Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Japan's new PM faces challenges















Taro Aso, newly elected president of

Japan's ruling Liberal democratic Party (LDP), attends a news conference

after his election in Tokyo, capital of Japan, Sept. 22, 2008. Taro Aso

was elected LDP's party chief on Monday. (Chinese media/Ren

Zhenglai)
Photo

Gallery









BEIJING, Sept. 24 -- Now is a critical time for the

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Taro Aso, the newly elected party president,

needs to get serious and face up to important issues in a speedy and bold

manner.



Aso scored an overwhelming victory in Monday's party

leadership election to become the 23rd LDP president, defeating four other

candidates -Kaoru Yosano, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal

policy; Yuriko Koike, former defense minister; Nobuteru Ishihara, former

chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council; and Shigeru Ishiba, former defense

minister.

Aso is set to be named prime minister at an

extraordinary Diet session that convenes today.

Aso's grandfather is Shigeru Yoshida, who served as

prime minister for a number of years just after World War II.

The prime minister's post has most recently been held

by scions of political dynasties, Yasuo Fukuda and Shinzo Abe, both of whom

abruptly resigned. Aso needs to demonstrate his strong sense of responsibility

and staying power.

Why did Aso defeat the other four candidates by such

a big margin?

This was the fourth time for Aso to run for party

president. Having his own small faction as a stronghold, Aso gained support from

members of all of the party's factions as he went through three campaigns for

the party's top post since 2006.

His upbeat and unique character attracted popular

support. In recent opinion polls, Aso was ranked as the person most suitable for

the prime minister's post.

Party members are pinning their hopes on Aso as the

face of the party with the dissolution of the House of Representatives and a

general election expected soon.

Unlike Fukuda, who lacked the ability to convey

strong messages, Aso was evaluated highly for his communication skills.

Many LDP Diet members and local chapter

representatives decided to support Aso in the hopes of being on the winning

side. As the cases of Abe and Fukuda showed, however, an overwhelming victory in

a party race does not necessarily mean the winner can expect stable support from

party members.

In appointing four main party executives, Aso

retained incumbents in three of the four posts. For the post of party

secretary-general that he previously occupied, Aso picked Hiroyuki Hosoda,

acting secretary-general of the party. By retaining the previous executive

lineup, Aso appears to be trying to ensure a smooth transition.

Having elected Aso as party president, LDP lawmakers

have a responsibility to support the new leader by building party unity.

The relationship with the LDP's junior coalition

partner New Komeito is also important. The ruling parties' relationship soured

in the final days of the Fukuda administration over such issues as a bill to

revise the new Anti-Terrorism Law to allow the Maritime Self-Defense Force to

continue its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and envisaged fixed-sum tax

breaks.

It is necessary to strengthen the relationship with

New Komeito to foster cooperation in the next lower house election. Reconfirming

the two parties' ties is an urgent task for Aso.

Aso faces mounting problems. In the midst of the LDP

presidential election, US financial giant Lehman Brothers Inc failed and stock

prices violently fluctuated worldwide. Uncertainty over the economy has been

growing due to commodity price hikes pushed by surging prices for raw materials.



The problem of illegal trade in agricultural

chemical- and mold-tainted rice has expanded and developed to the point that the

agriculture minister and the administrative vice-farm minister resigned.

All of these are serious problems.

Aso, after he is named prime minister today, has to

pick people who are trustworthy and immediately respond to such difficult issues

in forming his cabinet.

Yet, to fulfill his responsibility as LDP president,

Aso's most basic task is to lead the LDP to victory over Ichiro Ozawa's

Democratic Party of Japan in the next lower house election.

Aso had been labeling the LDP presidential race as an

election to choose a "warrior" to face off against Ozawa. Immediately after he

was elected the new LDP head, he emphasized: "I'll be able to say I fulfilled my

destiny when we win in the next (lower house) election."

The lower house election, termed the Aso versus Ozawa

election, will be a battle to determine the next ruling party. It will be fought

on the basis of which party's policies are real and which are false.

In the LDP presidential race the five candidates

debated various issues, which in some ways served as preparation for policy

debate with the DPJ in the election.

However, there are quite a few issues that were not

satisfactorily discussed.

For instance, how should the government fund its plan

to take on a greater portion of the burden of paying basic pension benefits from

fiscal 2009?

Raising the consumption tax rate may not be possible

for the next fiscal year, but is it acceptable for the ruling party not to

discuss the issue at all for now?

Doesn't the LDP have to show at least a blueprint for

drastic reform of the pension, health care and nursing care systems to cope with

the declining birth rate, aging society and declining population?

As LDP president, Aso must provide a concrete and

comprehensible answer for each of these questions.

Aso's unique characteristics will not shine if he

repeats mealy mouthed remarks out of an excessive fear of being nailed down on

undesirable pledges.

As a national leader he needs to elucidate his policy

goals and explain how he will achieve them.

(Source: China Daily)

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