Prime Minister Kan's lineup
(From The Japan Times June 9 issue)

｢脱小沢｣の菅内閣発足

New Prime Minister Naoto Kan has announced the lineup of the Democratic Party of Japan's party leadership and the Cabinet. The lineup clearly shows his thinking: Give a fresh image to the party and Cabinet and win back people's trust by diluting the influence of former DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa, whose image suffered over allegations that his political funds management body violated the Political Funds Control Law.

Mr. Kan appointed Mr. Yukio Edano to the post of party secretary general. Mr. Edano had played a leading role in the Government Revitalization Unit (GRU), which scrutinizes budget requests and projects of nonprofit public service corporate bodies that receive public money, and has served as administrative reform minister in the Hatoyama Cabinet. Mr. Edano is highly critical of Mr. Ozawa's political style, which aroused suspicions of pork-barrel spending and the revival of vested-interest politics.

A weak point of the DPJ lawmakers criticizing Mr. Ozawa is their lack of experience in organizing nationwide election campaigns as Mr. Ozawa did. It is Mr. Ozawa who helped lead the DPJ to victories in the 2007 Upper House election and in the 2009 Lower House election and has laid the groundwork for the DPJ's campaign in the coming Upper House election. Mr. Edano's appointment will improve the DPJ's image. But he must prove his ability in the promotion of party unity and in the DPJ's fight in the coming election.

Mr. Kan also revived the party's policy affairs council and appointed Mr. Koichiro Genba, chief of the Lower House's Financial Affairs Committee, as chief of the council. Mr. Genba will also serve as the minister in charge of the public servants' system reform, the "new concept of public service" and birthrate improvement.

Mr. Ozawa abolished the council to avert dual-decision making on policy matters by the Cabinet and the party. But this deprived many DPJ lawmakers of the chance to take part in policy measures and also led to the concentration of power in Mr. Ozawa. We hope the new system will revive lively debate in the party and improve communication between the party and the Cabinet, thus increasing transparency in decision making — which was lacking during the days of Mr. Ozawa.

Mr. Kan retained 11 Cabinet members from the Hatoyama administration to flesh out policies left unfinished by the Hatoyama Cabinet and to avoid administrative confusion.

Mr. Kan replaced farm minister Hirotaka Akamatsu with Mr. Masahiko Yamada, senior vice farm minister under Hatoyama, because of Mr. Akamatsu's mishandling of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Miyazaki Prefecture. Mr. Kan also appointed Ms. Renho, popular and well-known for her work with the GRU, as administrative reform minister.

In the Hatoyama administration, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano mishandled important issues such as the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station Okinawa and caused disastrous damage to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. To avoid such a mistake, Mr. Kan appointed Mr. Yoshito Sengoku, national strategy minister of the Hatoyama Cabinet, a trusted politician well-versed in policy matters and known for his criticism of Mr. Ozawa, as chief Cabinet secretary — as spokesman and coordinator for the Cabinet. We hope he will do a good job.

Mr. Kan promoted Mr. Yoshihiko Noda, senior vice financial minister of the previous Cabinet, to finance minister. Mr. Kan (finance minister in the former Cabinet), Mr. Sengoku, Mr. Genba and Mr. Noda have been positive about discussing a consumption tax hike — a departure from Mr. Ozawa's approach of giving priority to fulfilling DPJ campaign promises over reducing national debt. Mr. Kan and the DPJ must prioritize the promises to effectively implement DPJ policies without letting spending swell.

In giving new direction to Japan's financial reconstruction, Mr. Kan and his team should realize that relying only on an increase in the consumption tax will be unfair to the poor. They should consider making income taxes more progressive to help push income redistribution. Efforts must be made to keep the economy afloat and cut government waste.

Mr. Kan needs to exercise strong leadership to achieve "a strong economy, strong finances and strong social welfare" — his major goal. He must not ignore the will of the Okinawan people in resolving the Futenma issue. Mr. Kan also must enunciate his foreign and security policies.

菅直人首相は、小沢前幹事長の影響力排除を印象付け国民の信頼を取り戻すことを念頭に置いた閣僚･党役員人事を発表した。

幹事長に任命された枝野行政刷新相は、予算ばらまきや既得権益保護の疑惑を生んだ小沢氏の政治スタイルに批判的だった。

反小沢派議員の弱点は、全国的な選挙活動をまとめていく経験がないことだ。小沢氏は07年の参院選と09の衆院選で民主党を勝利に導き、来る参院選に向けた土台作りをしてきた。

首相は政策調査会を復活させ、玄葉衆院財務金融委員長が政調会長と公務員制度改革・「新しい公共」・少子化担当相をも兼務する。

小沢氏は政府･与党による政策決定の二元化を避けるため同調査会を廃止したが、それは議員の参加の場を奪い、氏に権力を集中させた。

鳩山政権で未達成の政策を具体化させ行政上の混乱を避けるため、閣僚11名は再任された。

口蹄疫拡大を防げなかった赤松農水相の後任に山田前副農相が昇格、行政刷新会議で人気を集めた蓮舫議員が行政刷新相に起用された。

普天間基地移設問題などで調整に失敗した平野官房長官の後任には、政策通で反小沢派の仙谷国家戦略担当相が決定した。

財務相には野田副大臣が昇格した。首相と仙谷、玄葉、野田の3氏は消費税増税の議論に積極的だ。首相と民主党は財政支出を大幅に増やすことなく政策を効果的に実施するために公約の優先順位付けをすべきだ。消費税増税に頼らず所得税累進制も検討すること、経済破綻を防ぎ政府の無駄遣いを減らすことが求められる。

首相は｢強い経済、強い財政、強い社会保障｣の実現に向け指導力を発揮しなければならない。普天間問題では沖縄県民に配慮し、外交と安全保障の政策も明確にする必要がある。