Parties must unite to form strong post-Kan cabinet
What was the point of delaying the resignation of Prime Minister Naoto Kan? In the end, the various problems the Kan administration is facing were just put off to be solved at some future date.
On Thursday, Kan announced his intention to step down from his post when restoration efforts from the Great East Japan Earthquake and the response to the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. are settled to some degree.
As the vote approached on a no-confidence motion submitted by the opposition parties against the Kan Cabinet, support for the motion expanded within Kan's Democratic Party of Japan. This led to the very high possibility of a split in the party even if the no-confidence motion was defeated.
The result can be regarded as a very "inwardly focused" announcement of resignation by Kan, coming after he was persuaded by former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and others who feared a party split as well as a dissolution of the House of Representatives for a general election if the motion passed the chamber.
The no-confidence motion was voted down in the lower house, but 17 DPJ members either rebelled to vote in favor, abstained or did not attend the vote. This is not a small number.
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Kan must clarify when he'll quit
The primary responsibility for the government and ruling parties' inability to respond quickly and flexibly to the disasters in a united manner of course rests with Kan, the prime minister. We urge him to seriously reflect upon the matter.
We believe it is a serious problem that Kan did not make clear when he will step down.
According to points confirmed through a memorandum Hatoyama and Kan exchanged Thursday, the only part that may be regarded as relating to his resignation is "deciding a schedule for early compilation of a fiscal 2011 supplementary budget."
At a press conference after his "announcement" of his intention to resign, Kan said he would do his best to bring the nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture under control and even talked about the possibility of considerably delaying his resignation. What he said Thursday night strongly contradicted what he said earlier in the day. Even members of his party are voicing strong opposition to Kan's attitude.
It is quite irresponsible for Kan to take the helm of the government in such a halfway manner. He should remember that those hit by the great earthquake and tsunami are still living in severe conditions.
A Diet session in which nothing can be decided continues, which may cause paralysis in national politics. Other countries may realize this administration is weakening, resulting in uncertainty as to whether the nation can rebuild its international relations. Such a situation should be avoided by all means.
To avoid dysfunction in politics, the period until Kan's resignation must be as short as possible.
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Pass 2nd extra budget quickly
To realize swift passage of legal revisions and new bills related to reconstruction and relief measures under the divided Diet, it is essential for the government and ruling parties to cooperate with the opposition parties.
Kan must make clear when he will step down and directly ask Liberal Democratic Party President Sadakazu Tanigaki and other opposition leaders for cooperation.
The first thing he must do to that end is drastically revise the party's manifesto for the 2009 lower house election, which stipulates dole-out policy measures such as child-rearing allowances and basically eliminating all expressway tolls.
Former DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa and some other DPJ lawmakers, who were not present at Thursday's vote, have been insisting on adherence to the party's election pledges, which have virtually failed already, preventing cooperation with the opposition parties.
The prime minister needs to make drastic policy changes by punishing Ozawa and the other rebel members severely, who could be dubbed "manifesto supremacists."
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Secure sufficient revenue
Swift action must be taken to enact a basic disaster reconstruction bill, as well as to quickly compile and pass the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2011. To realize the latter, the ruling coalition should start close talks with the opposition in the drafting process.
The second supplementary budget, focusing on heightened restoration efforts, is expected to be much larger than the first one, which focused mainly on the reconstruction of infrastructure.
Since measures dealing with the disaster will remain in effect for a long time, it is a priority issue for the government to secure financial resources for them.
The government and the ruling coalition are studying a plan to issue bonds that will be used only for reconstruction purposes.
Some tax hike cannot be avoided. If the burden of reconstruction is considered something that should be shared equally but lightly by the public, we think it is realistic to raise the consumption tax rate.
The government and the ruling coalition must discuss such financial sources for reconstruction frankly with the opposition parties. At the moment, we cannot expect much from Kan, who has already revealed his lack of leadership and decisiveness. However, he should at least pave the way for a new administration to succeed his Cabinet.
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Drastic policy changes needed
When he indicated his intention to resign Thursday, Kan said, "I would like to pass the responsibility on to a younger generation." This apparently expresses his feeling that Ozawa and Hatoyama should not be allowed to have any influence in the future.
We would like to suggest that candidates should have vigorous discussions on how to depart from the party's manifesto and compete over new, realistic policies in the DPJ presidential election to choose Kan's successor.
Tanigaki has been claiming the LDP is ready to work with the DPJ if Kan is replaced as prime minister. Now, as a responsible political party, the LDP must rebuild cooperative relations with the DPJ to prepare for the prime minister's resignation.
Young and mid-level lawmakers of both the DPJ and the LDP have organized joint study groups on policies, fostering momentum for cooperation. Such movements should be valued.
The administration that succeeds the Kan Cabinet must face the national crisis by forming a grand coalition and should show specifics on how Japan will be revitalized.
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