Japanese editorial excerpts -3-

Japan Policy & Politics, Oct 6, 2008

TOKYO, Oct. 4 Kyodo

Selected editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

LOWER HOUSE ELECTION (IHT/Asahi as translated from the Japanese-language Asahi Shimbun's editorial published Oct. 3)

Prime Minister Taro Aso's recent remarks indicate he is having second thoughts about dissolving the Lower House for a snap election at an early date.

''We have many legislative challenges to tackle,'' he said.

Aso cited a supplementary budget bill, a bill to create a consumer affairs agency and legislation to extend the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.

''I want to put higher priority on realizing our policy proposals than on responding to political calls for dissolving the Lower House,'' he said.

On Wednesday, Aso stressed the need for additional fiscal spending to prop up the flagging economy, citing the financial crisis in the United States. ''A supplementary budget has already been discounted. There will be calls for more,'' he said.

The ruling and opposition camps have been playing politics over the timing of the next Lower House election. It is impossible to determine Aso's real intentions. To hear him talk, though, many would think that he wants to delay the poll until after all urgent measures are enacted.

These measures apparently include even a second supplementary budget.

Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan), the main opposition party, is opposed to both the creation of a new consumer affairs entity under the Cabinet as proposed by the government and a further extension of the MSDF's refueling mission.

If the ruling coalition tries to enact these measures by using its two-thirds majority in the Lower House, the election could be delayed to at least the end of this year, or possibly to early next year.

We cannot accept such a delay. A snap election should be held much earlier, partly to devise an effective policy response to the financial crisis.

The election could hand power to Minshuto, led by Ichiro Ozawa. But a clear victory by the ruling camp would make it harder for Minshuto to block the ruling coalition's policy initiatives in the way it has been doing--by claiming it won the voters' mandate in the Upper House poll. It would also improve the climate for constructive political compromises.

It is not difficult to see Aso's political hardships. His approval ratings when he took over as prime minister were lower than the initial figures for Abe or Fukuda.

Aso has also been dealt a blow by the resignation of Nariaki Nakayama, his transport minister, over a series of gaffes. A growing number of lawmakers within Aso's Liberal Democratic Party are calling for a postponement of the Lower House election out of fears of getting drubbed in an early poll.

But delaying the election would only make it more difficult for the government to respond to the gradual deterioration of the nation's economic health.

As soon as the Diet has discussed and voted on the extra budget, a fully legitimate government based on the will of voters should be established to carry out powerful and flexible measures to fix the economy.

(Oct. 4)