The New Face of Japanese Politics?

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The New Face of Japanese Politics?
2
Strong contender prime ministerial hopeful
Junichiro Koizumi accepts flowers at a reception
hosted by a faction of his Liberal Democratic
Party at a Tokyo hotel. Mr Koizumi quit his
faction to gain broader appeal.
3
End to faction friction probably fiction

• Factions are not separated by ideology, because
  Japanese politics is less about policies than
  personalities. The factions thrive on personal
  relationships. New members of the LDP join one of
  the factions and give the faction leader their
  loyalty and vote. In return, they are given
  political support and campaign funds. They work
  their way up through the faction until they
  become a senior member or even faction leader,
  and the name of the faction changes.

4
Tanaka Makiko and Koizuimi Junichiro
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Firebrand lashes 'indecisive' PM

• Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has suffered a
  potentially devastating attack on his reform
  credentials by the woman who propelled him to
  power his former foreign minister, Makiko
  Tanaka.
• In the first interview since her dramatic
  midnight sacking sent the cabinet's ratings
  tumbling by more than 20 per cent, Ms Tanaka
  accused the Prime Minister of being envious,
  indecisive and a prisoner of the faction system
  he promised to destroy.

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Firebrand lashes 'indecisive' PM

• She accused Mr Koizumi of allowing his cabinet to
  be run by one of the most reviled faction bosses
  in the LDP - former prime minister Yoshiro Mori.
• Her tenure in office was plagued by battles with
  LDP leaders and bureaucrats who were not used to
  dealing with a minister who did not take orders.
  They leaked stories about her tantrums, but when
  she complained, a senior figure in the Mori
  action told her the best way to ensure civil
  servants' loyalty was to do what they said.

7
Bevy of ninja 'assassins' to serve 'last samurai'
Koizumi in election

• Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has staked his
  political future on the poll and his prime weapon
  for defeating high profile defectors from the
  Ruling Liberal Democratic Party who oppose his
  plan to privatize Japan's postal system is a bevy
  of the best and brightest daughters of the Land
  of the Rising Son.
• Koizumi insiders say the result of the Sept. 11
  poll will hinge on female voters, and the prime
  minister sees the women running on his side as
  shikaku (??)," a term that literally means
  assassins, but is being used in this election to
  describe "killer candidates."

"The LDP is no longer a liberal or democratic
party," he (Kobayashi, a rebel) protested at a
recent press conference between the two
candidates (Kobayshi and Koike).
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So, Koizumi seems to be changing the faction
based structure of the LDP.

• But who wants to rewrite the constitution?

9
His Successor Shinzo Abe
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Politics

• Democratic miracle
• Tatemae structure of government
• Honne functioning of government
• Issues from cold war to corruption and
  environment.

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Japans Political System
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The Parties in the System
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The Bureaucrats in the System
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How democratic is Japan?

• Are individual rights protected?
• Is the will of the people adequately transmitted
  through the politicians to be made into laws?
• How does group orientation persist in a
  democratic system?
• Does the the party system and bureaucratic
  administration support or hinder democracy?
• Are the issues the Japanese are concerned about
  dealt with effectively?

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Democratic Miracle

• Democracy was an alien concept to Japan, but it
  had
• Foundations of stable governance political
  unity, administrative efficiency, ethical
  rationale.
• Capacity for change regional differences,
  tradition of borrowing, peaceful rotation of
  leadership, emperor based shift,
  entrepreneuralism.
• Forced democratization to repeal the unequal
  treaties American constitution and
• institutions, entrance fee
• into Western alliance

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Tatemae the structure of the government system

• Sovereign Power from Emperor (?? tenno) to
  constitution (?? kenpo)
• The Diet (Kokkai??) houses of representatives
  (Shugiin ???) and councilors (Sangiin ???),
  representation for laws and cabinet appointments
• The Executive Prime Minister (???? soridaijin),
  cabinet (?? naikaku) and bureaucracy
• The Judiciary (??? Shihobu) constitutionality of
  laws and investigative courts
• Local Government (??? chijitai) prefectures and
  municipalities, elections and local issues, taxes
  and central control

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Article 9 Of the Japanese Constitution
Renunciation of War

• Aspiring sincerely to an international peace
  based on justice and order, the Japanese people
  forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the
  nation and the threat or use of force as means of
  settling international disputes.
• In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding
  paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as
  other war potential, will never be maintained.
  The right of belligerency of the state will not
  be recognized.

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Individual Rights

• Article 11. The people shall not be prevented
  from enjoying any of the fundamental human
  rights. These fundamental human rights guaranteed
  to the people by this Constitution shall be
  conferred upon the people of this and future
  generations as eternal and inviolate rights.
• Article 12. The freedoms and rights guaranteed to
  the people by this Constitution shall be
  maintained by the constant endeavor of the
  people, who shall refrain from any abuse of these
  freedoms and rights and shall always be
  responsible for utilizing them for the public
  welfare.
• Article 13. All of the people shall be respected
  as individuals. Their right to life, liberty, and
  the pursuit of happiness shall, to the extent
  that it does not interfere with the public
  welfare, be the supreme consideration in
  legislation and in other governmental affairs.
• Article 14. All of the people are equal under the
  law and there shall be no discrimination in
  political, economic or social relations because
  of race, creed, sex, social status or family
  origin.

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Individual rights expressed through

• Article 15. The people have the inalienable right
  to choose their public officials and to dismiss
  them.
• Article 21. Freedom of assembly and association
  as well as speech, press and all other forms of
  expression are guaranteed.
• Article 24. Marriage shall be based only on the
  mutual consent of both sexes and it shall be
  maintained through mutual cooperation with the
  equal rights of husband and wife as a basis.
• With regard to choice of spouse, property rights,
  inheritance, choice of domicile, divorce and
  other matters pertaining to marriage and the
  family, laws shall be enacted from the standpoint
  of individual dignity and the essential equality
  of the sexes.
• Article 26. All people shall have the right to
  receive an equal education correspondent to their
  ability, as provided by law.
• Article 28. The right of workers to organize and
  to bargain and act collectively is guaranteed.
• Article 29. The right to own or to hold property
  is inviolable. Property rights shall be defined
  by law, in conformity with the public welfare.

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The Gift from Beate Sirota Gordon

• Born in Vienna, the daughter of a famed
  Russian-Jewish pianist, she spent her childhood
  in pre-war Tokyo, where her father was invited to
  teach at a prestigious music academy. In 1938,
  she was sent to California to study at Mills
  College, renowned for its strong ideas on women's
  rights. Fluent in six languages, she joined the
  US war information office when America joined the
  war.
• She returned to Japan on Christmas Eve, 1945, to
  search for her parents who had stayed there and
  were imprisoned because of their background. One
  of only a few Americans fluent in Japanese and
  well versed in the culture, she landed a job with
  General Douglas MacArthur, in the department that
  drafted a new Japanese constitution - in seven
  days. She was assigned to the civil rights
  section, where she drafted women's rights
  articles. She was only 22.
• She knew exactly what it was like to be a
  Japanese woman at that time, having witnessed the
  reality of their pre-war life under the rule of
  their fathers and husbands. Unless women were
  happy, she thought, there would be no true peace
  in Japan, and sexual equality was a prerequisite.
  
• Alas, most of her drafts on women's rights were
  deleted at the screening stage despite her
  tearful pleas - except for Article 24. It defined
  sexual equality in marriage, in the choice of a
  spouse, property rights, inheritance, divorce,
  and so on - all revolutionary changes from
  pre-war Japan.

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Generic Outline of Government Institutions
Constitution
Judiciary
Legislative
Executive

• Roles of Constitutions
• Establish the rights and obligations of the
  people
• Separate and designate the powers of government

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Regional/Local Governments 47 Prefectures
(Governors Assemblies) Cities, Towns, Villages
(Mayors and Councils)
Structure of Government
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Japans Political System
House of Representatives and House of Councillors
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Japans Electoral Systems
House of Councillors House of Representatives
Electoral Districts Electoral Districts Electoral Districts
Proportional representation 1 nationwide district 11 nationwide districts
Smaller districts 47 prefecture-level multi-member districts 300 single-seat electoral districts
Number of Members Number of Members Number of Members
Proportional representation 96 180
Smaller districts 146 300

Term 6 yrs (1/2 every 3 yrs 4 yrs (or earlier)
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Legislative Procedure
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Government Administered Space
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 Number of Local Civil Service Employees (as of
April 1, 2002)
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Honne functioning of government

• Party factions
• Elections and electioneering
• Policy formulation legislative deal making

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Honne functioning of government

• Party (?? toha) factions (??habatzu)
• The LDPs internalized factions
• leader-follower groups,
• advancement ladder,
• party consensus formation,
• The externalized factions of the old left and the
  new center

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The Political Spectrum
Center democratic, market economics, progressive
social policies
Old Left
LDP
Left
Right
Extreme left
Authoritarian, nationalistic, capitalistic
Authoritarian, nationalistic, state ownership
New Center
Extreme Right
Old Center Right Liberal Democratic Party
Old left Communists, Socialists, Democratic
Socialists
New center Democratic party of Japan, New
Komeito, Liberal Party, Social Democratic Party,
21st Century club
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House of Representatives (Sept 2005)
Number of Representatives
Liberal Democratic Party 295
Democratic party of Japan and Club of Independents 113
New Komeito 31
Communist Party 9
Social Democratic Party 7
The People's New Party and New Party Nippon and Group of Independents 6
Independents 19
Vacancies 0
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House of Councillors (Sept 2005)
Number of Representatives
Liberal Democratic Party 112
Democratic party of Japan and Shinryokufukukai 82
New Komeito 24
Communist Party 9
Social Democratic Party 6
The People's New Party, New Party Nippon 4
Independents 5
Vacancies 1
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Honne functioning of government

• Elections and electioneering
• The new balance between minority representation
  and change
• disproportional representation
• local connections (the Koenkai ???) and party
  discipline
• money needs and noise.

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Honne functioning of government

• Policy formulation legislative deal making
• short duration ministers,
• continuous bureaucracy,
• bureaucratic control of Prime Ministers Office,
• bureaucratic turf wars,
• business governance and
• quasi-business operation
• interest group bargaining
• political party compromise

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Issues from cold war confrontation to corruption
and environment.

• Cold war ideological separation of parties to
  alignment on market principles
• Corruption transformation in perception of
  politician, bureaucrat and business relations to
  policy based politics
• Environment central vs. local approaches, e.g.
  nuclear power vs. local political power
• The Rise of China economic threat, resources,
  history, trade
• Others the American alliance, the Constitution,
  decentralization, deregulation, recession,
  education, womens rights, aging population etc.

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Teacher temper over Japan flag lawsSome see
Koizumi's dispatch of troops to Iraq as a sign of
rising nationalism in Japan.

• But for some in Japan, the flag of the rising sun
  and the lyrics to the "Kimigayo (The Emperor's
  Reign)" anthem are painful reminders of the
  militant nationalism that led to World War II.
• Now, the government says public school teachers
  must honor the flag, stand-up and sing the anthem
  at school ceremonies, whether or not they agree.
• If not, they may be fired.

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Teacher temper over Japan flag laws

• In April, around 180 teachers at metropolitan
  senior high schools or schools for disabled
  children were reprimanded for behaving
  "unprofessionally" during graduation ceremonies
  the previous month, the education board said.
• English teacher Toru Kondo has repeatedly refused
  to stand for the anthem. "Please stand up but
  don't force people who don't like to stand up and
  sing the national anthem," he said. "I will not
  stand up, never stand up."
• Some parents fear the effect the rules will have
  on their children."These are my children. They
  are not the hostages or resources of the Tokyo
  Board of Education," one mother says.

The enforcement of the law, which was put forth
in 1999 by then prime minister Keizo Obuchi,
comes at a unique time in Japan's post-WWII
history. Current Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
has recently sent troops from its Self Defense
Force to Iraq, amid much public fear the soldiers
could be drawn into conflict which would go
against Japan's pacifist 1947 constitution.
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SCMP Tuesday, May 11, 2004Japan's main
opposition leader stands down

• Naoto Kan has stepped down as leader
• of Japan's largest opposition party because
• he missed 10 months of mandatory pension
• payments, throwing his party into turmoil two
• months before elections.
• Mr Kan's resignation after 17 months as
• head of the Democratic Party of Japan follows
  Yasuo
• Fukuda quitting the post of chief government
  spokesman on Friday after disclosing he skipped
  pension contributions for more than three years.
• Revelations that ministers and lawmakers from at
  least three parties failed to pay pension
  contributions has sparked public discontent at a
  time when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's
  government is trying to raise payments and slash
  retirement payouts.

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How democratic is Japan?

• Are individual rights protected?
• How does group orientation persist in a
  democratic system?
• Is the will of the people adequately transmitted
  through the politicians to be made into laws?
• Does the bureaucratic administration support or
  hinder democracy?
• Are the issues which concern the Japanese dealt
  with effectively?

43
Japans Voting Rate
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Minbo no Onna (anti-extortion woman)

• Minbo criminal acts disguised as civil law
  actions
• Storyline Abuse of the law by Yakusa (gangsters)
  to extort money from a hotel and use of the law
  by hotel staff to fight back
• What expectations are both sides counting on?
• How does the lawyer enlist the help of the courts
  and police?
• How is local citizens power expressed in the
  movie?
• Where do you see the extreme right wing?