Abe vs. Others

Having a few days before official announcement of the election of House of Representatives, the party leaders appear on TV or open debate to discuss the policies they uphold. In the debate at Japan Press Club on Sunday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, or President of Liberal Democratic Party, showed his willingness of maintain his administration, if LDP and Komeito could be maintaining simple majority in the House. Opposite leaders are making every effort to defeat Abe administration. The basic framework of the election is Abe vs. others.

Abe insisted that he would be Prime Minister of Japan after the election, if the leading parties would maintain the simple majority, which would be 233 seats or more. While LDP holds 287 seats in the House now, 233 should be meaning a significant defeat for the party. Setting an easy target for the election, Abe revealed his anxiousness on the negative result after the campaign.

Party of Hope was established to renew already obsolete politics. The President, or Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, told in the debate, “We will correct unilateral politics by Abe. A big target is to replace the administration.” Over a hundred candidates of the party are formerly affiliated to Democratic Party. They joined Party of Hope simply with a cause of defeating Abe.

Other parties are willing to join the movement. Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan appeals abolition of new security legislation, which passed the Diet with unilateral procedure of the leading party against consistent argument of unconstitutionality. “I cannot approve constitutional amendment that endorses new security legislation,” said President Yukio Edano in the debate. Japan Communist Party and Social Democratic Party take the same stance with CDPJ in terms of resisting Abe’s hawkish and retrospective policy.

At one moment in JPC debate, Abe was excited in defending himself when a journalist asked questions about the scandal in Moritomo and Kake Gakuen. “Although it was inevitable for me to be doubted, nothing has proved my involvement,” told Abe. Koike insisted that Abe had not provided with enough information. Chairman of JCP, Kazuo Shii, accused Abe that “The reason why Abe dissolved House of Representatives on the first day of this extraordinary session was nothing but hiding the scandal.”

With ordinary short temper, Abe targeted one of the newspapers critical on his politics. Raising the name of Asahi Shimbun, Abe criticized the paper of not reporting the testimony of Governor of Ehime, one of the supporters of Abe, in the Diet in July. “They did not report the next day. Can you be proud of yourself? I hope the people to make good fact check,” said Abe. The truth is that Asahi reported it with a headline of the governor’s opinion. It only proved that Abe is the hater of specific news organization.