Election Program of Democratic Party of Japan	No.641 July 14, 2009
		The opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), has fixed its election policy for the general elections to come. The highlights include the proposals on people’s livelihood in the economic crisis, employment, national security and a reduction of the number of parliamentary members. A question rises: can the DPJ change the politics of the country? We must be very careful about their similar stance with that of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in terms of Constitution, which both of the parties want to amend. How to Manage Fiscal Policy? Let’s look at the DPJ’s policy on people’s livelihood and employment: the party pays greater attention in providing direct assistance than the LDP, which prefers to back up businesses. But no qualitative difference is seen. The DPJ, in the same way as the ruling bloc, is not intended to rectify the unfair taxation structure which affects on revenues. How does the DPJ regard resources to bring 17 trillion Yen? The party suggests, in order to avoid a waste of total money of 9 trillion Yen, suspension of construction plans, including a museum of animation movies and hydro-electric dams. That will welcome, but it also presents measures to decrease public workers in the local offices (to reduce 800 billion Yen), cut by 20% the total payroll cost to workers in the national agencies and reduce Diet members (to save 1.1 trillion Yen). As the economic performance gets worse, people need more reliable labor and welfare policies as well as better employment conditions for public workers. The DPJ’s stance, however, does not meet the needs. A wage-cut is rampant in all the industries. If public workers get paid less, workers in the private sector will be paid further less. The DPJ explains a total of 600 billion Yen will be saved by decreasing legislators. The party proposes higher taxes for the working population in order to increase the revenue. It will abolish the preferential steps taken to help families of workers, like allowances for spouse and children, estimating to save 2.7 trillion Yen. That will offset the government’s programs for children. The DPJ takes the same attitude as the LDP. It does not alter the tax system which favors Big Business and the rich, which is the base of the neo-liberal policy. Who will pay the costs incurred by the long, depressive economic performance? Will Big Business pay? Or will the burden be shifted to workers? This is the most important. If the point is blurred, a tipping policy will lead to the higher consumption tax. According to the DPJ, the economic and financial policies are projected for the four years to come. It plans to introduce the higher consumption tax rate in four years so that the minimum pension allowance of 70 thousand Yen a month will be assured in 2014. The heightened consumption tax will pay for it. Drive Away Constitution Defenders from Diet The party proposes to reduce by 80 lawmakers for the proportional representation in the Lower House. It says that it will practice the idea in the following elections, if it wins the state’s power. In addition, the DPJ has presented a plan to reduce legislators in the Upper House by a good number from 2013. Meanwhile, the ruling LDP proposes a single-cameral parliament in ten years. Under these circumstances, even if the ruling coalition of LDP-New Komeito is replaced, in four years to come, constitution defenders will be driven out of the parliament. Politics on the national level will be horrible. What policy does the DPJ have on national security? People want the party to work positively on the nuclear-free initiative in the Northeast Asian region, an active commitment in the SOFA (status-of-forces agreement) between the US and Japan and a review on the generous budgets for the US forces and their realignment. The DPJ, however, will maintain the position of ‘equal partnership between US-Japan’. Does ‘partnership’ mean military capabilities? The DPJ approves the anti-piracy law and deployment of the Self Defense Forces (SDF) in Afghanistan. What will happen to Constitution? Position of Social-Democratic Party Voters are angry at the ruling LDP. The DPJ might win. But the latter’s program will not satisfy people’s expectation. People will not accept another Hosokawa conservative government, which had criticized harshly the LDP for its long domination but introduced in turn the small constituency system. Constitution will be endangered. Fukushima Mizuho, President of Social-Democratic Party, has pledged that the party would not activate the Constitution Study Panel, not agree to send SDF troops abroad and not reduce the number of proportional representation legislators of the Lower House. The party may go to coalition after the next general elections. The electorate watches with alertness the stance of the Social-Democratic Party.