Issues Left Behind

All the candidates finished their twelve-day campaign at 8 pm on Saturday. It is the voting day of the election of House of Representatives today. The big three issue in the campaign were constitutional amendment, consumption tax hike and nuclear power generation. The argument over them, however, was not made enough for the voters to decide which candidate or party would be reliable. After all, the election is about whether the people approve unilateral ruling of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Liberal Democratic Party raised four points for constitutional amendment: adding status of Self-defense Force, education for free, emergency clause in disaster and electoral district along with prefectural border for House of Councillors. Nevertheless, Abe has been less serious in explaining the purpose of those amendments. He insisted on asking the voters which party would be reliable to handle those issues, stressing necessity of putting higher pressure on North Korea for example.

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan opposed those amendments raised by Abe. LDP draft of the amendment includes reinforcing state power over the people, requiring the people to obey public cause for governance. “It is the politics in 18^th century that allows the state power to do everything they want to do. We regain reasonable politics,” told CDPJ President Yukio Edano. While Japan Communist Party and Social Democratic Party strictly opposed constitutional amendment, Party of Hope raised other amendments than changing Article 9.

Abe raised changing purpose of consumption tax hike, from for reimbursement of national debt to for education for free, as a cause of dissolution of House of Representatives. The opposite parties argue that Japanese economy is too weak to withstand higher consumption tax rate. Consumption tax causes greater damage on low-income families in its nature. Abenomics actually generated economic gap between the rich and poor, encouraging the opposite parties accuse Abe.

The leading parties did not show any target of when to eliminate nuclear power generation. With unprecedented accident in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant and stricter regulation afterward, the cost of nuclear power generation was proved to be incredibly high. The opposite parties appealed in their campaign that nuclear power generation had to be ended in 2030, immediately or as soon as possible.

The arguments rather focused on Abe’s handling of politics. It has been blamed that Abe was reluctant to explain how he had been involved in the scandal of Moritomo and Kake Gakuen. Accordingly, the election is to a large extent about approval or rejection of leadership of Abe.