos that detail what kind of changes we can hope to see in Japan with a change in government.
(Mainichi Japan) July 14, 2009