Japanese Legislative Election

The Washington Post has a story about the leader of Japan’s DPJ party that shows him to be a different sort of leader.  He’s got a long family history in politics.  Both his father and grandfather were leaders of the LDP, the party he ousted from power.  He also started his career with the LDP, but became disenchanted.

In his campaign, he sounds to these American ears like a combination of Obama and Bill Clinton.  An inspiring leader who connects with people on a personal level.  From the Post:

But on the campaign trail this summer, his speeches became more engaging and his message more inspiring. He has developed a reputation as a gentle man, one who kneels and talks eye-to-eye with children and with elderly people in wheelchairs.

As you may have seen in news-flashes on your local new source, the DPJ has pulled in a momentous victory in Japan’s Lower House elections held just yesterday. In fact it has taken a clear majority with 308 seats, 319 if you include prospective coalition partners such as the Social Democratic Party, People’s New Party and New Party Nippon. The LDP on the other hand has seen its coalition majority with the New Komeito dwindle from a staggering 331 pre-election to a humble 140 post. The two ousted parties received 119 and 21 seats respectively, down from 300 and 31 in the 2005 election.

DPJ party leader and soon to be Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, was considerably reserved during TV interviews last night, even when his party’s victory seemed sealed. Hatoyama made the statement, perhaps very wisely so, that: “This must become more than just a victory for the DPJ. It is (our) duty to make this a victory for the nation.”

With record breaking voter turnout one can be sure that there will be a great deal of pressure for the DPJ to deliver not only on political promises, but also on the revival of Japan’s wounded economy. Official figures released from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications place voter turnout at a whopping 69.28%, a new record under the current voting system.

Commentary has also cautioned the LDP’s need to firmly take up the reigns as opposition party, as there is no time for licking wounds in the current economic state.

As the dust settles and we very quickly enter the extraordinary session of the Diet, we’ll be back with analysis of what went on and where things are headed.

In the meantime we leave you with food for thought in shape of some local coverage.

Japan Today

Moving Forward

Asahi, Herald Tribune

Election Won

Asahi, Herald Tribune #2

Election Lost

Mainichi

Losing Favor

As expected, the Democratic Party of Japan won big. Here’s some interesting analysis:

• Financial Times
• New Republic

Interesting blog post from Observing Japan.  Key quote :

Hatoyama Yukio and the other DPJ leaders plan to move quickly in preparing the party to take power, and the Japanese people will be watching to see what the party does with its new majority. The party has about a year until it will have to go before the public again, in the 2010 House of Councillors election — and the clock will be ticking.

Election-day is all but upon us in the Land of the Rising Sun but before we get all philosophical about a new era dawning with the forecast change of government, it’s time to take a look at the nuts and bolts of this ballot. This isn’t junior high school and we aren’t running a popularity contest, though some may beg to differ on the latter, so what exactly are the Japanese public faced with in terms of policy and political promises? From the bold to the serious and on to the far-fetched, we take a peek inside the various manifestos flying around.

First on our list, and at the hearts of many a Japanese voter, are serious promises to eradicate the misuse or waste of tax payer’s money on various initiatives run by the government. This includes quite often overpriced pointless public works, excessive expenditure on road-works and the bane of many a hard working person, the steeped practice of retired bureaucrats parachuting into high level positions in private corporations. I assure you they’re not invited to theses cushy spots for their depth of industry insight alone.

Most of the political parties are singing a similar tune here, the DPJ, SDP, JCP and New Komeito but to name a few. The ruling LDP funnily enough is a little less staunch in their stance on this, while they do express their support for eliminating wasteful practices.

Next we have several broad policy areas that look at supporting the average person’s day to day life. These include:

• Education & child-rearing with the extension of free education being sung for preschool and high school, shortening work hours in support of child rearing, and financial support for families with children up to the end of junior high school.
• Employment support and assurance with policies that address gaps in remuneration and provide support for those searching for work.
• Pension and Healthcare reforms that address Japan’s aging population and the consequent strains being placed on both of these essential systems.
• Decentralization of authority from the central government to local municipalities to ensure funding is allotted according to local needs.

One of the bold promises being made comes from the leading opposition party, the DPJ, which has indicated its intent to post over 100 politicians within the various government ministries and Agencies in an effort to rectify what it sees as excessive bureaucratic control over policy creation. This move by the DPJ, along with their likely rise to power, has seen many bureaucrats pick up the phone and make courtesy visits to key DPJ members.

On the far-fetched side of things we have the establishment of a Thunderbirds squad (you heard me THUNDERBIRDS) being table by the New Party Nippon. Well, the name at least is a little far-fetched. The actual logic behind it would seem to be a repositioning of Japan’s Self Defense Forces (JSDF) involvement in international support missions. The JSDF’s involvement in Afghanistan and refueling initiatives in the Indian Ocean for U.S. allied forces is a controversial issue domestically (and abroad in some cases) with article 9 in the Japanese constitution that prohibits an act of war by the state. This is an issue left best perhaps for another blog though, so I leave it in your hands to Google away for further reading.

Next time we blog it will probably be to give a breakdown of the August 30^th elections. Until then, we bid you sayonara.

Times of economic depression or instability (I will leave it to your discretion to choose a word you feel comfortable with) typically drive constituent interest in who their political representatives are and what precisely they are doing to help ”me” out of said economic situation. Another trend often attributed to difficult economic times is a look to change, a change of government to be precise. Both of these trends can be seen in the Japanese Archipelago this summer.

Looking at overall voter interest in the upcoming general election we are greeted with some intriguing figures (you’ll remember from our last post that figures are all important in Japan).

Several recent voter surveys by independent news organizations indicate that around 74% of people “will definitely” go to the polls on August 30th. Along with those indicating they “will probably” go to the polls, the figure reaches an astounding 92%. In statistics compiled by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, pre-election voting is up a whole 51.7% on the same period for the ’05 elections. Voter turnout in the ‘05 election by the way was 67.51%, an all time high for the current electoral system comprised of single-seat constituencies and proportionally represented multiple-seat constituencies. If one were to speculate, we could say Japan may very well be in for some Usain Bolt-like record breaking of its own this summer.

Recent news coverage also hints at an increased turnout of younger voters; a student group iVote catching media attention as they took to the streets of Shibuya punting the August 30th ballot as the “Summer Festival for the 20-somethings”. Members, dressed up in yukata and other such festival garb, roamed Tokyo’s trendy-Mecca passing out leaflets and calling for their peers to make their voices heard at the polls. There’s nothing like a little peer endorsement to spirit things along.

So, what can we make of this increasing interest in the upcoming election? The all important question one must ask is: “Who are all these people going to vote for?”

If we take a look at a recent poll conducted by the Mainichi Newspaper the leading opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, is in for a landslide victory. Of the total 480 Lower House seats available the DPJ is predicted to take some 300+. The ruling LDP party on the other hand may not even break triple digits, according to the same results.

Has the wind of change arrived on the shores of the Japanese Archipelago, or is all this commentary just hot wind? Time will tell.

See you next blog entry where we will take a look at the issues and policies being tabled for debate.