Change seems to be stirring all across our globe these days; in Israel, in Lebanon, in Iran and even in Japan.
First a little background history.
Since 1955, Japan has been run, essentially without interruption, by the Japanese equivalent to the GOP, the "Liberal Democratic Party of Japan" (LDP). It was the LDP that oversaw Japan’s economic collapse in the late 80’s. LDJ policies turned the 90’s into the "lost decade". LDP took Japan into Iraq as a member of the "coalition of the willing" and it was the LDP that introduced a new phenomenon to Japan "the working poor".
In the past the LDP has scandalized Asia and much of the world by honouring dead war criminals, by making incredibly racist comments and by displaying an attitude of arrogant indifference to others.
But that now seems to be about to change.
Recently an election for the office of mayor was held in the city of Chiba (pop 1 mill). The LDP always performs very well in that region, so well in fact, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has only two elected representatives from the area in the Diet and was considering not even running a candidate in the race. The incumbent long time LDJ party mayor Keiichi Tsuruoka, announced his retirement and his deputy Kojiro Hayashi announced his candidacy.
But shortly after Hayashi announced, a scandal broke when Tsuruoka was arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes from construction companies. The DPJ seeing an opportunity ran Toshihito Kumagai, a 31 year old candidate they described as being "young, inexperienced in politics and with no money".
The results were surprising and incredible. A full 30% of former LDP voters backed the DPJ Kumagai. With the support of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Kumagai went on to win a landslide victory with over 170.6 thousand votes to 117.5 thousand for the LDP and 31 thousand for the Communist Party of Japan.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/...
This is a grim omen for Taro Aso, the embattled Prime Minister. The LDP has now lost three important elections in a row and must call a national vote no later than this fall. Recent public opinion polling has shown support for the LDP has collapsed to 19.8 % of the electorate compared to 38.5% for the DPJ. Aso himself polls numbers so low they make George Bush’s look enviable by comparison. Only 17.5% of Japanese continue to express support for Aso. When asked voting intentions, 47.8% of voters intend on casting a ballot for the DPJ compared to 18.7% for the LDP. To make matters even worse for the LDP, on Sunday, after this latest poll was taken, a senior government official was arrested for fraud – the latest in a series of such scandals.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/...
So who are the DPJ who seem posed to capture the country this fall?
Their slogan is "Japan Will Change, People’s Lives First" and have a manifesto that would satisfy the average western liberal. From more action on the environment, a foreign policy that involves constructive diplomacy and less confrontation, a commitment to reexamine the Iraq deployment to a social commitment to addressing the needs and shortages being experienced by the average Japanese, the DPJ promises a brighter future and a different direction for Japan.
Japanese politics can be a frustrating affair however, and three months is an eternity in politics. A lot can happen between now and the fall and the LDP has proven to be a wily and elusive foe to defeat in the past, but for now, there’s real cause for optimism that change is coming and it is about time.