Candidates out of the gate
(From The Japan Times March 30 issue)

統一地方選の意義

    April 22 will see mayoral elections in smaller cities, Tokyo's 23 wards, towns and villages. In total, about 1,100 local-level elections will be held on those two days. Upper House by-elections will also be held April 22 in Okinawa and Fukushima prefectures; their outcomes promise to have an impact on national politics as a prelude to the Upper House election this summer.

    The elections come at a time when the approval rating of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration is on the decline. He hopes to buoy up his administration and the ruling bloc with election victories.

    Meanwhile, Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, head of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, is making strenuous efforts to promote his party's candidates, but the DPJ does not enjoy high popularity. Local-election wins would enable his party to gain a foothold toward winning the Upper House election and gaining a majority in the chamber.

    A recent poll shows that voters are most interested in the graying of the population and social welfare, followed by the economy and employment. About one-third of the people polled say they do not support any particular party.

    This group constitutes the largest percentage with regard to the question of party preference. In a sense, more people distrust political parties. The elections will test each political party's ability to present policies that will respond to voters' needs.

    The election results will indicate what the people expect from the parties.

    In their attempt to attract voters, both the ruling and opposition forces are focusing on issues such as the economy, employment, social welfare, medical services and ways to narrow the economic gaps between different regions of the country.

    The Liberal Democratic Party calls for high economic growth through innovation to increase employment.

    The DPJ calls for fewer work hours and an increase in overtime allowances. The DPJ, New Komeito and the Japan Communist Party propose raising the minimum wage.

    The Social Democratic Party treats a minimum-wage hike as the main pillar of its employment policy.

    While the LDP proposes dismantling the Social Insurance Agency to reform the pension system, the DPJ proposes unifying various pension schemes. New Komeito, the JCP and the SDP put more stress on increasing the number of pediatricians and obstetrician-gynecologists, whose decreasing numbers are causing inconvenience and worry, especially for residents in the countryside.

    Transparency in reporting political funds is also an issue. The DPJ has submitted a bill to the Diet which would make it mandatory for lawmakers' political funding bodies to get receipts for payments topping ¥10,000, and to include them in their political funds reports. This is an attempt to clarify how political funds are used. New Komeito calls for establishing third-party bodies to check the use of money by local and national lawmakers in their research activities.

    In the gubernatorial elections, candidates supported by the LDP and the DPJ will fight each other in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Fukuoka, Iwate and Hokkaido. In Tokyo, Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, supported by the LDP, will vie against Shiro Asano, a former governor of Miyagi supported by the DPJ. The JCP-supported Manzo Yoshida and Mr. Kisho Kurokawa, a well-known architect, will also run.

    In Hokkaido, the incumbent governor supported by the LDP and Komeito will face a former DPJ Lower House member supported by the DPJ, the SDP and local party Shinto Daichi (New Party, the Earth). In Fukuoka, the current governor, seeking a fourth term, will face a young candidate supported by the DPJ and the SDP.

    In Fukui and Mie, the LDP and the DPJ together support incumbent governors, while in Nara, Tottori, Shimane, Tokushima, Saga and Oita, the DPJ has failed to field candidates. The LDP and the DPJ stress the importance of the Upper House by-elections in Okinawa and Fukushima prefectures because their outcomes are likely to influence overall results of the Upper House election in July.

    For the first time, candidates in elections of local government heads will be allowed to distribute written manifestos. The candidates' and political parties' ability to present policy proposals in concrete terms will also be tested. The voters need to scrutinize these policy proposals without being swayed by sweet promises.

The Japan Times Weekly: April 7, 2007
(C) All rights reserved

    今回の選挙は、内閣支持率が低迷している安倍政権にとって厳しい試練になる。一方、野党民主党に対しても有権者の支持はあまり強くない。世論調査によれば、有権者は人口高齢化、福祉、経済、雇用に強い関心を示している。回答者の3分の1は、無党派層だ。

    自民党は雇用を増やすため、技術革新による高度成長を公約している。民主党は労働時間削減、残業手当増額を主張している。民主党、公明党、共産党は最低賃金引き上げを求めている。

    年金制度改革のため、自民党は社会保険庁の解体を、民社党は年金の一元化を主張している。

    政治資金の透明化も重要問題の一つだ。民主党は、議員の資金管理団体に対し1万円以上の支払いにつき政治資金報告書に領収書添付を義務付ける法案を国会に提出した。公明党は、国会議員、地方議員の調査費について第三者機関による監査を提案している。

    都知事選では、自民党の支援を受ける石原現知事が、民主党の支援を受ける浅野史郎前宮城県知事、共産党推薦の吉田万三氏、建築家の黒川紀章氏などの挑戦を受けている。

    今回初めて、地方自治体の首長選で、候補者が選挙公約を配布することを認められる。候補者、政党がいかに公約を具体的に提示するかが問われる。有権者はこれらの公約を、甘い言葉に惑わされず精査する必要がある。