Flesh out the manifestoes
(From The Japan Times July 25 issue)

優先順位と裏づけが明確な政権公約を

As the Lower House election nears, each political party needs to accelerate the work of writing its "manifesto" or detailed election platform. As the coming election will be one in which voters choose a government, stuffing a manifesto with money-splashing projects is not likely to win people's hearts. It will be important for each party, though, to present a limited number of pillar policies that indicate the kind of society it wants to create.

In the coming election, the voters will pass verdicts on the policy line that the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner New Komeito have pursued since the days of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The LDP should make clear its stance on the retrenchment policy line of Mr. Koizumi.

After voters handed an overwhelming victory to the LDP in the September 2005 Lower House election, the nation's social security system, including pensions and medical services, developed serious problems, and poverty has become a social issue.

The LDP should present a detailed examination of the Koizumi legacy and make clear whether it plans to take over Mr. Koizumi's policy line while making necessary adjustments or make a complete break from it.

Although the opposition Democratic Party of Japan is enjoying a higher support rate, it should realize that this support tends to reflect people's disappointment with the ruling coalition and does not necessarily mean that people have developed a deep trust in the DPJ's ability to govern.

The DPJ places emphasis on wrenching politics from the hands of bureaucrats, yet a modern state cannot function without bureaucracy. The party needs to clarify the kind of decision-making process it will establish vis-a-vis bureaucrats so that they will work for the benefit of people. DPJ proposals such as children's allowances, income compensation for farmers and no-toll expressways will require funding sources. The DPJ needs to show not only where it intends to get these funds but also which current projects it will abolish or reduce. This will give true meaning to "policy priorities."

有権者が政権政党を選ぶ今回の衆院選で、ばらまき政策ばかりの公約は支持されないだろう。どんな社会を築くのかを示す主要政策を各政党が明らかにすることは重要だ。

小泉政権以来の自公の政策路線を有権者が判定する。自民党は小泉内閣の緊縮政策に対する立場を明らかにしなければならない

2005年衆院選での自民党圧勝後、年金、医療などの社会保障制度は深刻な問題を抱え、貧困が社会問題となった。

民主党支持は与党への不満の裏返しでもあり、民主党の統治能力への信頼が高いわけではない。

民主党は官僚主導政治打破を強調するが、政策決定の手法はどんなものか。子ども手当、農業の個別所得保障制度、高速道路無料化の財源をどう確保し、既存のどの事業を廃止、削減するのか。それらを明示することが「政策の優先順位」を語ることになる。