9 lawmakers to leave DPJ over broken election promises
TOKYO —
Three members of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan said this week they plan to leave the party because it has broken key pledges in its 2009 election manifesto, making a total of nine DPJ members to have signaled their intention to leave the party as of Wednesday.
The latest three are Takashi Ishizeki from Gunma Prefecture, who said he was leaving the party because of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s decision to approve the resumption of the Yamba dam project, Yasunori Saito from Miyagi Prefecture, who opposes the proposed consumption tax hike, and Akira Uchiyama from Chiba Prefecture, who is also against the tax increase.
In recent weeks, a split has developed within the DPJ over the issue of a proposed hike in consumption tax, with opponents arguing that it will worsen Japan’s economic condition.
One faction within the party opposing the tax hike proposed to set a target figure for Japan’s economic growth as a precondition of the tax increase. Proponents of the tax increase vigorously opposed the idea, claiming that including a target figure in the legislation would make the tax increase more difficult to carry out.
Saito told a news conference that he would leave the party because it is moving in a different direction to his beliefs and what voters expected of the DPJ. He said he would launch a new party with Kenko Matsuki, who was kicked out of the party in June after he supported a no-confidence motion submitted against then Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Jiji reported.
Meanwhile, the Yamba dam issue has also upset many ministers. It was one of the first projects to be scrapped by then Land and Infrastructure Minister Seiji Maehara as part of the DPJ’s election manifesto pledge to cut dozens of public works projects considered wasteful.
Maeda said on Monday that he regretted the decision to restart the project but indicated he would follow the will of the party.
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9 Comments
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1
Speed
I agree with these ministers jumping ship. This party isn't upholding what it promised its supporters/voters in 2009. In fact, I'm having a hard time distinguishing the DPJ from the LDP recently.
-1
gogogo
What BS, they are jumping to greener pastures and what to save their own asses.
2
edojin
Both Speed and gogogo above have hit the nail on the head. As Speed said, Minshuto is rapidly looking like a copy of Jiminto. Jiminto, which has gained the reputation of being corrupt, lost the last big election to Minshuto, which made many promises of reform. Minshuto started out well, but over time has been changing its policies. And as gogogo said, those members of Minshuto who know what is happening back in their home territory, realize that they can't win their next election if they continue down the DPJ road. So, as gogogo said, they are abandoning the DPJ in an attempt to "save their own asses" in the next election.
So what gives? It seems as if both the LDP and DPJ are betraying the people in one form or another. The LDP threw away the people's money (while pocketing a big part of it) while the DPJ is driving off-course as it veers away from its manifesto, which made numerous promises about reforming government policies.
What should the voters do next time around? Put the corrupt LDP back in power? Keep the misleading DPJ in power? Or try to find new leaders from among the other, weaker parties? It would be nice if they could throw all the bums out, but what would that leave to run the country?: Bureaucrats?
The bureaucrats had power under the LDP, and it seems as if they might be making inroads in the DPJ picture. But the bureaucrats can create problems, too.
Some requests for the politicians: Please don't throw our money away. And please keep it out of your pockets. And if you do make promises, and the people put you in office to carry them out, please don't veer away from them unless they appear to be dangerous to society.
0
smithinjapan
Rats, meet sinking ship. Sinking ship, rats. When the 'lifeboat' they establish is found to be full of holes they'll jump that ship as well. These guys are as see through as the air around you.
1
Patrick Smash
Well, Yukio Hatoyama was elected to cut back on government waste and support the family. Once he quit the DPJ did a u turn and decided not to cut waste and instead look to raise taxes to protect the bureaucracy that really runs Japan. So our money continues to get thrown away. Huge amounts of money is directed to bureaucrats for "preparing the document" 18 hours a day and too much money is given to the wealthy elderly. A lot of young families are really struggling here already. Tax hikes will lead to even smaller families and no future tax base to help repay the over 200% government debt that 50 years of the LDP have given the country. And there is no one to vote for.
-2
Michael Craig
What Japan needs is a LIBERTARIAN Party, like the one in the US!
0
SamuraiBlue
Taxation will probably require to go up but the bureaucrats and politicians need to make the necessary sacrifices before asking the people to hold our end. The fiscal deficit is getting out of hand here in Japan but the biggest cost which totals one third of the entire fiscal budget is allocated for personnel cost which needs to be reduced. I believe DPJ within their manifesto had agreed on reducing the total number of representatives within the house which has not been carried out. 10% consumption tax should be supported as long as the government will place a clause exempting food items and rent on housing(not obtaining property) which I believe should have been placed in the first place.
0
globalwatcher
I am very sorry for Japanese voters. I agree with Speed. There are no alternatives. They are all dysfunctional filled with corrosive acid as well as highly toxic elite bureaucrats who are self interest seekers. How many PMs have you been churning like a disposal diapers?
0
Michael Craig
Whatever kind of new party Mr. Matsuki is forming, I hope it's not another conservative/right-wing party. Japan has plenty enough of those, thank you very much.
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