link for this story: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090831a1.html
On Aug 31, 2:30 am, xi <[email protected]> wrote: > My comment: I cannot say I am an expert on Japanese politic. But I > know some social clues to understand this news. First of all, Japan is > a hyper affluent and hyper conservative society in some sense, such as > sutainability, what pushes it toward hyper progressive views in others > such as climate change. > Despite dismissing comments in Western media, the decade long crisis > did not hurt most Japanese people because their interests are mostly > abroad and which manpower is mostly migrant workers. Japan has been > the first economy that approaches the zero-growth model and that > proved that it can be very healthy. > But two facts have threatened that sustainable model, and that fear is > what produced this landslide. First of all, investments abroad are not > safe any longer as proven in late 2008. Secondly, ethics or moral > principles or a certain sense of harmony with oneself is important for > Japanese as much as for any East Asian cuntry. The US alliance that > was perceived as a choice of peace for elders, since the war in Iraq > is now perceived as to take side for the warriors and for > confrontation attitudes, not for the peacemakers, at least among > youngsters. Of course, this is my perception and what I heard from > Japanese aged 20 to 30. Japan knows that wars are a thread against > sustainibility, so in East Asia peace is both a moral duty and a > selfish attitude. > > One year ago cooperation in Afghan war and six month ago collapse of > global financial system decided this results. > > What will happen in the future? In the social field DPJ is for free > education, extended healthcare system, etc. in foreign affairs it > promised to renegociate US alliance to pay more attention to what they > say are the real Japanese interests, in economy they promised to > reduce investments in infraestructures but also to reverse some > privatizations. Let us wait and see what they really can do. > > Peace and best wishes. > > Xi > > The Japan Times > > Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 > > ELECTION 2009 > In landslide, DPJ wins over 300 seats > LDP crushed; Hatoyama set to take power > > The Democratic Party of Japan won the Lower House election by a > landslide Sunday, grabbing more than 300 seats in the 480-seat > chamber. > > The victory by the main opposition party will end more than half a > century of almost uninterrupted rule by the Liberal Democratic Party. > It will also usher in DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama, 62, as the new > prime minister by mid-September. > > The DPJ-led opposition camp secured 340 seats against just 140 for the > LDP-New Komeito ruling bloc. In the opposition camp, the DPJ alone had > 308. > > Flush with victory, DPJ executives started full-fledged preparations > for launching a new administration in the evening, party sources said, > adding that talks were also planned with its two allies — the Social > Democratic Party and Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) — on forming > a coalition government. > > Meanwhile, Prime Minister Taro Aso said he will step down as LDP > president to "take responsibility" for his party's defeat. An election > to pick his successor as LDP chief will be held soon, he said. > > LDP Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda also said on NHK the party's top > three executives have all told Aso they plan to resign. > > "We'd like to straightly face the severe results. We will search our > souls and start preparing for the next election," Hosoda said, adding > that the LDP will overhaul its policies to gain more support. > > The LDP also lost some big names in single-seat races, including > former Foreign Ministers Nobutaka Machimura and Taro Nakayama, as well > as Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano and former Finance chief Shoichi > Nakagawa. > > However, Machimura and Yosano regained their seats in proportional > representation. > > Scenes from Election 2009 New Komeito suffered even worse, with party > chief Akihiro Ota and heavyweights Kazuo Kitagawa and Tetsuzo > Fuyushiba all defeated in their single-seat districts. They didn't > "insure" themselves by putting their names on the party's list of > proportional-representation candidates. > > DPJ deputy chief Ichiro Ozawa declined comment before the poll results > were complete but said "there is nothing (for voters) to worry" about > concerning an impending change in government. > > "We'd like to steadily implement what we have promised to the nation," > Ozawa told NHK. > > Pre-election media polls showed the DPJ leading the LDP thanks to > strong populist tail winds propelled in part by frustration with years > of stagnation and mismanagement under the LDP. > > As many as 1,374 candidates, including a record 229 women, competed > for seats in the 480-member chamber — 300 in single-seat districts and > 180 in the 11 proportional representation blocks nationwide. > > Due to strong voter interest, voter turnout was estimated to have > reached 69.29 percent, exceeding the 67.51 percent in the previous > general election in 2005. > > A record 13.98 million people, or 13.4 percent of all eligible voters, > cast early ballots. > > Most of the nearly 51,000 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. and closed > at 8 p.m. > > The DPJ, which had just 115 seats before the election, secured 308. > > The LDP, in contrast, captured as few as 119, a shocking decline from > its 300 seats before the race. New Komeito won 21 seats, far short of > the 31 seats it had before the election. > > The LDP's fall from power was only its second since it was founded in > 1955. It was out of power for about 11 months between 1993 and 1994. > > After campaigning officially began Aug. 18, Aso made clear his > priority was to stimulate the economy, saying the economy is only > halfway through its recovery. > > He argued against giving a popular mandate to the DPJ on the grounds > that the opposition party tends to waver on national security matters, > and that his LDP is the only party responsible enough to govern. > > The DPJ's Hatoyama promised to up support to households, saying a DPJ- > led government will "cut waste created in bureaucrat-reliant politics > and reorganize the budget in such a way as to spend money on what's > really important." > > The change in the Lower House will clear the legislative deadlock in > the Diet, which has plagued the LDP-New Komeito ruling bloc for the > past two years, when the less-powerful Upper House came under control > of the opposition. > > Campaigning effectively began July 21, when Aso, 68, dissolved the > Lower House. Since then, parties had pitched their policies to voters > based on their campaign platforms. > > In its platform, the DPJ pledges to cut wasteful spending, offer cash > to households and keep the 5 percent consumption tax intact for the > next four years, the duration of the term for new Lower House > lawmakers. > > But its big-budget policies, like the monthly child allowance to > families, have been criticized as lacking specifics about sources of > funding. > > Aso was widely expected to call the poll soon after taking office last > September after two of his immediate predecessors quit after about a > year in office each. But as the recession deepened, he vowed to focus > on reviving the economy and delayed dissolving the lower chamber. > > In the general election of September 2005, the LDP captured a whopping > 296 seats as then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi painted the race as > a contest between those for his postal system privatization initiative > and those against it. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World-thread" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/world-thread?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
