Editorial
Parties should place priority on manifestos ahead of election
Focus should be shifted to political parties' manifestos for the upcoming general election for the House of Representatives following the ruling coalition's defeat in Sunday's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election.
The opposition-controlled House of Councillors approved a censure motion against Prime Minister Taro Aso and opposition parties have begun to refuse deliberations on bills in the Diet. Since Aso intends to dissolve the Lower House sometime around July 21 for a general election on Aug. 30, the ruling coalition and opposition parties are likely to enter the race while the Diet remains stalled.
Makoto Koga, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Election Strategy Council, has announced his intention to resign from his post following the party's crushing defeat in the Tokyo assembly race, adding fuel to the confusion within the ruling coalition.
A campaign within the LDP to force Aso to step down is still active. However, the LDP has no choice but to reflect lessons it has learned from its defeat in the local election in its manifesto for the Lower House race.
Needless to say, the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) should not get carried away by its victory in the Tokyo election. Political parties should now place priority on efforts to work out their manifestos that can win support from the public.
It is only natural for some LDP members to urge party leadership to analyze the causes of its humiliating loss in Sunday's election. Frustration is building up among anti-Aso members of the LDP as Aso has stopped them from holding him responsible for the LDP loss in the metropolitan assembly race by announcing that he will dissolve the Lower House.
Growing criticism of Koga's attempt to field Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru in the general election on an LDP ticket apparently prompted him to announce his resignation as the LDP's chief election strategist. However, it is too naive to conclude that his attempt to field the popular comedian-turned governor is the sole cause of the LDP's defeat in the metropolitan assembly race.
However, it would be unfair for LDP members to try to replace the prime minister shortly before the general election out of their dissatisfaction with his administration. It would be contradictory if LDP legislators try to replace the prime minister shortly after voting down a no-confidence motion against his administration in the Lower House. Instead, it should analyze the cause of its crushing defeat in the local election and reflect lessons it will learn from the defeat in its manifesto.
Some LDP legislators reportedly are attempting to stage a separate election campaign by creating their own manifestos. If so, they cannot win the understanding of voters unless they break away from the LDP and form a new party.
On the other hand, the more realistic the chance of the DPJ taking the reins of government becomes, the more their manifestos will be subject to severe public scrutiny.
The DPJ is currently putting the finishing touches on its manifesto. The amount of childcare allowances in the initial fiscal year will be halved from its original plan and its former leader Ichiro Ozawa's cherished plan to reorganize Japan's 47 prefectures into 300 local bodies as part of the decentralization of power will not be incorporated in its manifesto.
It is understandable that the DPJ watered down its election pledges from the viewpoint of their feasibility. However, it would be counterproductive if the DPJ's modification of its manifesto makes it obscure what would change if it takes over the reins of government.
DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama has announced his plan to set up a national strategy bureau that would work out an outline of the state budget directly under the prime minister. However, he is required to specifically explain the plan. He is not allowed to draw a curtain on a scandal in which his political fund-raising organization filed a false report on political donations, even though his party won the metropolitan assembly election.
Political parties should bear in mind that their manifestos will be subject to severe scrutiny by voters over about a 40-day period from the dissolution of the Lower House up to the general election.
(Mainichi Japan) July 15, 2009