Now not the time for political games
Written by Meenaa on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
Now not the time for political games
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Continuing the “war against terrorism” and overcoming the global financial crisis are currently the issues of utmost priority for this nation. Does the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan really intend to turn these issues into political footballs?
DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa used his party leaders’ meeting with Prime Minister Taro Aso, who also is president of the Liberal Democratic Party, to launch an all-out confrontation with the ruling parties. Ozawa reverted to his old habit of maneuvering to gain advantage from any political development when he said his party would boycott all votes on important bills in the House of Councillors. Under such circumstances, the DPJ would not be fulfilling its political responsibility.
In Monday’s meeting, Ozawa urged the government to submit the second extra budget during the current Diet session. But when Ozawa detected that Aso was unlikely to accept this demand, he unilaterally canceled the agreement between the ruling and opposition parties to vote at a committee Tuesday on a bill to revise the new Antiterrorism Law to extend Japan’s refueling mission in the Indian Ocean beyond the January deadline.
The DPJ also intends to snub a vote on a bill to revise the Law on Special Measures for Strengthening Financial Functions for injecting public funds into financial institutions to help them ride out the global financial storm.
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Keep budget separate
Bills concerning diplomatic and national security matters and the urgently needed strengthening of bank functions are separate issues from the passage of the second extra budget. We think it is natural to handle the budget issue separately from these other matters.
The DPJ initially urged the government to quickly begin deliberations on the bill to revise the new Antiterrorism Law. The party was eager to get the bill out of the road so the House of Representatives could be dissolved. But after the dissolution of the lower house was put off, it made an about-face and urged the government to be less hasty in the deliberations. The DPJ vowed not to delay the deliberations.
Making matters worse this time, the DPJ rejected the date for the vote on the bill to revise the new Antiterrorism Law and has gone out of its way to delay the deliberations. The DPJ seems to have made these decisions on the spur of the moment. Ozawa’s tactics of cashing in on any political development that serves his interests have been criticized not only by the ruling parties but even by two opposition parties–the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party.
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Don’t let history repeat
If the DPJ continues to delay the voting on important bills and the ruling parties react by extending the current Diet session far beyond its scheduled Nov. 30 end, it could lead to a repeat of the needless confrontation that caused last year’s extraordinary Diet session to drag on past the year-end and into the new year. Such a situation should be averted.
The financial crisis that originated in the United States continues unabated, and the Japanese economy has entered a recession. Properly, the second extra budget should be passed as quickly as possible.
Even if the government’s distribution of 2 trillion yen in cash benefits to residents is riddled with problems, we think it would be desirable to swiftly implement an additional economic stimulus package for households and small and midsize companies.
Concerning the second extra budget, Ozawa said, “Perhaps I can’t agree to it, but I promise to take responsibility as a leader and reach a conclusion on the matter.” By hinting at the possibility of an early vote on the second extra budget, Ozawa might be plotting to have the current Diet session extended.
In spring this year, however, the DPJ scrapped an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties reached through the mediation of the lower house speaker and the upper house president on the voting on a bill to maintain the provisional gasoline tax rate. Perhaps this is why the government and the ruling parties do not completely trust anything Ozawa says.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 19, 2008)
