Historical victory of the opposition in Japan

Change to what extent?

August 30 marked a tremendous change in Japanese politics. After the disolution of the House of Representatives and the call for general elections, the opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), came out as the clear winner gaining the majority of the seats in dispute. It is still left to be seen to what extent will politics in Japan change, once the opposition gains power from the following days on


By ANDRES MACIAS
from Tokyo, JAPAN


The 45th general elections that took place on the last Sunday of August determined the end of more than four decades of ruling of the Liberal Democratic Party - LDP. From a total of 480 seats in the House of Representatives, 308 were gained by the DPJ. This share of seats, besides validating a change in the country's political power, became also one of the top shares of seats won by any party since this type of elections have been done.

Taking a quick look to the final results and statistics of the elections, another important and historical mark was achieved. Never before, so many female candidates had been able to obtain a seat within the House of Representatives. This time, a total of 54 women gained that privilege, 40 of who are affiliated to the winning party. The total increase of female candidates from the previous general elections in 2005 to the latest ones in August this year, was of 25%.

Structuring a new government

The president of the DPJ, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, is supposed to be presented as the new Primer Minister of Japan in the following days. Since his party's victory, various discussions have taken place over how to structure the new government that will replace the current one that has been under Mr. Taro Aso's administration. Perhaps the most difficult point within that structure is how to align a coalition government that includes, besides the DPJ, the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party.

Some days ago, a meeting was arranged between the leaders of the three parties in order to discuss the appropriate course of action. It is clear that the new government's cabinet will include leaders from the three parties, but not everything turned out to be as easy to agree upon. Everybody consented on the idea of having an integrated consultative body representing the three parties to coordinate the most important official policies, but there was a slight difference of interests when foreign affairs and security issues are addressed. "We reached a broad agreement [on forming a coalition] except for a few issues. We confirmed a plan to establish a consultative body in the government for leaders of the SDP and the PNP and the envisaged state strategy minister to discuss government policies", Mr. Okada, Secretary General of the DPJ, was quoted in the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Political commitments of the new government

During the political campaign, the DPJ formulated a manifesto that highlighted its main intentions once they came into power. These intentions have turned out to become political commitments that the party will have to abide to in order to fulfill the desire for a change in power expressed by the Japanese people in the last elections. But criticism has already taken place.

One of the most critical commitments concerns the source of economic donations that the DPJ will be allowed to receive. Up to now, the LDP received donations from different private companies and organizations, which were directly related to the lobbying capacity that these could have within the ruling government. But as soon as the DPJ gets in power, the only type of donations that will be authorized will be those coming exclusively from individuals. This will turn out to be of great concern for the party's financial assets, since for example, during 2007 the LDP received around 2.9 billion yen from private entities. It is unclear whether the lobbying capacity of those organizations towards the new government will be notably reduced, and how will the interaction between the government and the private sector turn out to be. Furthermore, it is still a question whether DPJ have a plan to substitute the budget that it won't be receiving from private donations.

Mr. Hatoyama is also willing to protect the world's environment through the reduction in up to 25% of Japan's greenhouse gas emissions during the next 10 years. He even encouraged developing countries to follow his initiative, offering them economic and technological aid in the process. His decision was widely welcomed by environmentalists all around the world, but at the same time, it was highly criticized by politicians and academics. The criticism centered in the contradiction that this measure has with other policies announced by the new government. Among others, the DPJ pretends to reduce or even ban tolls from national highways, and cut a temporary tax that currently affects gasoline. Promoting the use of highways and reducing the costs of gasoline will definitely increase the amount of cars and trucks in the country, making it very difficult to reduce the gas emissions.

Foreign affairs: challenges and opportunities

During the World Economic Forum Japan Meeting held in Tokyo on September 4, Mr. Hatoyama said: "In Japan, as in the United States, people wanted to see change". This phrase represented one more allusion from the DPJ leader towards the similarity between the political outcomes in Japan and the United States. And it has gone even further. After the first results of the Japanese elections were published, President Obama called Mr. Hatoyama to congratulate him. Once the call was over, Mr. Hatoyama said: "I received his congratulations to the effect that Democratic Parties had been victorious on both sides of the ocean." And concerning the bilateral issues, he also announced: "I believe that the Japan-US alliance is the foundation [of Japanese diplomacy]. I would like to create a constructive and future-orientated Japan-US relationship." A closer relationship between both Democratic Parties may have interesting results, but there are still some critical issues that will have to be overcome: for example, the presence of US military bases in Okinawa.

At a regional level, the victory of the DPJ has also been very welcomed by countries such as China and Korea. Their mutual relations with Japan while the LDP was in power were full of tension and diplomatic conflicts, mainly due to how the Japanese have dealt with the atrocities committed during war. Foreign media has highlighted the huge opportunity that the DPJ has now to settle back old greaves and smooth the relations with its neighbors.


(Published: 12.09.2009.)