Mr. Ozawa back in the race
(From The Japan Times August 28 issue)

民主党代表選、小沢氏出馬の影響

Former secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, announced Aug. 26 that he will run in the Sept. 14 election for the next DPJ chief against Prime Minister Naoto Kan. The two must do their utmost to prevent their duel from becoming an internecine power struggle.

They should talk about what kind of a nation they want to build, and how they will handle such issues as the economy and social welfare. They also should suggest how best to resolve the issue of relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture. Mr. Ozawa suffers from a bad image stemming from questionable handling of political funds reports by his office. To gain the understanding of party members and voters, he needs to explain more about the scandal.

Mr. Ozawa, who resigned together with then Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama over funds scandals in June, had wanted Mr. Kan to establish an "all-party setup" in which he could exercise his political influence. Despite mediation by Mr. Hatoyama, Mr. Kan refused to comply with the request. It is clear that Mr. Ozawa decided to run in order to keep his influence within the party.

Mr. Kan's behavior as prime minister is another factor behind Mr. Ozawa's decision to challenge him. Skipping discussions with DPJ lawmakers, Mr. Kan suddenly started talking about raising the consumption tax, which is believed to have cost the ruling camp its Upper House majority in the July 11 election. That he or his deputies in the DPJ have shown no sign of trying to break the resulting impasse in the chamber seems to have added fuel to the criticism of Mr. Kan.

It also appears that Mr. Kan has almost given up on the DPJ's principle of lawmakers taking the initiative from bureaucrats in developing policies. More than that, the biggest problem is that the Kan Cabinet's policy direction is unclear.

Mr. Ozawa calls for faithfully implementing the DPJ's election manifesto for the 2009 Lower House election, which elevated the DPJ to a ruling party. The big problem for him is securing the funds needed to carry out these policies. Given the nation's financial condition, he must not hesitate to prioritize policy promises and explain why.

民主党の小沢前幹事長が党代表選への出馬を表明したが、菅首相との対決が党内抗争へと広がることは極力避けるべきだ。両者は国のありかたや、経済、社会保障、普天間基地問題に関する政策論争を始める必要がある。小沢氏が党員や有権者の理解を得るには政治資金問題について説明責任を果たさねばならない。

鳩山前首相とともに辞任した小沢氏は、菅首相に｢挙党態勢｣構築を求めていたが、首相はそれに応じなかったため、党内での影響力を保つために立候補したことは明らかだ。

菅首相の消費税引き上げ検討発言や参院選敗北、ねじれ国会現象に執行部が有効な手だてを講じていないことなどが批判を呼び、小沢氏出馬の要因にもなった。菅内閣の政策の方向性が見えないことも大きな問題だ。

小沢氏はマニフェスト順守を訴えるが、実行に必要な財源の捻出が難題だ。財政を考慮し、政策の優先づけとその理由を説明すべきだ。