Nishioka's demand for Kan to quit has weighty meaning
House of Councillors President Takeo Nishioka demanded the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Naoto Kan in an article he wrote for The Yomiuri Shimbun that was carried in its Thursday morning edition. He repeated this demand at a press conference later the same day.
Nishioka was furious over Kan's responses to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture.
Shrugging off this criticism, Kan said, "There is no reason at all for me to resign at this time."
However, Nishioka's pressure on Kan to step down has grave implications, as the upper house president has considerable authority over the fate of bills in the so-called divided Diet.
Nishioka became upper house president at the recommendation of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, although he left the party as is customary because he must remain neutral in his post.
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'Not fulfilling duties'
The upper house president insisted Kan had not fulfilled his duties as prime minister since the massive earthquake occurred.
He said Kan's establishment of so many councils and headquarters had confused the chain of command, and he questioned the way information related to the nuclear crisis was disclosed, among other things.
Nishioka emphasized these points in calling on Kan to resign. "Before everything drops behind, I strongly repeat my demand that you step down from the prime minister's post as soon as possible," he said.
His views are reasonable and may be considered respresentative of the general public's.
Recent opinion polls carried out by major media organizations show the disapproval rate of the Kan Cabinet is almost twice the approval rate. A majority of the people are dissatisfied with the prime minister's lack of leadership.
However, many people believe the prime minister should remain in power until a certain level of antidisaster measures have been established. They probably would not want domestic politics to become even more confused.
The Kan administration is trying to avoid extending the current ordinary Diet session by delaying submission of the second fiscal 2011 supplementary budget to August or later. This budget is designed to fund full-fledged restoration programs. However, Kan's lackadaisical attitude to the current situation only invites criticism from the opposition parties that the prime minister is placing priority on the survival of his administration rather than antidisaster measures.
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Submit 2nd extra budget
The government must submit the second supplementary budget to the Diet as soon as possible and take necessary legislative measures. If the current administration does not function well in this respect, a new political arrangement is needed.
A number of people believe the DPJ and the Liberal Democratic Party should agree on key policy measures and form a grand coalition to proceed with restoration steps. In a recent Yomiuri Shimbun poll, 56 percent of the respondents supported a grand coalition for that purpose.
A few ideas are emerging in both the DPJ and the Liberal Democratic Party about forming a grand coalition with Kan's resignation as a precondition.
Neither the ruling or opposition parties should allow the stagnant state of domestic politics to continue. It is time for them to seriously discuss the establishment of a political system to prioritize antidisaster measures and carry them out swiftly and flexibly.
Public, private sectors must work to avert depression
The aftereffects of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami have put a significant brake on the growth of the Japanese economy.
Real gross domestic product declined 3.7 percent on an annualized basis in the January-March quarter of this year. This is the second consecutive quarterly decline and much worse than the market forecast of an about 2 percent fall.
Though the economic climate had been improving since the beginning of this year, private consumption ultimately saw its second consecutive quarterly decline. Corporate capital investment also fell for the first time in six quarters.
In addition to the poor performance of these two major contributors to domestic demand, weak exports brought down external demand, the only hope for the nation's economy.
In wake of the unprecedented disaster, a temporary economic slump was inevitable. If it is prolonged, however, consumption and employment will further decline. This might send the Japanese economy into a full-fledged "disaster depression." Both the public and private sectors must do their best to put the economy on a recovery track as soon as possible.
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Economic downturn
Many factories were affected by the disaster--production was suspended in a wide variety of industries, such as among automobile and electric appliance manufacturers, after the quake and tsunami. Many others not directly harmed by the disaster were forced to stop their production lines because they could not procure the necessary parts.
Retailers experienced a shortage of merchandise, causing a steep decline in sales of automobiles and other products.
Reluctance to buy due to a mood of self-restraint among the public, and the shorter business hours at mercantile stores that accompanied rotating outages in the Tokyo metropolitan area also contributed to a downturn in consumption.
Now the question is when the economy will head for a recovery. But production activities are not expected to return to normal until autumn at the earliest. Many economists forecast the nation's economy will see negative growth again in the April-June quarter.
Companies should do their best to restore their production systems as soon as possible.
There also are growing concerns that electric power shortages in summer may lead to reduced production. Members of the auto industry have decided to shut their factories on Thursdays and Fridays, and operate on Saturdays and Sundays instead when electricity demand is low. We think this will be effective to a certain degree.
All industries should think hard about how to strike the best balance between stable production and energy conservation.
One in three companies is forecasting lower revenues and profits this fiscal year. Lower profits will cause companies to hold down wages and decrease investment, which may negatively affect the employment situation.
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Over 100,000 unemployed
In Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, the number of people who lost their jobs due to the disaster has already exceeded 100,000. The disaster also has caused over 100 companies around the nation to fail, and this number is expected to increase. The government must improve employment measures.
Special demand to reconstruct areas damaged by the disaster, a major hope for boosting the nation's economy, has been growing more slowly than it did in the wake of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake. The delay is due to the fact that 80 percent of debris has not yet been removed and reconstruction of roads and ports has not proceeded as expected in the disaster areas.
Central, prefectural and municipal governments should enhance their cooperation to put reconstruction on track and boost the nation's economy.
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