INTERVIEW: CDPJ to campaign on people’s lives in upper house election

July 9, 2019

Tokyo--The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan will focus on helping people's lives as a key pillar of its platform in the July 21 House of Councillors election, party head Yukio Edano said in a recent interview.

"The largest interest of voters and the most important issue is bringing back a sense of safety to people's lives," Edano said. "We will campaign on the three major platforms of an economy that places importance on family finances, a society that takes pride in diversity, and a democracy which people can feel they are participating in."

It will be the first time for the CDPJ to contest the triennial elections for the upper chamber of parliament. The party was formed in 2017 by defectors from the now-defunct Democratic Party.

Edano said the CDPJ will seek to uphold democratic norms and constitutionalism in the election campaign.

He was critical of the effects which he claims Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration has on the bureaucracy, saying that the supposedly nonpolitical institution has been marred by political influence.

"(The administration) is continuously destroying the foundations of democracy, epitomized by the preservation of official records and the public disclosure of information," Edano said, referencing multiple scandals involving the disappearance or manipulation of public documents in the Abe administration. "A series of scandals has come up as a result of (bureaucrats) having to pander to politicians."

He raised the issue of the practice known as "sontaku," in which bureaucrats act on what they believe to be Abe's wishes, spawning favoritism and other allegations of misconduct in his administration.

To counter such alleged violations of democratic norms, the CDPJ has set "Reiwa democracy" as its slogan for the upcoming election, in reference to Taisho democracy, a wave of democratic movements in the Taisho era of 1912-1926.

"Democracy in Japan was given a major upgrade by Taisho democracy," he said. "We must do something that matches its scale."

On the issue of revising the constitution, Edano said his party is moving forward with discussions on revisions "from the standpoint of strengthening constitutionalism," specifically focusing on restricting the right of the prime minister to dissolve the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, for a snap election, and a citizen's right of access to information.

The constitution is one of the major policy issues in the Upper House election, as Abe is seeking to revise the charter to clarify the existence of the Self-Defense Forces in its war-renouncing Article 9.

"We will strongly fight against allowing the exercise of collective self-defense and changing Article 9 for the worse," Edano said.

The opposition leader also reiterated his party's call for a suspension in the planned consumption tax increase from 8 pct to 10 pct in October.

"It takes an immense amount of time to rebuild an economic structure in which consumption rises in a sustainable way," he said, wary of the possible effects of the tax hike in chilling consumer spending.

In the election, the CDPJ will cooperate with other opposition parties to prevent situations where votes for the opposition are split between candidates, enabling the ruling parties to win seats. The opposition forces have already agreed to back unified candidates in one-seat voting districts.

"We have fulfilled the prerequisites for maximizing the number of seats the opposition can win," Edano said. "Now it is up to each party to utilize its strengths and work as hard as possible." Jiji Press