Japan Press Weekly

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2008 August 27 - September 2 [POLITICS]

Deadlocked domestic and foreign policies led Fukuda to resign

“It would be fine if I continue to manage and keep the Diet going smoothly, but, given the approval ratings of my cabinet (which have plunged to an all time low), I will not be able to do so without causing difficulties.”

This is how Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo expressed his intention to abandon power at the press conference he called on the evening of September 1. Indeed, his words implied that the Fukuda Cabinet was driven into a corner in both domestic politics and foreign relations.

At the end of August, his cabinet published an emergency economic package that included fixed-rate tax cuts. However, it did not get public support as shown by another fall in the approval rating for the cabinet even after the publication of the package. Unable to resist the demand of the coalition partner Komei Party, the Fukuda Cabinet continued to lose supporters.

Fukuda reportedly reached a secret agreement with U.S. President George W. Bush during their talks in late July that Japan would extend the anti-terrorism special measures law to allow the Self-Defense Forces to continue to be deployed to the Indian Ocean to assist in U.S.-led war on Afghanistan. However, in opinion surveys, the majority of respondents expressed opposition to the extension.

Concerned about the negative impact that public opposition would have on the next House of Representatives general election, the ruling coalition partner Komei Party was reluctant to agree with the LDP plan to ram through the bill by using the constitutional provision that allows the House of Representatives to use a two-thirds majority to override a House of Councilors rejection of a bill. Under these circumstances, it was hopeless for the Fukuda Cabinet to have the bill enacted in the upcoming Extraordinary Session of the Diet.

Fukuda said, “At the time of the cabinet reshuffle (August 1), I had the willingness to resolve the key issues,” but added, “I was faced with various political circumstances.” This is how he acknowledged that he became helpless as he rapidly began to lose influence after the cabinet reshuffle.

This no-way-out situation is not just a personal matter of Prime Minister Fukuda. Look at the fact that two successive prime ministers abandoned power and that Fukuda’s resignation announcement came in the run-up to parliamentary discussions in the Extraordinary Session of the Diet, and you will find the LDP-Komei government to be terminally ill.

The coalition government was unable to further its “restructuring” policy initiated by Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichiro, the policy that seriously undermined the living standards of people in every field. This is why the two cabinets were successively forced to give up their political power.

Fukuda once stressed that he would carry out “reforms from the viewpoint of the public” but actually did the contrary. He maintained the policy of slashing the annual budget growth for social services by 220 billion yen. He refused to discontinue the medical care system for the elderly aged 75 and older, which infuriated the public. Concerning the government policy of easing regulations in the labor market, which led to a drastic increase in the number of contingent workers, he failed to take any effective measures though he expressed support for a ban on the use of day laborers.

Fukuda was reproachful when he said in retrospective, “Many long-standing issues came to be actualized, and I was preoccupied with them.” However, as he no longer was able to change the direction of the “structural reform” policy, it was impossible for him to tackle it from “the viewpoint of the people.”

Fukuda also persisted in continuing to deploy the Self-Defense Forces to the Indian Ocean as requested by the United States. Continued SDF missions in the Indian Ocean were the major issue that drove then Prime Minister Abe Shinzo to resignation. Later, Fukuda sought to establish a “grand coalition” with the Democratic Party in order to make a breakthrough on this issue, but the attempt failed. It was difficult for him to use the House of Representatives’ right to override a House of Councilors rejection to get the bill enacted due to the Komei Party’s reluctance to cooperate with the next House of Representatives general election in mind.

At the news conference to announce his resignation, Fukuda was still clinging to the extension of the new anti-terrorism special measures law. But the situation in Afghanistan is worsening. The war is far from eradicating terrorism. The security situation there is the worst ever. Political efforts are definitely needed in order to solve pressing issues and establish peace in Afghanistan.

The prime minister said, “I think somebody else could do better than I.” But as long as the LDP domestic and foreign policies remain unchanged, the current political deadlock will continue no matter who takes over the helm.

The prime minister’s resignation shows that it is necessary to dramatically change domestic “structural reform” policies as well as the diplomatic policies that follow the United States uncritically.