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Divided Diet adds to uncertainties in Japan's political scene |
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21:35, December 12, 2008 |
Japan witnessed another eventful year in the political scene in 2008. With a divided Diet (parliament), the government was confronted with fierce oppositions in almost every policy-making process and hence the change of the premiership, which, however, failed to end the political chaos. Japan''s political outlook remained unclear amid the two-chamber wrestles between the ruling and opposition camps.
"HOUSE DIVIDED"
On July 29, 2007, in elections for half the seats in the upper house of the Diet, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered at the hands of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) its biggest electoral defeat since its founding in 1955. For the very first time, the LDP has lost its dominance in the upper house.
The fact that the upper and lower chambers of the Diet began to be dominated by the opposition and ruling blocs respectively, or the advent of a distortedly "divided" Diet, exerted a far-reaching impact on Japan''s political situation.
Beset by ill health and a newly energized opposition force, the then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned in September 2007. And the Diet became the main battlefield for the intense ruling-opposition rivalry after Yasuo Fukuda, Abe''s successor, failed in his attempt to form a larger ruling coalition with the DPJ in November 2007.
The divided Diet has made its presence fully felt in the political scene since the beginning of 2008. The ruling and opposition parties engaged in prolonged seesaw wrangles at the Diet on a wide range of issues from the budget for fiscal 2008, the nomination for the governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) through the extension of the provisionally high gas and other road-related tax rates.
FUKUDA LEAVES STAGE
Although the opposition-led upper house could not eventually block the passage of a bill or fiscal budget, as the Japanese Constitution stipulates that the more powerful House of Representatives can hold a revote to pass a bill if the upper house rejects it or holds no vote within 60 days of receiving the bill, the 60-day deferment greatly hindered the Fukuda administration from implementing its policies.
The image of the Fukuda cabinet was further tarnished by such incidents as the collision between an Aegis destroyer and a fishing boat on February 19 and the scandal exposed in June that bureaucrats received favors in the form of cash, coupons and merchandise from taxi drivers when taxiing home late at night using taxpayer money.
And people''s livelihood-related problems, including the unidentified pension accounts, the new medical care system for so-called latter-stage elderly people aged 75 and older and provincially higher gas tax rates as well as the worsened living standard amid soaring prices of food, fuel and other commodities worldwide stoked widespread dissatisfaction with the Fukuda cabinet. The support rating for Fukuda''s cabinet had thus been on the decline, down from some 50 percent when he took office in September to a low of 20 percent.
In July the Group of Eight (G8) convened their annual summit at Toyako in Hokkaido. As the leader of the host country, Fukuda intended to exercise leadership at the gathering of world''s richest countries in a bid to improve the approval rating for his cabinet. But his efforts fell short of expectations.
To reverse the adverse situation, Fukuda reshuffled the cabinet and shook up the executive lineup of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Things, however, hardly changed for the better for his support rating, which has been lingering at dangerous levels of around 20 percent for several months. On Sept. 1, Fukuda announced his decision to resign, calling for a new framework to implement policies.
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