At an event at the Hotel New Otani in Tokyo Monday evening the DPJ released its 2009 general election manifesto to the public.Running to twenty-four pages, the manifesto is centered around five major areas: (1) cutting waste (essentially political and administrative reform); (2) child care and education; (3) pensions and health care; (4) regionalization; and …
Tag: bureaucracy
The DPJ faces the bureaucracy
With the DPJ's prospects on the rise and the LDP mired in what may be terminal disarray, the DPJ is receiving greater scrutiny when it comes to how the party will govern should it take power.That, after all, is what this election is about: if seiken kotai [regime change], the DPJ's longtime mantra is to …
How can Japan be saved?
With the sudden departure of Nakagawa Shoichi from twin posts of finance minister and state minister responsible for the financial services agency (FSA), Yosano Kaoru has been elevated from state minister for economic and fiscal policy and now holds all three positions simultaneously, making him, to borrow a term from American politics, the Aso government's …
The LDP’s tax revolt
The upper house has begun debating the Aso government's second stimulus package and its controversial proposal to distribute roughly two trillion yen to Japanese citizens, 12,000 yen (US$132) per person in the hope of restarting the Japanese economy.At the same time, the LDP is in the midst what could be the climactic battle in a …
Departures
Watanabe Yoshimi is on his own.As Jun Okumura makes exceedingly clear, there is little chance that Mr. Watanabe will be joined by other LDP defectors in his effort to build a national movement to take down the old guard. (Although, surprisingly, Mr. Watanabe was joined by an LDP abstainer — Matsunami Kenta — in Tuesday's …
Administrative reform in sight
Its fate uncertain after being introduced in the Diet, the government's administrative reform bill now looks set to pass both houses after the DPJ concluded an agreement with the LDP and Komeito on a compromise bill.The bill, according to Asahi, will pass the HR's cabinet committee on Wednesday and the whole HR on Thursday.The government …
The DPJ will use administrative reform as a wedge issue
With the government's having finally dispensed with the gasoline tax and road construction issues — for now — attention is now turning to other portions of the Fukuda agenda, such as it exists.Item number one is the government's — or perhaps more accurately, Administrative Reform Minister Watanabe Yoshimi's — administrative reform plan (previously discussed here). …
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The government’s administrative reform bill is dying on the vine
Nearly a month has passed since the government submitted its administrative reform bill to the Diet, and Mainichi reports that the bill's prospects are no better now than they were when the bill was submitted. Indeed, they are considerably worse.With six weeks until the end of the Diet session — unless Mr. Fukuda does like …
Continue reading The government’s administrative reform bill is dying on the vine
The government serves up a weak adminstrative reform bill
On Thursday morning the LDP's headquarters for the promotion of administrative reform approved an administrative reform plan and passed it along to the cabinet. The cabinet approved it Friday morning and will submit it to the Diet later today.The plan still calls for a new cabinet personnel agency and restrictions on direct contact between politicians …
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Regional decentralization is out of reach, for now
Bad news for Aso Taro: progress towards substantial decentralization may be impossible to realize.So says the government's Prefectural Integration Vision consultation group, which released an interim report on Monday. The whole report is available for download here, in PDF format.According to Mainichi, the group — which was formed in January 2007 under Mr. Abe — …
Continue reading Regional decentralization is out of reach, for now
Tobias S. Harris 