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It is inevitable for a minority ruling coalition to seek the cooperation of opposition parties to realize its policies.
However, if the ruling bloc is so obsessed with holding on to the reins of government that it puts aside the task of securing financial resources and readily accepts tax reductions and other demands, the nation’s strength will only decline. How long will it continue with such politics? This is a lamentable situation.
The humble approach taken by the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was conspicuous in the extraordinary Diet session last year, in which the ruling parties no longer held a majority in the House of Representatives.
Diet debate far from deliberative
To gain the cooperation of the Democratic Party for the People, the ruling coalition moved to review the annual income threshold, above which income tax is levied. It also approached the Japan Innovation Party and began discussions toward making school tuition free, a policy advocated by the JIP.
Ishiba praised how the ruling bloc has handled the Diet and political matters, saying: “We have made efforts to build a broad consensus. The Diet session has turned out to be truly deliberative.” However, the prime minister appears to be merely trying to “flatter” opposition parties, for the purpose of prolonging his own political life. It can hardly be described as “deliberative.”
There are numerous issues to be dealt with at home and abroad. It is impossible to overcome the challenges simply by pursuing populist policies.
With Japan’s population continuing to decline by hundreds of thousands nearly every year, there is no end to the declining birth rate.
The government stresses that it is working to raise wages, but real wage growth remains limited.
It may be necessary to revamp the existing measures to address the low birth rate, which are focused on giving out benefits through such means as expanding child allowances, and to consider renewing a system to support child rearing by society as a whole. It is also important to reform the tax and social security systems to be more balanced.
Japan’s diplomatic skills are being put to the test amid upheavals in global affairs.
There is a severe humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, with the death toll from the fighting in the Palestinian territory of Gaza continuing to rise. As next month marks three full years since the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, “support fatigue” for Kyiv has become conspicuous in Europe and the United States.
Japan, which has built good relations with Middle Eastern countries, should be able to play a greater role, such as by mediating talks toward a ceasefire. In its support for Ukraine, Japan can consider paving the way to export missile defense equipment and other weapons limited to defensive purposes.
Addressing the deteriorating security environment around Japan is also an issue that can by no means be delayed. It is necessary to improve defense capabilities, strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance and deepen multilateral cooperation between Japan, the United States, Australia and India, among other countries.
Diplomatic clout put to test
It is deplorable that despite the many challenges facing Japan, the prime minister has yet to chart the course that this nation should take, even three months after assuming office. It is troubling that his qualifications to steer the nation as its leader are being questioned.
Last year, Diet deliberations were dominated by the political funds scandal involving Liberal Democratic Party members. The failure to include necessary information in their political funds reports must be harshly criticized, but it is difficult to avoid the feeling that something is not quite right with the way the opposition parties focused on thoroughly pursuing the issue, as if it were the key matter facing the nation.
The ordinary Diet session scheduled to begin later this month will deliberate on important bills.
There have been a series of cyberattacks on government organizations and critical social infrastructure. Legislation for active cyber defense that prevents large-scale damage is an urgent task.
The government plans to change the eligibility criteria for the employees’ pension program and make it mandatory for many part-timers and others to join the program.
It is emphasizing the advantages of the plan, saying that future pension benefits will increase, but it would also invite backlash from companies and others because of the increased burden of insurance premiums.
The focus will be on to what extent the government can provide a convincing explanation.
The opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, will likely submit a bill to implement a selective surname system for married couples.
Although Ishiba is said to hold the same position on this issue, the introduction of the system will have a major impact on society and the nature of families.
When married couples were to take different surnames, their children would have a different family name from their father or mother. This issue should not be underestimated. Mistakes must not be made for the sake of Diet operations. The issue should be debated carefully.
Protect foundations of democracy
In 2013, the ruling and opposition parties lifted the ban on election campaigning via the internet, in an effort to promote voters’ participation in politics, allowing the extensive use of the internet for that purpose.
However, vast amounts of information of unknown authenticity surfaced on social media in connection with the Hyogo gubernatorial election last year and other events. It is unacceptable to allow a situation in which false information could influence the outcome of an election. How to protect the fairness of elections, which is a foundation of democracy, is a serious issue.
A House of Councillors election and a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election are scheduled for this summer. The ruling and opposition parties should expedite discussions on social media regulation related to elections.
