6 months of promise-breaking by Hatoyama Cabinet

Japan Press Weekly

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

6 months of promise-breaking by Hatoyama Cabinet

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi on March 15 at a news conference in the Diet criticized the Hatoyama Cabinet for breaking with its election manifesto during the six months after its inauguration.

Ichida stated, “Many voters voted for the Democratic Party of Japan in the last general election, looking for a change in government policies. However, the DPJ-led government has kept breaking its election promises and taken an equivocal attitude towards key issues affecting people’s lives for six months.”

Ichida pointed out that although Prime Minister Hatoyama promised to move the U.S. Futenma base out of Okinawa or even out of Japan in order to reduce Okinawa’s burden of hosting U.S. bases, his government intends to construct a new U.S. base in Okinawa as a replacement for the Futenma base.

The government not only decided to postpone abolishing the healthcare insurance program for the elderly aged 75 and older, but also is considering introducing another discriminatory program for people aged 65 and older. In regard to a revision of the Worker Dispatch Law, the government gave in to the demand of large corporations and will not have new restrictions on the controversial use of temporally workers for three to five years. The DPJ has been unable to clear itself from allegations of plutocracy involving Hatoyama himself and DPJ Secretary General Ozawa Ichiro. The DPJ-led government is losing the public trust.

The press asked Ichida for the JCP views on the ongoing turmoil in the previous ruling Liberal Democratic Party in which some LDP politicians are maneuvering to create a new party. Ichida replied, “Hatoyama Kunio, Masuzoe Yoichi, and Yosano Kaoru used to be ministers at the time of the Aso Cabinet which was driven out of power in the last general election. What they are attempting is to divert public attention from their misgovernment, but people are closely watching to see what policies they will promote.”

Ichida also criticized the Your Party headed by Watanabe Yoshimi, another cabinet member in the previous LDP government, for pushing ahead with the so-called Koizumi reform strategy to firmly establish a dog-eat-dog society.

- Akahata, March 16, 2010