Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[SN]

Koizumi was reelected as a president of Liveral Democratic Party of Japan. He won a landslide victory but that doesn't mean unified party structure.


As expected, Prime Minister Koizumi won a landslide victory. But 46% of lawmakers of LDP voted against Koizumi. He won't be able to be only in high spirit.

In the presidency election of LDP, the greatest issue was Prm.Koizumi's structural reform line and economic policy. Prm.Koizumi has given a priority on the structural reform,saying "No economic growth without the structural reform". But three candidates who were against Koizumi insisted that the government should change its economic policy and attach more importance on the measure for Japan's business condition.

Not a few of lawmakers in LDP ask for the change of economic policy of the government. The number of them is much more than half of the number of lawmakers of LDP.

Koizumi won 68% of rank-and-file member of LDP and overwhelmed the three candidates. But according to the public opinion poll by Yomiuri Shinbun, the greatest political problem which the base of LDP's support ask for is the measure for business condition.

There is a great gap between people's support for Koizumi and the policy which people want.

Koizumi mentioned in the news conference after he won in the reelection that he would pay attention to the balance and make unified party structure in the LDP at the time of his cabinet reshuffle and the change of the member of the party's board. If so, he needs humbly to pay attention to those criticism or the request for the economic policy and live up to them.

Koizumi said that LDP, which is in power, have to make more efforts to win supports and confidence from people in the coming general election. For that, he needs more humble attitude about his economic policy.

Observing the behavior principe of the lawmakers in Japan, there is a tendency that younger lawmakers put more importance on piling up their winning their reelection and that higher than middle class of them on getting important positions such as ministers. Just after the LDP presidential election, Koizumi scheduled the cabinet reshuffle and the election of the House of Representatives. Koizumi's strategy, which could get at the lawmakers' psychology well, effectively worked in the election.

In the result, younger lawmaker and members of the House of Councilor chose Koizumi as a votes-getter in coming general election. In addtion, it was the beginning of his landslide victory that Mr.Aoki moved to Koizumi camp together with other 40 members of Hashimoto faction of the House of Councilor

But due to LDP lawmakers' self-serving behavior that votes-getter and the party's policy are different, the debate over the party's policy was put aside. This was one of the reasons why the debate over the party's policy didn't warm up in the presidency election.

Koizumi's landslide victory brought out the structural change of LDP. It was symbolic that the Hashimoto faction which was biggest in LDP became powerless and that Mr.Nonaka ,the ex-secretary-general of LDP, who was regarded as the most influential person, was cornered into expressing his retirement from politics.

After the combination of single-seat constituencies and proportional representation election system was introduced, the factions in LDP has been losing their power such as procuring and distributing political fund. After Koizumi came to power, they also has been losing their power to distribute posts such as ministers. The conventional political style of LDP, in which factions has repeated power strugles, has reached its limit.

The problem is that no sign of LDP's new political style in the substitute of the old fashioned faction politics has been seen. Koizumi has also a responsibility to build up a new political style of LDP.

[Corey]

He needs to clean up the banks.

Corey
_________________
Niagara Summer Programs