VOX POPULI: DPJ promises have lost their ring of truth

I get a warm, fuzzy feeling when I listen to people conversing in their hometown dialect. There are no sharp edges to the words, rendering them intimate and endearingly straightforward--which isn't the case when people force themselves to speak "standard Japanese."

I just love "Yome-ko" (Bride), a poem written in the Fukushima dialect by Yoichi Saito, a Fukushima Prefecture native who died last month at age 87.

"If y'all are gonna help me find a bride/ Lemme say just one word about the kind of bride I'm lookin' for," it starts.

But instead of "just one word," there follows a long list of what's expected of the bride: She must be down-to-earth and anything but trend-conscious; broad-hipped so she can bear healthy babies; sexy even in rags, and so on and so forth, all in the quaintly charming Fukushima dialect.

Were this wish list "translated" into standard Japanese as itemized "bridal requirements," anyone reading it would be turned off by the man's excessive demands.

Words that sound aloof or affected won't reach anyone's heart. Whether making a request or a promise, the person making it must be well attuned to how it sounds, especially when it's an important request or promise.

The campaign promises listed on the Democratic Party of Japan's manifesto for the Lower House election last year sounded rather affected, like prim and proper individuals sitting stiff-backed and full of themselves. In a manner of speaking, some of those promises, like the proposed child allowance, couldn't stand up to the rigid posture and ended up slouching.

Koichiro Genba, chairman of the DPJ's policy research council, told the Diet on Tuesday: "The campaign manifesto is (like) a living being." That's a convenient excuse.

For the upcoming Upper House election, the DPJ appears to be forgoing sweet talk in favor of fiscal realism. That's all well and good.

But if the manifesto is supposedly "alive," you never know what will become of the new set of promises. The DPJ has lost its credibility by reneging on its previous promises.

Perhaps the party thinks each election will absolve it of its past acts of betrayal. In the way the DPJ is conducting itself now, I don't see any sign of remorse for its mistakes.

Having rushed to adjourn the Diet session, the DPJ is hurrying to prepare for the Upper House election while the wind is still favorable.

But before it starts canvassing for votes, it should tell the people, "If y'all are gonna help me win, lemme just say a word of apology."

Surely there is a proper way to do and say things if the DPJ truly wants to start over with a clean slate.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 18

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.