February 3, 2011

We cannot talk about the birth of the Democratic Party of Japan without mentioning Inamori Kazuo, chairperson of Japan Airlines. It happened in 2002 and 2003.

Ozawa Ichiro, who was leading the Liberal Party at that time, approached DPJ President Hatoyama Yukio with the proposal to merge the two parties. Hatoyama backed the proposal but was forced to resign as party head due to inner-party opposition. Then the lawmaker turned to Inamori, asking him to give a hand in the DPJ-LP merger. Inamori back then was president emeritus of Kyocera Corporation.

“I tried so hard to persuade (the two party members concerned),” Inamori recalled. He was one of the first strong advocates of the two-party system among business leaders, telling Ozawa to work for a merger with the DPJ in the earlier stage.

His effort bore fruit in the summer of the following year when the two parties merged to form the bigger DPJ. What Inamori and other businesspersons were hoping for with the establishment of the two-party system was to ensure political “safety”: If the Liberal Democratic Party fails to manage the government, the DPJ can take over power and continue to work for their business interests.

Now, Inamori’s awareness of aviation “safety” is called into question as his company’s radical downsizing is causing controversy. “A year ago, safety came before profits,” he told the press, indicating that he is now giving higher priority to profits. Under the corporate rehabilitation procedures, JAL is forcibly dismissing veteran pilots, unusual behavior for airlines that are required to ensure safe flights.

At a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on February 3, Prime Minister Kan Naoto admitted that safety is a priority in JAL’s reconstruction. If he really believes this, the prime minister must confront the forcible personnel cuts, even though Inamori is a major benefactor for the DPJ.