EDITORIAL: Renewing democracy

For some time now, key political developments in Japan have been actuated by the power of the word "no" rather than "yes," by disapproval rather than approval.

Voters gave the Democratic Party of Japan a ruling mandate mainly because they didn't support the Liberal Democratic Party. DPJ members and supporters elected Naoto Kan as their new leader and therefore as Japan's prime minister, because they didn't want former DPJ head Ichiro Ozawa to lead the party. The modest expectations that voters entertained when they cast their ballots didn't last long.

Politicians appear to believe that the only way to score political gains is to heap scorn on political enemies. Is that because they have forgotten how to win public support?

The situation would be tolerable if it were a sign that Japanese democracy was going through growing pains. But politicians preoccupied with attacking one another must not be allowed to harm the fortunes of Japan as a nation.

Let us look back on the political situation in Japan before Word War II. At a time of dire economic problems due in part to the Great Depression, the two major parties at the time, Seiyukai and Minseito, were steeped in a culture of corruption and locked in partisan warfare. As a result, both parties gradually lost the public's trust. On May 15, 1932, then Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai was assassinated by young military officers in an attempted coup that brought an end to party politics in prewar Japan.

Two weeks before he was shot dead, Inukai addressed the growing criticism of parliamentary democracy in a radio address. He said, "Disagreeing with (the criticisms), I certainly believe (parliamentary democracy) can be improved."

Inukai was killed before he had a chance to realize his vision, but we must not give up on politics, no matter what state it is in. Even if we try to escape from politics, it will chase us forever.

An informed public

There are similarities and differences between the political situations then and now.

Last year, there was much debate in the country over issues related to justice and public life. Professor Michael Sandel's extremely popular classes on justice at Harvard University, which NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) started broadcasting last spring, made waves on the Internet in Japan. The program was viewed some 60,000 times through NHK's video-on-demand service alone, while 600,000 copies of a Japanese translation of his book called "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?" have been sold in Japan. The "Sandel boom" stimulated debate on fundamental issues of political philosophy among Japanese citizens.

"Tokyo Think Sustainability (T2S)," a discussion forum with more than 100 members, mainly young employees of the Tokyo metropolitan government, organized its own Sandel-style classes four times last year. The attendants discussed the future of Tokyo, where the number of elderly citizens is growing rapidly, and issues related to the sustainability of society.

Takahiro Urushibara, a 40-year-old Tokyo government employee who established the forum, says professor Sandel "poses questions to which there is no single correct answer and asks us how we think about them. As we are facing so many sticky questions now, I wanted to set up a forum for these conversations and to increase the number of people who act with hope."

"Public Renovation Club (PURC)" is a group of citizens set up to think about a "new concept of public service," which was a catchword of former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's. Hatoyama's resignation led to a movement among users of the Twitter micro-blogging service to take the lead in promoting the concept, instead of leaving that effort to the government.

Some 1,500 people around the nation are registered on the group's mailing list. Participants living near each other gather to discuss issues facing their communities, such as child care and people who don't have access to shops because they can't drive and there are no stores in their neighborhood.

There is a lot of talk about the political and economic crises facing this nation. But these crises are also putting pressure on citizens to think independently about important issues. Japanese should regard the situation as a good opportunity to overcome their traditional reluctance to take the lead in public debate.

Before taking office, Prime Minister Kan said, "Parliamentary democracy means allowing a certain level of dictatorship for a limited period of time." He had a point. Excessive sensitivity to ever-changing public opinion among politicians can undermine political stability and harm society.

The Internet, however, has made it possible for citizens to obtain and disseminate information directly, instead of through the mass media.

Increasing information online

Under such circumstances, the government cannot hope to persuade citizens to leave it to do its job until the next election. Huge streams of live information flow over the Net, affecting public opinion and determining what political capital the government has.

The steep decline of public support for the Kan administration was triggered by its response to the September collision between a Chinese trawler and Japan Coast Guard vessels near the disputed Senkaku Islands.

The administration's reluctance to release video footage of the collision taken by the coast guard alienated many people who wanted to know the truth. Citizens who have acquired a taste for quick access to all kinds of information and for easy communication of their opinions to a broad audience can be impatient when facts are withheld from them.

The trend is irreversible. Our society will move toward democracy based on more direct civic participation. That's not something to worry about. The ability of citizens to obtain information and express their views is essential for a mature democracy.

Needless to say, public sentiment should not be allowed to run wild and go to extremes. The question is whether the public can make good use of the new media environment as a means to take part in politics. The future of the nation's democracy depends on whether the public's wish to know will evolve into a wish to think.

Constructive dialogue among citizens will contribute greatly to the process. That means people belonging to different generations and different working environments should exchange their opinions, listen to others and deepen their thinking. They need to be willing to change their positions on issues. Promoting such conversations requires skillful moderators who can ensure mature and meaningful debate, like Sandel, and editors who can evaluate and organize information.

Politicians and journalists also have a role to play in this process. Citizens need to develop their abilities to listen, persuade and debate. The role of politics cannot be that of a "dictator."

Making decisions

One big reason for Japanese people's disillusionment with the current government is its inability to make gutsy political decisions.

The ruling party has been waffling over its key policy promises, such as driving debate on a rise in the consumption tax and a ban on corporate political donations. The party was apparently not thoroughly prepared or committed to tackle these challenges.

That is not to say the prime minister can solve the situation by simply plucking up the courage to make tough decisions. It is impossible for Japan to return to "machine politics," in which political leaders built a group of followers through the provision of financial and election support, and tried to accomplish their political ambitions with the power of numbers.

Citizens, who now possess powerful tools to gather information themselves and express their opinions, will not overlook political decisions being made without their support. It is crucial to rebuild the decision-making system.

We need to return to the basic principles of democracy. That means citizens and politicians thinking together and seeking agreement through debate.

This may sound like a roundabout way to a better future, but there is no other way foward.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 3