Shii says key DPJ policies are problematic

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Shii says key DPJ policies are problematic

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo said that the Democratic Party of Japan's key policies are disturbing.

Speaking at a news conference on August 19 in Sendai City, Shii made the following points regarding DPJ officials' arguments:

The DPJ says Japanese politics needs to get rid of bureaucracy's control. In the recent open discussion with other party leaders, I said that I agree with the idea of rejecting bureaucracy's control over politics. I also asked the DPJ leader if his party has the intention to get rid of the financial circles' control of politics, pointing out that the financial circles' control has been behind the deregulations of labor laws and cuts in social services budgets, which caused great difficulties in regard to people's living conditions. I said that only by ending politics controlled by the financial circles can people's livelihoods be protected. I did not get any clear response from the DPJ.

What will the DPJ want to do after putting an end to what it calls bureaucracy's control over politics? Frankly, I must say that the DPJ fails to explain anything about this issue to the public. The recent election campaign has shown the DPJ as being unable to come out of the conventional Liberal Democratic-Komei political framework of giving priority to the interests of financial circles in domestic policies and to the Japan-U.S. military alliance in foreign policies.

As to the issue of a Japan-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), the JCP is very critical of it because it will destroy Japan's agriculture, in particular rice production. The DPJ supports the FTA negotiations, and this is a weakness closely associated with the fundamental political position of the DPJ.

Another point to note is the child allowance system that the DPJ is calling for. DPJ President Hatoyama Yukio in his first campaign speech spoke nothing about how it will be funded. The JCP agrees to the need to improve benefits for childcare, but the JCP is against the DPJ idea of increased childcare benefits to be tied-in with a tax increase through an end to the tax exemption for spouse and dependents. The DPJ failure to give a responsible explanation on its financial resource poses a problem.

Hatoyama's first campaign speech had nothing to say about using diplomacy for peace. One reason for not mentioning it may arise from the DPJ's consideration of the different attitudes among would-be coalition-partner parties. However, the real reason is found in the fact that the DPJ is an advocate of a closer Japan-U.S. alliance.

- Akahata, August 20, 2009