Fukuda at the helm, facing great challenges
(From The Japan Times Sept. 25 issue)

福田新自民党総裁の課題

Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, former chief Cabinet secretary of the Koizumi administration, has been elected as the new president of the Liberal Democratic Party, ending the political vacuum caused by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's sudden resignation. The greatest task of Mr. Fukuda, who became prime minister Sept. 25, is to regain the people's trust in politics and to reconstruct the LDP, which suffered a devastating defeat in the July 29 Upper House election and ceded control of the chamber to the opposition.

The defeat in the Upper House election is an important reminder that Mr. Fukuda must carefully consider the party and the government's policy orientation. The election result indicated that voters were apprehensive about problems that directly affect their lives such as the pension scheme and the economic gap between rich and poor, and between urban and rural areas. Voters were not attracted by Mr. Abe's ideology-oriented conservative and nationalistic political agenda.

Mr. Fukuda promised during the campaign to "scrupulously cope with" issues such as pension, medical and nursing-care services; the economic hardship of the countryside; agriculture, forestry and fisheries; and the socially weak. At the same time, however, he said that he would stick to the policy of "reform and economic growth" started by the Koizumi administration, which apparently is contributing to economic disparities. He needs to present a grand design under which he can achieve social equity while pursuing a basic policy of emphasizing the market mechanism.

He also needs to clarify whether he will push Mr. Abe's main agenda — a "departure from the postwar regime," which emphasized constitutional revisions, and aimed to strengthen state control of education and instill patriotism in children through a revision of the Fundamental Law of Education.

On the diplomatic front, Mr. Fukuda expressed his desire to place greater importance on the United Nations while maintaining the alliance between Japan and the United States, and seeking better relations with Asian neighbors. He made clear that he will not visit Yasukuni, Japan's war shrine, and stressed the importance of pursuing dialogue with North Korea as a means of breaking the diplomatic impasse. It remains to be seen how his diplomacy will differ from that of Mr. Abe and what fruit it will bear.

Although Mr. Fukuda received 330 votes, or 62.5 percent of the 528 votes from LDP lawmakers and prefectural branch representatives in the presidential election, he must remember that this does not mean that he has received a popular mandate. He will still face strong pressure from the Democratic Party of Japan and other opposition parties to dissolve the Lower House, and hold an early general elections.

In a news conference following his election to the LDP presidency, Mr. Fukuda repeatedly said that he would seek consultations with the DPJ, the No. 1 opposition party, on bills closely related to the people's lives, and the issue of extending the Maritime Self-Defense Force's antiterrorism mission of refueling U.S. and other countries' naval ships in the Indian Ocean. Since Lower House decisions can be voted down by the opposition in the Upper House, this is a rational and welcome approach. But such consultations must not suppress serious discussions in the Diet. This new situation also means that the DPJ could lose popular support if it behaves in an irresponsible manner.

Mr. Fukuda must take note that the manner in which Mr. Abe stepped down has diminished the people's trust in politics.

Last year, a majority of LDP lawmakers opted to make Mr. Abe the party's top leader and consequently prime minister because they thought that he, being young and popular, could lead the LDP to victory in the next national election. Their support was not the result of their scrutinizing of Mr. Abe's policy platform. This opportunistic decision backfired in the form of the LDP's crushing defeat in the Upper House election and Mr. Abe's irresponsible resignation just two days after delivering a policy speech in the Diet.

The LDP appears to have chosen Mr. Fukuda because of his "image of stability." To bolster the people's trust in politics, Mr. Fukuda should strive to turn the LDP into a party in which members have spirited discussions on policy measures. A party in which members are more interested in political expediency to further their own prospects rather than the welfare of the people will never gain the nation's trust.

福田康夫元官房長官が自民党総裁に選出され、安倍晋三首相の突然の辞意表明で起きた政治空白が終わった。25日に首相に就任した福田氏の最大の課題は、政治に対する国民の信頼を回復し、7月29日の参院選で惨敗した自民党の再建を図ることだ。

参院選惨敗で、福田氏は政府与党の政策の方向を慎重に検討する必要がある。有権者は、安倍政権の保守的で国家主義的な基本政策よりも、年金問題、貧富の格差、都市と地方の格差問題に重大関心を寄せている。

福田氏は総裁候補として、年金問題、医療・介護サービス、社会弱者の経済苦境問題などについてきちんと対応すると約束したが、同時に小泉政権が推進し、経済的不平等の原因となっている「改革と成長」路線を継承すると言明した。氏は、市場経済政策を追求しながら、社会的平等を達成する大構想を提示する必要がある。

また、福田氏は安倍前首相が提唱した、憲法改正などによる「戦後レジームからの脱却」の方針を継続するのかどうか明示しなければならない。

福田氏は外交面で、日米関係の維持、アジア諸国との関係改善、国連重点主義を推進すると主張しているが、安倍政権との政策の違いはどうなるか注目される。

総裁選では福田氏は、投票総数528票のうち、330票を獲得したが、選挙結果は民意を反映したわけではない。今後、民主党などの野党陣営から早期の解散総選挙への圧力が高まることが予想される。

昨年の自民党総裁選では、若くて国民的人気のある安倍氏が次の総選挙の「顔」として選出された。この便宜主義的決定が自民党の参院選惨敗、安倍氏の無責任な辞意表明につながった。

自民党は、福田氏を安定感で選んだようだ。政治への信頼を回復するため、氏は政策について活発な議論が行える党への変身を図る必要がある。党員が国民よりも自身の便宜を考えるような政党は決して信頼を回復することはできないだろう。