Compromises Seen in Campaign Platform

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba started making party platform with the policy team of his Liberal Democratic Party for coming general election of the House of Representatives voted on October 27. To appeal the voters political reform of the party, the draft of platform insisted on “reborn” of the LDP abiding by the rules. The opposition parties criticized Ishiba’s compromise with the protesters in the LDP by setting higher targets on political reform in their own platforms.

Ishiba reportedly abandoned excluding the lawmakers who were involved in the slush fund scandal from official endorsement as LDP candidates in the general election. LDP had imposed penalties on those lawmakers in April, which included stripping the endorsement in the election. If Ishiba excludes some lawmakers who already received punishment from party endorsement, it may be imposing double penalties on them.

 

Although some candidates in LDP presidential election proposed complete abolishment of the policy activities fund, which is given to party leaders with no requirement of disclosure, the draft of platform raised higher transparency of the fund. On allowance to each lawmaker for research, study, public relations and accommodation, the platform would require disclosure of purpose of spendings and returning surplus back to the national budget.

 

On internal policies supporting people’s ordinary life, Ishiba LDP is going to introduce allowance for low-income families, distinguishing from the economic policy by former Premier Shinzo Abe, or Abenomics, which had definitely been focusing on economic growth. Ishiba will increase subsidy for local governments to support school lunch. Although Ishiba announced that he would succeed economic policy of Fumio Kishida administration, news media began to use the word of “Ishibanomics,” which would also include higher interest rate policy.

 

Ishiba must have been selling himself as an expert of security policies, proposing his unique idea. However, the platform will not include “Asian NATO,” because it was too unrealistic for an immediate prescription on instability in Asia-Pacific region. Revision of Japan-U.S. status of forces agreement was degraded to a target “making it as it should be.” It emphasized that contingence in Taiwan would be a realistic problem that Japan faces.

 

The Constitutional Democratic Party raised regaining confidence on politics as its top issue in their platform. It insisted on total ban on political donation from any company and organization, which LDP has been fundamentally opposing. The CDP also included regulation on heredity of seat as member of the Diet, which is outstanding in the LDP.

 

Japan Innovation Party, or Nippon Ishin-no Kai, also upheld abolishing corporate and organizational donation and hereditary regulation, as well as a populist presentation of reducing consumption tax by two percent. There seems no approach among the opposition parties to integrate their campaign policies to compete with the LDP.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amendment of Local Autonomy Law

The House of Representatives started discussion on revision of the Local Autonomy Law, which would vest the national government a power to instruct local government in an emergency. It may change the relationship between the national and local government, which has been recognized as equal. The opposition parties oppose the amendment, arguing that it would give the national government an excessive power.   With the Meiji Restoration, the national government abolished the feudal system, introducing modern governance. However, its autonomy was not sufficient. The governor of each prefecture was appointed by the national government. The local governments subordinated to the national government. It was as late as 2000 when  the Comprehensive Decentralization Law  was enacted and the relationship between the national and local government was defined as equal.   The national government found inconvenience in the relationship between the national and local government, when COVID-19 was preval
Read more

Request for Final Nuclear Disposal Site

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry requested Genkai Town, Saga, to accept “literature survey” for building a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste. Genkai is going to answer within this month. If it accepts, it will be the third place to accept that survey, following two places in Hokkaido. Main reason to accept the survey is supposed to be subsidy from the national government.   Japan has no final disposal site. Among all 54 reactors in 17 nuclear power generation plant, 12 reactors of 6 plants are operating. The rest of them are not in operation, some of which are determined to be decommissioned. Used nuclear fuels are stocked in each plant, 　 or have sent to a reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori. There are two plans to stock nuclear wastes in the intermediate facility for disposal, one is already built and another is still in negotiation.   Nuclear Fuel Final Disposal Act in 2000 determines to bury nuclear waste in the underground. Literature survey, which is
Read more

Death Penalty Demanded on Criminal of Arson

On the historically brutal case of arson, the public prosecutors demanded an ultimate penalty to the offender. In the trial on the arson and murder in Kyoto Animation in 2019, the prosecutors requested death penalty on the defendant, Shinji Aoba. The lawyers of Aoba argued that the court should avoid sentencing death penalty. The judgement will be passed next January. Aoba was indicted as putting fire after pouring gasoline in the building of Kyoto Animation (Kyoani), a studio producing animation works, and killed 36 staffs and injured 32 on July 18 th , 2019. In the trial, Aoba argued that he could not tolerate Kyoani, because it had stolen his novel story in its works. Aoba later apologized to the victim’s families that he had done too much and regretted it.   In the closing argument in Kyoto Regional Court, the prosecutors demanded death penalty for Aoba, because the number of victims were extremely high in the history of criminal trials in Japan. “It is hard to describe about how t
Read more