Japan Press Weekly

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2008 January 30 - February 5 [POLITICS]

Stopgap bill shows ruling bloc’s lack of understanding of democracy

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

The ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties are planning to submit shortly to the Diet a stopgap bill to extend for at least two more months the higher gasoline tax rate, a provisional measure that will expire on March 31.

The ruling bloc intends to push the bill through the House of Representatives by the end of January in order to secure its enactment within the current fiscal year that ends on March 31. They expect that this will allow them to buy time in order to secure the enactment of a special taxation measures bill to extend the provisional tax rate for 10 more years. The ruling bloc’s scheme demonstrates their blatant disregard of public opinion and in an affront to parliamentary democracy.

First of all, whether to extend the provisional tax rate is a question about the budget for the next fiscal year. It is unprecedented for the ruling bloc to attempt to pass a budget-related bill through the House of Representatives even before the Budget Committee begins its discussion on the draft budget.

It is also outrageous for the ruling parties to intend to have the House of Representatives, in which the ruling bloc maintains a majority, override the decision taken by the House of Councilors, in which the opposition parties form a majority.

This tactic was used earlier this year by the ruling bloc to ram through the new anti-terrorism special measures bill after it was rejected by the House of Councilors. Repeatedly using such an extraordinary and outrageous method will make the “force of majority” almighty, enabling the ruling bloc to forcibly enact any bills they dream up.

The Diet is supposedly the forum in which parties and Dietmembers conduct discussions in order to enact agreed-upon bills. If the government and ruling parties take a position of disregarding Diet discussions by resorting to the “force of majority,” Diet discussions will become meaningless. The ruling parties lack any meaningful sense of democracy.

The provisional rate of the gasoline tax, which the ruling bloc is so desperately trying to maintain, has been set to accelerate the construction of unnecessary roads. The government has repeatedly extended the term in which the provisional tax rates are effective to over 30 years and is now attempting to prolong it by 10 more years.

The overwhelming majority of the public considers that the provisional tax rate should be abolished and that unnecessary road construction projects be reviewed.

In his policy speech to the Diet, Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo stated that it is the political responsibility for both ruling and opposition parties to hold talks. However, the ruling bloc’s attempt to forcibly extend the provisional tax rate application contradicts his statement. If the ruling parties abide by the prime minister’s statement, they must withdraw the stopgap bill and put to an end to their attempt to forcibly extend the term of the provisional tax rates.