Japan Press Weekly

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2012 August 29 - September 4 [POLITICS]

What is true feature of ‘political party’?

As politicians increasingly leave their parties and form new ones, a question emerges among the Japanese public as to what determines a “political party” in a true sense.

“I’m afraid that the so-called ‘theatrical politics’ introduced by former Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichiro might be revived in an even worse form. This is because the foundation of party politics has collapsed,” said Miura Toshiaki, editorial writer of Asahi Shimbun, on August 29 on TV Asahi’s nightly news program “Hodo Station.”

Former Public Management Minister and Tottori Governor Katayama Yoshihiro, in the September edition of the monthly magazine “Chuokoron”, stated, “A political party has members and reflects their demands in its policies. It selects candidates and works to get them elected in elections in order to implement the policies.”

In that sense, “there is no true party in Japan except the Japanese Communist Party,” he concluded.

During the Liberal Democratic Party’s meeting held at its headquarters in Tokyo on August 31, LDP President Tanigaki Sadakazu said in his speech, “There aren’t so many parties in Japan which have strong local branches and a certain level of local assembly members. Though it is our opponent, I have to admire the JCP on this point.”

The following are comments by Kobe Gakuin University Professor Kamiwaki Hiroshi: Political distrust among the public is growing toward the two major parties which have betrayed voters’ expectations to work to reduce the widening gap between the rich and the poor. It is wrong for mass media to emphasize the race between existing parties and newly-emerging parties.

Since the Democratic Party of Japan was established through repeated reorganizing of politicians, it does not have grassroots ties with citizens.

Head of Osaka “Ishin-no-Kai” Hashimoto Toru was backed by the LDP and the Komei Party in his Osaka gubernatorial election campaign. The foundation of this regional party is connected with the traditional conservative force as many LDP members of Osaka prefectural and city assemblies shifted to “Ishin-no-Kai.” Its neo-liberal policies and call for constitutional revision enable future LDP, DPJ, and Your Party defectors to join the party.

A true political party should have its own organization and revenues and develop public support through daily grassroots activities. The JCP meets these conditions as it introduces policies that reflect public demand and funds itself without depending on government subsidies.