Democratic Party of Japan Crushes Liberal Democrats at Polls

The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan is the usual ruling party, but in Sunday's election, the voters decided to embarrass the LDP by giving the opposition Democratic Party a 308 to 199 majority in the lower house of the Diet. The LDP has given Japan three prime ministers in as many years, each a bigger stumble-bum than the last. So, it was long past time to get some fresh blood into office. Whether the new PM Yukio Hatoyama can make the kind of changes he has promised is unclear. However, the fact that he won says that Japan now has a chance to change its lot.

Mr. Hatoyama captured the mood of the Japanese people when he said, "The people are angry with politics now and the ruling coalition. We felt a great sense of people wanting change." He promised, "We will not be arrogant and we will listen to the people." However, Japan's unemployment rate is the highest it has ever been, and by next year, China will surpass it as the world's second biggest economy. About a third of the people are pensioners, meaning that demands on the health care system will increase in the coming years while the tax base declines. Deflation has returned. This is a tough hand to play.

As for the LDP, its leaders are making no excuses. Outgoing PM Taro Aso said, "These results are very severe. There has been a deep dissatisfaction with our party." He clearly wasn't pretending that this was a "moral victory." Another party leader, Kotaro Tamura said: "We made too many mistakes. Very crucial mistakes . . . we changed prime minister three times without holding an election." The trick for the LDP is going to be finding a way back to relevance as the Democratic Party already controls the upper house.

What is truly interesting is that the rather populist platform of the Democratic Party of Japan has not rattled the financial markets. Despite promising to pay $3,000 per child per year to every Japanese family and to pay $1,000 monthly to job seekers, the DPJ got a huge boost from Japan's stock market in that the Nikkei didn't collapse. Indeed, it was up for most of yesterday before settling a touch lower on profit taking. Perhaps the anti-corruption message of the DPJ helped. DPJ lawmaker Yukihasa Fujita. Said, "The money which should go to the consumers and the farmers and small-scale business owners was stopped by the bureaucrats. The budget went to the hands of industry and the bureaucrats. Therefore, the money didn't go to the consumers. Therefore, the economy has not been able to lift up." But that means Japan has the money to fulfill the DPJ's promises.

In foreign policy, the election may mark the end of Mr. Aso's almost blind obedience to the US. That isn't to say that the US-Japanese relationship is in any danger; the two nations have too many common interests for that. However, there are some things that may change. Japan's refueling missions in the Indian Ocean as part of the US-led war in Afghanistan may end, for example. Be that as it may, the focus of the Hatoyama government will be on domestic issues, and foreign affairs will be an afterthought.

The Kensington Review wishes Mr. Hatoyama all the luck in the world; he will need it.

© Copyright 2009 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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