Editorial
DPJ must fulfill promises it made to the public
It was truly a watershed election. Heavyweights and veterans in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) dropped like flies in battles against new, previously unknown candidates. It was evidence that the people categorically chose change, bringing about a historical transfer of power.
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won over 300 seats in the House of Representatives, marking a landslide victory and the establishment of a new government centered around the DPJ. Not only did the LDP fall from its position as the largest bloc in the chamber for the first time in history, it suffered a devastating defeat, decreasing its pre-election strength by nearly two-thirds. It signaled the collapse of the LDP-Komeito coalition government.
Japan was long under a single-party rule, without the democratic convention of parties alternately taking the position of the ruling party through elections. The election on Sunday was the first time in post-war Japan that a government was selected front-on from between two major parties.
Even while the public harbored apprehensions about the DPJ, it was the sense of urgency that there was no way out of the current deadlock without a political breakthrough that generated this tremendous seismic change. Many challenges await the new government to be headed by DPJ leader Yukio Hatoyama. It must bring about change without growing complacent in numbers, and with the spirit and readiness to revamp Japanese politics.
With the collapse of the LDP-Komeito coalition government, we have gone beyond what could be described as a shift in the political current, to something more akin to a revolution. The 70-percent voter turnout is evidence of the public's interest and determination to transform politics. The public's resoluteness was exemplified in the breakdown of traditional LDP strongholds. The public desire for change led to the replacement of old hands with younger generations.
Still, regardless of how easily a snowball effect can take place in a single-seat constituency system, the drastic changes that have occurred cannot be explained without looking at changes in Japan's political and social structure.
The long-term basis of the LDP's solid governing structure was comprised of safeguarding the interests of industries and organizations, and administrative management carried out by bureaucrats. When the economy grew stagnant and various problems including the budget deficit further worsened, the reforms of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appeared on the scene. Calling for a smaller government, a facet of which was postal privatization, the LDP won an overwhelming victory in the 2005 general election. It appeared as though the party had made a comeback.
However, when the public's concerns for their livelihood surged with problems concerning healthcare, pensions, gaps between the rich and poor and rural impoverishment, the LDP struggled to come up with a new course of action. As the Diet lay "twisted" due to the party's crushing defeat in the House of Councillors election, two prime ministers stepped down in the middle of their tenures, exposing the party's inability to run the government. The public's dissatisfaction toward the government of Taro Aso, continually postponing dissolution while it remained incapable of wrapping up Koizumi's reforms, reached its peak.
Furthermore, the LDP's vote-collecting machine comprised of industries, farmers and local assembly members rapidly deteriorated and fell apart as a result of Koizumi's structural reform policies. Second- and third-generation politicians held on to important posts and the party suffered a shortage of valuable human resources. It's hard to say with any certainty that Aso had the leadership qualities necessary to cope with various difficulties. The party suffered from systemic fatigue, and became, in effect, "broken."
The DPJ, on the other hand, advocating a transfer of power, succeeded in addressing such issues as people's livelihoods and a move away from bureaucrat-administered politics in its manifesto, even as the LDP remained unable to escape industry interests and bureaucratic meddling. The fact that voters chose the DPJ as the result of approximately 40 days of heated debate after the dissolution of the House of Representatives is of great significance.
Yet, setting sail after securing so many seats in the Lower House entails certain risks, for the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment when those expectations go unfulfilled. It goes without saying that the DPJ must refrain from relying merely on the sheer number of its members in the Diet to direct the course of government. With the Upper House election set to take place next summer, the DPJ will be forced to show evidence that it has overhauled Japanese politics.
The swift establishment of a framework that allows for political leadership is essential. Without a departure from the "bureaucratic Cabinet" system in which a vertically divided bureaucracy stands at the helm of administration, the DPJ may become a repeat of the Hosokawa Cabinet, which failed to steer the bureaucracy.
The party's currently vague diplomatic and security policies should also be defined through discussions with coalition parties. Voters have cast their precious votes to the DPJ knowing that doing so posed risks, including the fact that the party's measures to secure funding still remain unclear. The DPJ must take to heart that its members were not voted into government from an abundant faith in their ability to run it.
The LDP, too, has a heavy responsibility as the new opposition. The party's downfall was a result of its lingering in a position of comfort even as its raison d'etre was called into question with the end of the Cold War and the burst of the economic bubble. Without a comprehensive review of itself, the very survival of the party is in danger.
It's too early to say that the election has realized a two-party system between the LDP and DPJ. But the practice of determining the framework of government through elections must be firmly set in place.
Faced with many pressing issues, such as the economic crisis, public finances, pensions, and the rebuilding of the healthcare system, the new government has no choice but to fulfill the various promises it has made to the public.
Finally, voters who handed the reins of government to the DPJ have a responsibility, too. Japan has entered an age in which now, more than ever, the public must participate in and monitor politics.
(Mainichi Japan) August 31, 2009