politics

DPJ, LDP reportedly considering grand coalition after election

25 Comments

Japanese media reported Saturday that the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party have discussed the possibility of forming a grand coalition after the next election.

The LDP has been refusing to enter into discussions with the government over tax and social security reform, instead calling for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to dissolve the lower house and call a general election by summer.

Media reported that Noda and LDP chief Sadakazu Tanigaki held a secret meeting at a Tokyo hotel on Feb 25 to discuss a possible dissolution of the lower house and how the two blocs can work together to raise the consumption tax in order to fund social security.

However, both Noda and Tanigaki denied any such meeting. Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura also denied Saturday that any such meeting took place. Yet mainstream media carried the story on Friday.

A secret agreement would be in stark contrast to the public exchanges between the two camps.

During Diet debate last week, Noda urged the LDP and its oppositon partner New Komeito to work together with the government on the passage of the consumption tax bill. Tanigaki said the tax hike proposal was a breach of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan’s election manifesto and demanded that Noda apologize to voters for lying.

The DPJ floated the idea of a grand colaition last August but it was rejected by both the LDP and New Komeito as being unworkable. At the time, LDP Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara said his party could only consider it after a general election.

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25 Comments
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What difference does it make really? The two are just mirrors of each other.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

A Grand Coalition to Get Nothing Done!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Such an idea is still unworkable ...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Not much difference between the two of them, except that at the moment the DPJ have Ozawa on their membership list...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Take a leaf out of China or Australia's book on how to get things done. Seems there is no lesser of two evils in most systems but Chinas system functions progressively with only one while Australia's is swayed by one small party. I hope there will be more strong leadership even if it come from Osaka.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

huh? Maybe it's a good idea, because then LDP won't be telling the PM to resign every week. Then again, while Ozawa is around ....

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This leak WILL hurt the DPJ

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Don't they first have to convene a panel for a committee to study the possibility of forming a conference to make an announcement, or something?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Oh, so what we're seeing here is the dawn of the Japanese one-party system. Some latent inspiration from Kita Chosen?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

So.... you could only vote for one party? In other words, not only would the choices be more limited than now, but they could pass anything and everything they wanted without the public having any say.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

So the opposition will be Komeito?

Ikeda vs Japan?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What a wonderful idea to shatter the illusion of choice!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The existing partied are merely different by name. When the power shifts from one to the other there's never any real change anyway. It just gives the illusion that voting makes a difference. About raising the consumption tax(or any tax for that matter), has NO ONE ever learned about the LAFFER curve??? Economics 101! If you're not familiar, Google it. Increased tax rates lead to reduced revenues. Reduction of tax rates has the opposite effect.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yasukuni: "So the opposition will be Komeito?"

No, because they are in coalition with the LDP and other groups. What's more, due to a lack of proper representation, people who want to vote for Komeito, the Happiness Realization Party, Kizuna, or whomever and don't have a representative in that area have to vote for the leading coalition partner (ie. if a town doesn't have a Komeito candidate the people who support Komeito will vote LDP because they want Komeito to have some power via the coalition), which means in said areas there will be one choice, and one choice only.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

They're discussing a coalition after the next election? So no matter who the punters vote for, they get the same result in the end? So why bother with the expense and disruption of an election? And this after they've spent a year when they needed to work together, steadfastly refusing to cooperate?

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The LDP lost the general election, so why must the losers be accommodated, over pension reform and other key policies? The DPJ has a majority in the lower house, and a mandate from the people, so it should just go ahead with policies it was bloody-well elected to carry out. It's undemocratic for unpopular losers (the LDP) to have such input in policymaking.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Who's going to topple the Grand Coalition?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

So, why even bother with an election?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Is this necessary?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The LDP lost the general election, so why must the losers be accommodated, over pension reform and other key policies? The DPJ has a majority in the lower house, and a mandate from the people, so it should just go ahead with policies it was bloody-well elected to carry out. It's undemocratic for unpopular losers (the LDP) to have such input in policymaking.

Unfortunately they did well enough in the 2010 upper house election to pretty much cancel out the 2009 lower house result. Whatever you think of the two parties that's a recipe for a godawful mess.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why is it that when Ozawa's name isn't mentioned in connection with this issue, everyone suddenly starts saying exactly what he is saying?

Which comes back to the bigger issue - the DPJ is trying to get the LDP's policies through with this coalition, in violation of its own manifesto.

So indeed, why even bother with an election?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"And this after they've spent a year when they needed to work together, steadfastly refusing to cooperate?"

You said it! Isn't this the most ironic thing you've ever heard of? There has been no greater time I can think of when they should have been co-operating. And they didn't - while Japan burned. Now after all that, they say they can co-operate so much they can form a coalition?

This last year has just been a dream hasn't it? Someone pinch me!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This was tried in 1940, also with the goal of facing a national emergency. It didn't end well for Japan, if I recall correctly. It might actually be a positive development for the DPJ, though. The LDP has been pillaging from the public for decades and knows best how it is done. The DPJ might profit under its tutelage.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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