Monday, May 9, 2011

JAPAN - Resign, Mr. Naoto Kan!

Local elections on April 10 ended in a debacle of the Democratic Party (PD), power, and a rise in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the main opposition force. Clearly, the electorate expressed its loss of confidence in the government of Naoto Kan, who since the earthquake of 11 March, failed to exercise sufficient authority to overcome the crisis.

The Prime Minister's responsibility is enormous and flagrant. Now it is clear that the people took away his confidence, he must resign. The Democratic Party was defeated in all three polls for the gubernatorial where the majority and the opposition were in contention: Tokyo, Hokkaido and in Mie Prefecture.

The fact that Democrats have not been able to present a candidate for the key post of governor of the capital is particularly revealing of their lost ground. For the Tokyo municipal assembly, they decided to support new candidates, but they could not get wide support. This lack of Democrats in Tokyo is also an Achilles heel for the Prime Minister.

In losing by forfeit, the PD showed he was no longer able to play its role as governing party. For many governorships to be filled, the Democratic Party failed to present its own candidate because he had invited several personalities withdrew. The reason for this fact is clear. Any revision of the electoral program of PD, which includes a variety of financial aid, raises disagreements and the party suffers from a lack of unity.

The Prime Minister does nothing to strengthen the cohesion and leaves problems unresolved. Regarding the management of the disaster, he has failed to establish cooperation beyond the partisan bickering, because, as the Liberal Democratic Party, "it gives priority to the survival of the party." Ishihara [a nationalist politician], who won a fourth term in Tokyo, has been instead to focus on the management of public affairs and took the lead in reconstruction aid from Tokyo.

To repair the damage caused by the earthquake, he planned an emergency budget of 100 billion yen [820 million] and announced his intention to encourage the construction earthquake in the capital, measures against tsunamis and relocation assistance for victims in case of earthquake. Thanks to his experience as governor leaving, Mr.

Ishihara was the preference of voters who wanted a man capable of governing, and on which they could rely on to manage the situation after the earthquake. Hope Mr. Ishihara will continue to adopt measures such as abolishing school boards for high schools in Tokyo, the teaching of morality and obligation to fly the Japanese flag at school, which were implemented last twelve years.

Although the LDP has managed to leverage its alliance with the Komeito [Centre Party], it has not fully recovered the confidence of the people. It is likely that his skills as responsible party will be put to the test.

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