DPJ, opposition forces should cooperate to enact budget-related bills
(From The Japan Times March 3 issue)

予算関連法案成立への歩み寄り

The Democratic Party of Japan and its junior coalition partner People's New Party managed to pass the fiscal 2011 ¥92.411 trillion budget through the Lower House on March 1. The opposition-controlled Upper House is certain to vote down the budget. But the budget will be enacted anyhow. Article 60 of the Constitution says that the budget will be enacted within 30 days of being sent to the Upper House after approval by the Lower House even if the Upper House rejects it or does not hold a vote on it.

But the administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan cannot afford to feel relieved because such a constitutional provision does not apply to 26 budget-related bills whose enactment is necessary to put the budget into effect. Since the prospect of the bills being enacted by March 31, the final day of fiscal 2010, is almost nil, the Kan administration will face serious trouble in managing the government.

The vote on the budget in the Lower House took place under unusual circumstances. Sixteen DPJ lawmakers critical of the DPJ leadership for disciplining former DPJ chief Ichiro Ozawa over his indictment on a charge of falsifying reports on political funds did not show up for the vote in a plenary session of the Lower House. Mr. Ozawa showed up and voted for the budget. The desertion of the 16 has completely killed the prospect of re-enacting the budget-related bills with a two-thirds majority in the Lower House in a second vote.

After the March 1 vote, the DPJ leadership disciplined the 16 rebellious members. Their action was irresponsible. But the disciplinary measures will further aggravate the rift within the party. DPJ members supporting Mr. Ozawa are critical of Mr. Kan for not making serious efforts to implement pledges in the August 2009 Lower House election, which brought the DPJ to power.

It is clear that given the nation's financial difficulties, it is impossible to carry out all the major election pledges. Some of them are ill conceived, too. But Mr. Kan failed to understand that people voted for the DPJ with a hope that it would be true to its slogan of "People's lives come first." He did not try to show that he was doing his best to turn the slogan into concrete policies even in a limited scale under financial constraints. His failure shows that he did not understand the meaning of the political change of 2009. If he had taken a different attitude, he could have minimized the rift within the DPJ.

In the vote for the fiscal 2011 budget in the Lower House, the DPJ took an unusual step. It separated the budget-related bills from the budget itself and postponed a vote on them. In recent years, it was customary to vote for the budget and budget-related bills in the Lower House at the same time because the government's reliance on bond issuance has become high and a bill for the bond issuance is included in budget-related bills.

The DPJ may think that a delay in the vote on the budget-related bills would eventually lead people to criticize the opposition parties that oppose the bills. The opposition parties on their part may think that the delay would deepen people's criticism of the DPJ and the Kan administration. Procrastination by both camps would only deepen people's distrust of politics per se. The failure to enact the bond issuance bill means that the government cannot secure some ¥38 trillion for implementing the budget of slightly more than ¥92 trillion.

After the DPJ was defeated in the Upper House election and the opposition forces secured a majority in the chamber, the logical approach for the DPJ should have been to get cooperation from Komeito. Last year, Komeito supported the DPJ bill to give a child allowance to child-rearing families irrespective of their income levels — an important DPJ policy. If the DPJ and Komeito cooperate, they can secure a majority in the Upper House. But DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada did not make any serious efforts to make effective deals with Komeito. His failure to understand the basic situation in the Diet and to take necessary actions is astonishing, and shows his inadequacy as a political leader.

If the situation continues, the budget-related bills will not be enacted, thus greatly damaging the economy and people's lives. The ruling and opposition forces must compromise from the viewpoint of protecting people's lives.

政府の新年度の予算案が衆院を通過した。野党が多数を占める参院で否決されたとしても、衆院通過から30日後には自然成立するという憲法の規定により、年度内成立が確定した。しかし、予算執行に必要な関連法案は成立のめどがたっておらず、菅政権は重大な危機に直面している。

予算案の採決では、政治資金問題で強制起訴された小沢元代表への党の処分に反発した衆院議員16人が欠席し、衆院での3分の2以上の多数による予算関連法案の再可決という手段が使えなくなった。

小沢派の民主党議員は、政権交代を果たした2009年衆院選での政権公約の実行を菅首相が怠っていると批判している。首相は「国民の生活が第一」というスローガンに有権者が投票したことを理解せず、財政的な制限の中でも公約実行に最善を尽くしていることを国民に示さなかった。

民主党は予算関連法案を予算案本体と切り離して衆議院での採決を先送りという異例の措置をとった。近年では、赤字国債発行のための予算関連法案は予算案と同時に採決されてきた。民主党は先送りによって、法案に反対する野党への批判の高まりを期待し、一方で野党は与党や菅内閣に対する国民の批判を期待したかもしれないが、与野党による先送りは国民の政治不信を強めるだけだ。赤字国債発行を可能にする法案が可決されなければ、予算案で見込んだ歳入92兆円強のうち約38兆円の穴があく。

民主党が参院選で大敗したとき、公明党に協力を求めておれば、参院で過半数の議席がとれたが、岡田幹事長は公明党と交渉する努力を怠った。

この状況が続けば、予算関連法案は可決されず、国民の生活と経済に打撃を与えるだろう。与野党は国民の生活を守ることを念頭に歩み寄るべきだ。