Reshuffled Cabinet should do away with old-style politics

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Reshuffled Cabinet should do away with old-style politics
Akahata editorial

Prime Minister Kan Naoto, the reelected leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, has completed the reshuffling of DPJ executives and his cabinet, starting his new regime.

The outline of the new Cabinet basically remains as it was: Sengoku Yoshihito and Noda Yoshihiko stay on as chief cabinet secretary and finance minister respectively. Former Foreign Minister Okada Katsuya takes up the party’s No. 2 position as secretary general and Maehara Seiji is moved to the foreign minister post from his previous post as land minister. Attention-getters Ozawa Ichiro (ex-DPJ secretary general) and Koshiishi Azuka (DPJ Upper House leader) have reportedly refused to assume the DPJ’s acting president roles. No matter how Kan tries to divert public attention from the issue of political distrust with the new Cabinet lineup, his old-style method of politics faces an impasse.

Under thumbs of US interests and Japanese business circles

The DPJ on September 16 celebrated the first anniversary of the inauguration of the DPJ-led government born as a result of the general election last year. The party recently had its presidential election in which Kan succeeded in securing his post as the party head. He, however, did not talk about how he plans to break the political stalemate during his campaign although the public wanted to hear his stance on the issues regarding the ailing economy, the proposed consumption tax increase, and the Futenma base relocation.

Kan first became prime minister in the wake of the resignation of ex-Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio and then DPJ Secretary General Ozawa over their “money-for-politics” scandals. His predecessor Hatoyama had made a public promise to move the Futenma base outside Okinawa or even outside Japan, but later ended up breaking his policy pledge. Soon after succeeding Hatoyama, Kan proclaimed that he will carry out the Japan-U.S. agreement on constructing a new U.S. base in Okinawa’s Nago City as replacement for the U.S. Futenma air base. He also made a promise with the business world to reduce corporate taxes and increase the consumption tax. Kan is actually strengthening Japan’s subservience to the United States and Japanese business circles.

What Kan is calling for in his “new growth strategy” is this: The more that large corporations increase their profits, the more will trickle down to individual households, which is exactly the same “trickle down theory” as the previous ruling Liberal Democratic Party had espoused.

Large corporations have amassed an enormous amount of internal reserves but show no intention to use even a small portion of their reserves to provide job security and creation of new jobs. The large amount of tax revenues from the consumption tax has gone to make up for the revenue loss due to major tax breaks for large corporations. The need now is for the government to take measures to boost the household economy and end the preferential treatment to large corporations; this is the proper way to reconstruct Japan’s economy, finance, and people’s living conditions.

The reason why Kan is so firmly clinging to the “relocation” of the Futenma base within Okinawa plan as agreed upon between Japan and the United States is because he places the most importance on the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty in the same way the previous LDP/Komei government did. The base “relocation” within Okinawa has already been shown to be unfeasible due to widespread opposition. The Kan government should represent Okinawans’ demands and boldly negotiate with the United States for the return of the Futenma base to Japan.

As for the issue of “money-for-politics”, Kan has kept from urging Hatotama and Ozawa to tell the whole truth about the allegations against them and to accept their political and moral responsibility to come clean. Here again, he takes the same stance as the LDP did, trying to deny the existence of dirty linen.

Prescription for political distrust needed

An opinion poll conducted after the DPJ presidential election shows an increase in the support rate of the Cabinet. However, 38 percent of respondents said that they think Kan cannot handle issues well, while 28 percent said that they have confidence on his political skill. The general public earnestly wants a breakthrough in the political impasse. Kan should do away with the type of old-style politics initiated by the previous ruling parties.

A drastic change in politics is needed and efforts to address the issue of the Kan government’s subservience to the United States and the Japanese business world are now more important than ever.

- Akahata, September 18, 2010