|
With the extended Diet session over, the nation's political focus has shifted to the July 29 Upper House election. Regrettably, the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito resorted to forceful Diet tactics during the extended session, depriving the Diet of chances to discuss important bills in depth.
By force of its majority, the coalition rammed through committee votes on bills to scrap the five-year time limit on pension claims and abolish the Social Insurance Agency, and then got both bills enacted. In handling a bill to set up a system for regulating the future employment of retiring national public servants, whose passage was pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the coalition took the exceptional step of skipping a committee vote and had the Upper House plenary session pass the bill on the basis of a report from the committee chairman.
To give the appearance of resolving the problem of money and politics, which culminated recently with the suicide of agriculture minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, the coalition passed a bill to revise the Political Funds Control Law. But the bill obliges a politician's fund-management body to attach a receipt to its report only when a running expense payment exceeds ¥50,000.
The coalition's efforts to produce tangible results in the Diet as quickly as possible to tide over the Abe administration during a time of declining popularity pre-empted detailed discussion by the ruling and opposition camps on important matters, including the pension system. It is incumbent on both camps to present their policies in a concrete manner to the public during the lead-up to the Upper House election.
In addressing issues such as the gaps between the rich and the poor, and between urban and rural areas, pensions and health care, financial reconstruction, etc., they must focus their arguments so that their basic political philosophy becomes clear to the public.
They also must present their understanding of Japan's modern history — an important clue for judging their stance on the future issue of constitutional revision.
The Japan Times Weekly: July 14, 2007
(C) All rights reserved
|
|
第166通常国会が閉幕、政治の焦点は29日の参院選に移った。与党自民・公明両党は、会期を延長して重要法案の強行採決を連発、慎重な審議を不可能にした。
与党は絶対多数を利用して、年金時効撤廃特例法案と社会保険庁改革関連法案を委員会で強行採決、両法案を成立させた。公務員制度改革関連法案について、両党は委員会審議を省略、委員長の中間報告に基づいて、直接参院本会議で採決、成立させる荒技を使った。
「カネと政治」問題について両党は、資金管理団体の経常経費支出（5万円以上のみ）に領収書添付義務を課す改正政治資金法を成立させた。
安倍内閣の支持率が急落する中、国会で具体的成果を早く出したい与党の戦術で、重要法案についての十分な審議ができなくなった。
参院選に向け、与野党は格差社会、年金、医療、財政再建などの問題について、それぞれの政治理念を国民に十分に説明し、将来の憲法改正を念頭に、明確な歴史観を示す義務がある。
|
●英字新聞社ジャパンタイムズによる英語学習サイト。英語のニュース、よみもの、リスニングなどのコンテンツを無料で提供。無料見本紙はこちら
