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LDP en crise, Taro Aso contesté !!! Qui pourra assumer l'après-Aso incessamment sous peu ?

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MessagePosté le: 24 Juil 2009 15:41    Sujet du message: Japon : vers un changement de majorité politique, par Philippe Pons

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Source : Le Monde.fr

Dpuis plus d'un demi-siècle, le Japon ignore l'alternance au pouvoir. A l'exception d'une brève "traversée du désert" (1993-1994), le Parti libéral-démocrate (PLD) a toujours tenu les rênes du pays. Lors des législatives du 30 août, il risque de les perdre au profit du Parti démocrate du Japon (PDJ), principale formation d'opposition. Si c'est le cas, en deux ans, les deux Chambres seront passées à l'opposition. Une défaite "historique". Mais le changement promis par le PDJ sera-t-il à la hauteur de la formule ?

L'immobilisme politique japonais déconcerte. Frilosité de l'électorat, conservatisme invétéré ? Le PLD a fait de l'Archipel la seconde économie du monde. Il a conservé le pouvoir parce que sa politique correspondait aux intérêts nationaux d'une époque - la guerre froide - qui s'est achevée sans que les conséquences politiques en aient été tirées. Vaincu et dépendant des Etats-Unis pour sa sécurité, le Japon se concentrait sur son redressement et sur une amélioration des conditions de vie de la majorité : les inégalités existaient mais chacun à son niveau recevait des dividendes de la croissance.

Dans les années 1960-1980, "âge d'or" du PLD, celui-ci détenait le monopole du réalisme alors que la gauche socialiste, arc-boutée sur son pacifisme, passait pour utopiste. Composé de sensibilités allant du centre gauche à la droite, le PLD réussit pendant des décennies à cantonner le débat politique en son sein. Une "démocratie interne" qui a permis à ce parti - issu de la fusion, en 1955, des deux courants conservateurs -, de faire preuve d'une réactivité pragmatique. Procédant par ajustements et politiques de compensation sociale, soustrayant ses initiatives à l'opposition, il jouait abondamment de la manne publique pour satisfaire ses clientèles. Une "politique par l'argent" élevée dans les années 1970 au rang de système de pouvoir par le premier ministre Kakuei Tanaka.

Le système a fonctionné tant que les caisses de l'Etat étaient pleines. L'éclatement de la "bulle spéculative" (début des années 1990) puis la récession ont grippé la mécanique à drainer les voix. Mais le PLD a conservé le pouvoir grâce à des alliances avec le centre. Puis, la machine s'est enrayée : les libéraux-démocrates perdaient la main.

La société avait changé : moins homogène qu'au cours des décennies précédentes - lorsque la majorité pensait appartenir à une vaste classe moyenne -, elle exprimait des demandes diversifiées échappant aux réseaux de clientèles du PLD. Aux abois, il "trahit" celles-ci (à commencer par le monde rural) sans s'assurer pour autant le soutien de l'électorat urbain, décisif pour l'issue d'un scrutin.

L'inaptitude du premier ministre Taro Aso, qui "plombe" aujourd'hui le PLD, n'est qu'un épiphénomène dans son déclin. Comme le furent les années de Junichiro Koizumi, premier ministre de 2001 à 2006, qui, jouant d'une popularité fondée sur les espoirs en sa capacité à donner à l'Archipel une nouvelle orientation, n'ont fait que différer les choix. Elles ont aussi aggravé les disparités sociales mais sans entraîner l'apparition d'une couche de "défavorisés permanents". Or c'est désormais le cas.

Le "théâtre Koizumi" dont l'apothéose furent les élections législatives de 2005 (majorité écrasante du PLD) n'aura été qu'un illusoire feu d'artifice. La crise mondiale a rendu plus aiguës les conséquences d'une politique dont la précarisation du marché du travail fut une des conséquences. La succession de trois premiers ministres depuis 2006 et les âpres batailles internes à la veille de la dissolution, le 21 juillet, témoignent de l'usure, sinon du désarroi, du PLD.

La "facture" de l'incompétence de ses dirigeants à donner à l'Archipel une orientation nouvelle dans la mondialisation est lourde : de la 4e place en termes de revenu par habitant, le Japon est passé à la 19e (en 2007) et de la 1re à la 9e dans la course à la compétitivité internationale. Les maux auxquels est confrontée une société vieillissante sont identifiés : couverture sociale insuffisante, montée des inégalités, dette publique.

Le PDJ est-il à la hauteur des attentes ? Sa montée a été servie par le déclin du PLD. Sous la houlette d'un "animal politique", Ichiro Ozawa - qui a dû démissionner en mai de sa présidence pour un scandale financier sur fond de politique -, il est apparu comme une force d'alternance. L'est-il vraiment ? Formé de transfuges du PLD - tels que M. Ozawa et son successeur, Yukio Hatoyama -, d'ex-sociaux-démocrates et d'anciens syndicalistes, il manque de cohérence interne. Son programme ne se différencie guère de celui de l'actuelle majorité sinon par une plus grande attention aux défavorisés et une ambition affichée de se départir d'un suivisme sans faille vis-à-vis des Etats-Unis.

Le mot "réforme" a perdu de son lustre auprès d'une opinion qui attend des remèdes concrets à la dégradation de ses conditions de vie. En votant pour le PDJ, elle prendra un risque. Mais le risque sera sans doute plus grand en cas de maintien au pouvoir d'un parti affaibli, encore plus dans l'incapacité de gouverner.

FIN DE L'ARTICLE

Aux dernières nouvelles, nous constatons que le PDJ est loin d'être aussi irréaliste qu'on ne se l'imagine et c'est bien cela qui embête le PLD. En effet, après avoir exprimé son opposition à l'envoi des Forces d'Autodéfense japonaises dans l'Océan Indien, le PDJ est revenu sur sa position :
Citation:
In another development, the DPJ released part of its annual policy platform Thursday, in which it dropped all reference to its opposition to the Self-Defense Forces' refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
The DPJ has been adamantly opposed to extending the refueling mission, conducted by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean since past January this year.
But it has apparently adopted a more pragmatic foreign policy with an eye on taking power in the election and maintaining friendly ties with Tokyo's closest ally, the United States.
(Source : Breitbart.com, 23 juillet 2009)

La réaction de Taro Aso :
Citation:
"It is beyond my understanding that this party, which has been opposed to (the mission) so strongly, has changed its stance shortly before the election," Aso said.

... relève d'une mauvaise feinte, d'une tentative d'orienter le débat vers un thème qui, pour important qu'ils soit, n'occupe sans doute pas la première place dans le paysage chaotique des préoccupations des habitants de l'archipel. D'où la relative facilité avec laquelle Yukio Hatoyama abandonne cette partie du débat. Pour l'actuel président du PDJ, la vraie question, qui est d'ailleurs celle où Taro Aso montre ses limites, est "comment faire face à la crise économique, empêcher que plus de Japonais soient touchés par la paupérisation et aider la jeunesse à acquérir une éducation de qualité ?". Que fait Taro Aso dans cette campagne des législatives anticipées ? Il va à la pêche aux soutiens, bien sûr ! Et devinez à qui il s'adresse ? :
Citation:
Prime Minister Taro Aso visited several industry groups Thursday to seek their support for the Aug. 30 general election (...)
He has visited several business organizations, including the Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association and the Japan Fisheries Cooperatives on Thursday, and asked for their support in the upcoming election, in which the LDP is expected to face a tough battle.
"I believe it is natural to explain what we have done for the past 10 months to various groups and support groups," Aso told reporters Thursday evening. "That is our way."
(Source : Breitbart.com)

..."Our way" ou une façon de faire qui marchait bien tant qu'il y avait de la prospérité et que le monde du business avait une certaine "main-mise" sur la conscience politique des salariés. Est-ce encore le cas aujourd'hui, avec cette montée du précariat ? Le travail intérimaire, c'est quand même 1/3 de la population active japonaise plus des salariés à temps plein "précarisables" ? N'est-ce pas surestimer l'influence du Nippon Keidanren ?
En face, que se passe-t-il ? ... Yukio Hatoyama s'adresse à l'homme (et à la femme) de la rue, demande aux Japonais de faire entendre leur voix:
Citation:
"I want you to become the heroes to create history and your courage will create a new Japan," Hatoyama said in front of Tokorozawa Station in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, on the first leg of his stumping tour for the day.

... et n'hésite pas à se risquer sur un sujet aussi sensible que la (quasi-)gratuité de la scolarité au collège et au lycée, un projet qu'il compte financer par une réduction des dépenses de l'Etat et l'abandon de programmes coûteux et inutiles (on arrête de construire des routes qui ne mènent nulle part ?) ; à défaut de pouvoir augmenter les revenus, pourquoi ne pas alléger le fardeau financier qui étrangle des familles et les pousse à s'endetter (si elles le peuvent) pour offrir aux enfants la meilleure éducation possible ? :
Citation:
guardians of students attending national and other public high schools will receive 120,000 yen a year, equivalent to annual tuition, from next fiscal year. Guardians of students who attend private high schools will receive the same amount.

Households with an annual income of 5 million yen or less will receive about 240,000 yen a year.
(...)
Another key measure Minshuto has worked on for families would involve distributing subsidies of 26,000 yen a month to households that have a child, until the child graduates from junior high school.
(Source : Asahi.com : Minshuto pledge on education, 22 juillet 2009)

Les calculs du PDJ sont-ils réalistes ou ne s'agit-il que d'arguments électoraux que l'on s'empressera d'oublier après la victoire (si elle est au rendez-vous). Dans tous les cas, on peut gager que l'électorat n'oubliera pas cette promesse de sitôt.
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MessagePosté le: 24 Juil 2009 17:17    Sujet du message:

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Ces élections anticipées promettent des résultats intéressants quant au positionnement des japonais face aux politiques du PLD. Hormis le PDJ qui semblent être favori, assisterait-on à un retour massif de la gauche tout entière au Japon?
Juste pour rappel, le résultats des législatives de 2005, aux élections proportionnelles, la coalition centre-droit PJD Komeito avait obtenu environ 51% des voix, soit 100 sièges, à la chambre des représentants; la coalition centre-gauche du PDJ et PSD 36%, soit 67 sièges; le PCJ 7%, soit 9 sièges.

Nous avions évoqué dans un fil sur le parti communiste japonais qui reccueillent toujours plus d'adhérents. Le PCJ, si l'on compare aux autres pays du G8, est le deuxième en terme de représentation. Ce parti assiste à l'arrivée de nombreux freeters et laissé-pour-compte du système libéral, qui sont d'autant plus oubliés par le Rengo, le syndicat majoritaire lié au PDJ.

Citation:
Selon ses responsables, le PCJ accueille 1.000 nouveaux adhérents par mois et compte 400.000 membres.
Plus de 200.000 employés temporaires ou à temps partiel ont ou auront perdu leur emploi entre octobre et juin, selon le ministère du Travail. "Nous, au PCJ, nous soutenons les travailleurs précaires et ils adhérent au parti", insiste M. Morihara. Une stratégie qui constitue la clé de la nouvelle popularité du parti, selon Mari Miura, professeur de science politique à l'Université Sophia de Tokyo. Elle rappelle qu'au Japon, "les syndicats sont organisés autour des employés stables et à plein temps". "Les précaires ne peuvent adhérer qu'aux syndicats indépendants" lancés ces dernières années et "souvent soutenus par le parti communiste". (aujourd'hui le Japon, mai 2009)


Néanmoins, le PCJ semble se concentrait sur les proportionnelles plutot que sur les circonscriptions, où il n'avait obtenu aucuns sièges en 2005, le nombre de candidat passant de 275 à 152. Des choix économique semble avoir pris le dessus également.La possibilité de "clash" entre PLD, PDJ et PCJ est donc considérablement réduit. De plus, l'électorat PCJ semblerait se tourner vers le PDJ, selon un candidat du PLD.

Citation:
The change is in large part a result of the JCP slashing the number of single-seat constituencies it is competing in from 275 in 2005 to 152 this time.
The number of constituencies in which the LDP, the DPJ and the JCP will take part in a three-way battle also will decrease, from 215 in the previous general election to 121 this time.
The JCP has decided to cut the number of candidates in single-seat constituencies in part so it can concentrate on proportional representation races.
However, the party also is said to have been influenced by the fact that the 3 million yen deposit per candidate is forfeited if a candidate fails to garner at least 10 percent of the total votes cast.
Although the JCP does not plan to cooperate with the DPJ, its new approach still adversely affects the LDP. "About 80 percent of voters who support the JCP will probably switch to the DPJ," one senior LDP member said. (yomiuri)


En tout cas, les derniers sondages sont sans appels: le Asahi Shinbun, il y a 10 jours, donne la victoire au PDJ à 46%, suivi du PDJ à 19%, le Komeito 7% et le PCJ à 6%. Un sondage du Yomiuri, paru aujourd'hui, a quant à lui donné 42% au PDJ et 23% au PLD. La "gauche" nippone a en tout cas se mot à dire aujourd'hui dans la politique nationale. Comme le démontre EL, le PDJ a intérêt à tenir ses promesses car l'espérance est forte dans la population!

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lections_l%C3%A9gislatives_japonaises_de_2005
http://www.aujourdhuilejapon.com/actualites-japon-le-parti-communiste-renforce-par-la-crise-au-japon-6460.asp
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20090724TDY03102.htm
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200907140061.html
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20090724TDY01305.htm
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MessagePosté le: 24 Juil 2009 18:22    Sujet du message: Le PDJ cherche à former une coalition des partis d'opposition

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Yukio Hatoyama est certes donné gagnant par les sondages mais demeure méfiant et aimerait bien former une coalition avec les autres partis d'opposition, afin de garantir ses chances de réussite aux législatives anticipées d'août 2009 ; un PLD agonisant n'est pas un PLD battu. Il songe notamment au Parti social-démocrate (SDP) mené par Mizuho Fukushima, et au Nouveau parti du peuple (People's New Party) dirigé par Watanuki Tamisuke. Mizuho Fukushima, cependant, ne semble, pour l'instant, envisager de coalition avec le PDJ qu'après les élections tandis que le People's New Party ne s'est pas encore prononcé.
Quant au PCJ de Kazuo Shii, il envisage de soutenir la candidature de Yukio Hatoyama au poste de Premier ministre en cas de victoire de l'opposition et pourrait même épauler le PDJ durant les élections afin de ne laisser aucune chance à la coalition au pouvoir (PLD et Komeito). Toutefois, ce soutien ne serait accordé que si le PDJ promet de ne pas augmenter la taxe à la consommation d'une part, de ne pas toucher à la constitution pacifiste du Japon d'autre part :
Citation:
Hatoyama aiming for majority with other opposition parties

TOKYO, July 21 (AP) - (Kyodo)—(EDS: UPDATING WITH HATOYAMA'S PRESS CONFERENCE)

Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, said Tuesday that he is determined that the DPJ together with other opposition parties will at least secure a majority in the 480- seat House of Representatives in the Aug. 30 election to realize a "new government."

Hatoyama told a news conference at the DPJ's headquarters following the dissolution of the lower house that his party is "tasked with a historical mission" to bring to an end the almost uninterrupted rule of the Liberal Democratic Party spanning more than half a century.

The DPJ chief suggested that the party will join hands with the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party to wrest power from the LDP and its coalition partner the New Komeito party.

He stressed that the DPJ will campaign to "protect people's lives and their livelihoods" and focus during the election on such issues as assuring pension payments and promoting decentralization of administrative authority.

Hatoyama called on the LDP to unveil its "manifesto" or election pledges soon so that the DPJ can battle over specific policies.

Earlier in the day, Hatoyama told a general meeting of DPJ lawmakers, "It must be a revolutionary general election to put an end to bureaucrat-led politics and to make the public proactive."

Meanwhile, opposition Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii indicated the possibility that his party's lawmakers could vote for Hatoyama in the Diet nomination for prime minister following the general election, saying, "It may well be that we'll vote for the DPJ in the runoff so as not to allow the LDP and the New Komeito to remain in power."

"We need to bring an end to the distressing government of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party in the long-awaited lower house election," Shii said at a press conference.

Shii added, however, that his party would need to talk with the DPJ before voting for Hatoyama to confirm that the DPJ would not go ahead with a consumption tax hike and amending the Constitution, both of which the JCP opposes.

The SDP is eyeing creating a coalition with the DPJ following the general election. Its leader Mizuho Fukushima said, "We, the SDP, are needed as a party to protect the lives of the public when a new government is launched."

Watanuki Tamisuke, who heads the People's New Party, said the significance of the upcoming election lies in the verdict it will provide on the politics of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who won a landslide victory for the ruling coalition in the 2005 race, and his successors.

(Source : breitbart.com

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MessagePosté le: 25 Juil 2009 14:58    Sujet du message: Japon/seniors: gaffe du premier ministre

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Source : AFP via Le Figaro.fr

AFP
25/07/2009 Mise à jour : 13:57

Le premier ministre japonais Taro Aso, au plus bas dans les sondages en raison de ses gaffes et ses volte-face, vient de faire une nouvelle bourde en déclarant que les personnes âgées devaient continuer à travailler pour payer des impôts, car le travail est leur seul talent.

Parlant aujourd'hui devant de jeunes entrepreneurs à Yokohama, au sud de Tokyo, M. Aso a assuré que plus de 80% des Japonais âgés de 65 ans et plus sont en pleine forme et n'ont pas besoin d'assistance. "Ces gens n'ont du talent que lorsqu'ils travaillent, contrairement à vous", a dit M. Aso dans un discours télévisé.

Le taux de popularité du premier ministre, nommé en septembre, est tombé en dessous de la barre des 20% et les sondages, comme les analystes, donnent le Parti Démocrate du Japon (PDJ), principale force de l'opposition, gagnant au scrutin de fin août.

FIN DE L'ARTICLE

Taro Aso est véritablement ... impressionnant ... de nullité. Cet homme politique en pleine campagne électorale, traînant tel un boulet une cote de popularité aussi risible que la sienne, manie comme nul autre l'art consommé du mépris et s'y entend à merveille pour s'aliéner l'opinion publique. Les seniors de 60 ans et plus, représentant environ 1/5 de la population japonaise, viennent tout bonnement de se prendre une gifle en pleine tête de la part d'un individu trop occupé à séduire le monde des jeunes entrepreneurs... si empressé de satisfaire ces derniers qu'il n'hésiterait pas à mettre aux "travaux forcés" le troisième âge : un vieux qui ne travaille pas, un vieux qui ne fait que percevoir sa retraite, ne vaut rien. C'en est tellement écoeurant que c'est sans remords aucun que je ferai le parallèle avec ça :
Citation:
la « maison Aso » dissimule (mal) ses propres cadavres dans le placard. Lors de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, sa famille, propriétaire d’une mine de charbon, a épuisé à la tâche des centaines de prisonniers de guerre et refuse toujours de le reconnaître. Le camp de travail 26 a vu passer quelque 10 000 Coréens, 197 Australiens, 101 Britanniques, et 2 Néerlandais. L’affaire est indicible. Les médias japonais respectent le tabou et Taro Aso a su préserver cette part d’ombre en éludant systématiquement la question.
(Source : rfi.fr, lien proposé par Manifesto sur le fil le conservateur Taro Aso élu Premier ministre)

Esclavagiste dans l'âme, ce "cher" monsieur.
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MessagePosté le: 28 Juil 2009 01:52    Sujet du message: Japon : l'opposition propose un programme social ambitieux

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Source : LesEchos.fr

Japon : l'opposition propose un programme social ambitieux
[ 27/07/09 - 14H10 - actualisé à 14:10:00 ]

Face au Premier ministre sortant, dont la popularité est au plus bas, le Parti démocrate du Japon est largement en avance pour les élections législatives du 30 août. Des interrogations subsistent quant aux moyens de financement de son programme.

Le Parti démocrate du Japon (PDJ), principal mouvement d'opposition et favori des sondages aux législatives du 30 août, a dévoilé un programme ambitieux, destiné à aider les plus démunis et les classes moyennes. Principale mesure, la mise en place à partir de 2011 d'une allocation familiale mensuelle de 26.000 yens (200 euros) par jeune enfant. L'enseignement scolaire devrait devenir quasi-gratuit alors qu'aujourd'hui, seul un lycéen sur deux entame un cycle universitaire.
En termes sociaux, les réformes ne s'arrêteraient pas là. Le parti de Yukio Hatoyama souhaite relever le salaire minimal, équivalent aujourd'hui à près de 40% du salaire médian, et réduire les impôts pour les PME. Par ailleurs, fort de ses infrastructures, le nouveau Japon du PDJ abolirait les péages de ses autoroutes.
Face à ce programme ambitieux, de nombreuses voix s'élèvent néanmoins, fustigeant l'irréalisme économique de ce plan. Alors que les conservateurs du PLD proposent d'augmenter la taxe sur la consommation - actuellement de 5% - dès le ralentissement économique passé, Yukio Hatoyama s'engage à ne pas y toucher jusqu'en 2013. Laissant ouverte la question du financement des mesures sociales.

Une révolution sociétale
Autre axe majeur de ce plan de réforme des démocrates : réduire le pouvoir des bureaucrates du pays. Tout un programme, compte tenu de l'hégémonie du PLD en place depuis 1955. Yukio Hatoyama, futur Premier ministre en cas de victoire du PDJ, espère, pour le 30 août, un "vote révolutionnaire (...) en vue de créer un nouveau Japon dont les politiques seront menées par des politiciens". Phrase assassine faisant référence à son second cheval de bataille : la fin de l'omnipotente bureaucratie nippone.
Réduire l'influence de la puissante bureaucratie japonaise sur les décisions politiques risque d'être un objectif difficile à atteindre, tant les hauts fonctionnaires de l'Etat détiennent parfois plus de pouvoir que les élus. S'il arrive au pouvoir, le PDJ a l'intention de confier une centaine de postes dans la haute administration à des parlementaires, afin de limiter l'influence des fonctionnaires de carrière.
Bien qu'un tiers des électeurs se déclarent toujours indécis, les analystes politiques japonais prédisent une large victoire du PDJ. A l'opposé des conservateurs considérés comme proches des milieux d'affaires, le PDJ a adopté comme slogan "La vie du peuple d'abord". Le mécontentement risque cependant de ne pas venir du peuple mais plutôt des élites, et plus particulièrement des hauts fonctionnaires. "Le PDJ pourra peut-être introduire des réformes au sein de cette bureaucratie rouillée", a estimé Shujiro Kato, professeur de sciences politiques à l'université Toyo de Tokyo. "Mais il va devoir faire preuve de doigté s'il veut s'assurer la loyauté des bureaucrates", attachés depuis près d'un demi-siècle au parti conservateur.
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MessagePosté le: 16 Sep 2009 12:42    Sujet du message: Japon: une équipe économique clairement marquée à gauche

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Source : AFP via Google

De Roland de COURSON (AFP)

TOKYO — Un ex-syndicaliste à l'Industrie, un vieux pourfendeur du "capitalisme débridé" aux Services financiers, un vétéran de 77 ans aux Finances: l'équipe économique du nouveau Premier ministre japonais Yukio Hatoyama apparaît clairement marquée à gauche.

Le pilier de cette équipe économique sera le ministre des Finances Hirohisa Fujii, 77 ans, dont la principale tâche sera d'éliminer les gaspillages budgétaires pour financer les généreuses promesses du gouvernement.

M. Fujii, qui a travaillé 23 ans au Trésor et a déjà été ministre des Finances dans les années 1990, a vraisemblablement été choisi pour sa connaissance de la puissante bureaucratie nippone, que M. Hatoyama a juré de mettre au pas. Il devrait ainsi jouer le rôle d'intermédiaire.

Le Parti Démocrate du Japon (PDJ, centre-gauche) de M. Hatoyama a triomphé aux élections du 30 août sur la base d'un vaste programme social, notamment des allocations familiales et des aides aux chômeurs et aux retraités, qu'il compte financer en éliminant les travaux publics clientélistes, les subventions à l'utilité douteuse et autres dépenses "inutiles".

"Si l'on veut vraiment débusquer les dépenses superflues, il faut quelqu'un qui connaisse les tenants et les aboutissants du processus", résume Richard Jerram, économiste chez Macquarie Securities à Tokyo. Selon lui, l'âge avancé du nouveau ministre ne constitue pas un problème. "Nous sommes habitués à voir une bande de vieillards diriger le pays. Je ne crois pas que cela ait beaucoup d'importance", estime M. Jerram. "Je pense qu'en tant qu'ancien bureaucrate, il apporte une sensation de stabilité et qu'il est bien au point sur les questions financières et budgétaires", juge Hiromichi Shirakawa, économiste au Crédit Suisse.

Pour le ministère de l'Economie, du Commerce et de l'Industrie (Meti), M. Hatoyama a choisi un ancien syndicaliste de 63 ans, Masayuki Naoshima.

M. Naoshima, qui fut dirigeant syndical chez Toyota, sera chargé de faire avaler les politiques du PDJ aux grands industriels
. Ces derniers sont déjà furieux de l'objectif de M. Hatoyama de réduire de 25% les émissions de gaz à effet de serre du Japon en 2020 par rapport à leur niveau de 1990.

En nommant M. Naoshima, "M. Hatoyama montre qu'il va être loyal avec ses idées de base et qu'il ne va pas prendre de gants avec les entreprises", estime Noriko Hama, économiste à la Doshisha Business School de Kyoto.

La nomination la plus surprenante a été celle de Shizuka Kamei, 72 ans, au portefeuille des Services financiers et postaux. Ancien policier antiterroriste chargé de traquer l'Armée rouge japonaise, M. Kamei est aussi un admirateur de la Révolution cubaine et un pourfendeur du "capitalisme débridé mené par les Etats-Unis". Il sera le grand régulateur des banques au Japon.

Ce cacique au caractère bien trempé, qui accueille les internautes sur son site en chantant une chanson folklorique (www.kamei-shizuka.net), sera aussi chargé d'arrêter le processus de privatisation de la poste, entamé en 2005 par le Premier ministre libéral Junichiro Koizumi.

M. Kamei fut un des adversaires les plus enragés de ce projet, allant même jusqu'à affirmer que M. Koizumi était "pire que Hitler".

Son arrivée au gouvernement "marque le rejet des années Koizumi. Mais l'arrêt de la privatisation de la poste est aussi quelque chose pour lequel l'aile gauche du PDJ milite avec ferveur", explique Mme Hama.

"En ce moment, le fondamentalisme de marché n'est pas très à la mode. Nommer quelqu'un qui est résolument opposé à cette école de pensée a donc du sens politiquement", estime-t-elle.

Copyright © 2009 AFP
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Cette niouze me fait plaisir... mais je sais pas, j'ai du mal à y adhérer complètement, je marche pas....
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Pareil, ça fait vraiment plaisir !
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Pour une présentation de l'ensemble des membres du gouvernements, voilà un article du Asahi du 18 septembre (pour leurs têtes c'est par ici:

Citation:

New Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama inaugurated his Cabinet on Wednesday.

Hatoyama appointed 15 members from his own party, the Democratic Party of Japan, and assigned one post each to its coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party. Four members were chosen from the Upper House.

The Cabinet is made up of a large number of policy experts, such as lawyers and former bureaucrats.

The overall makeup remains largely the same as that of former Prime Minister Taro Aso, with many politicians from the same age group and boasting roughly the same rate of re-election to Diet seats. The proportion of women ministers, too, is about the same.

Hatoyama chose Yorihisa Matsuno from the Lower House and Koji Matsui from the Upper House to serve as deputy chief Cabinet secretaries for parliamentary affairs.


Cabinet fact file

The average age of ministers in the Cabinet is 60.7, slightly higher than the 58.2 figure for the administration led by Taro Aso.

Transport minister Seiji Maehara is the youngest member at 47, while Hirohisa Fujii, the new finance minister, is the oldest member at 77.

Four ministers--Maehara, internal affairs minister Kazuhiro Haraguchi, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, and farm minister Hirotaka Akamatsu--are former prefectural assembly members.

Justice Minister Keiko Chiba, state minister in charge of consumer affairs Mizuho Fukushima, and state minister in charge of administrative reform Yoshito Sengoku are trained lawyers.

Three former bureaucrats are also on the team. They are: Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, state minister in charge of financial services Shizuka Kamei, and Finance Minister Fujii.


Naoto Kan

Deputy Prime Minister/ State Minister in Charge of National Strategy, Economic and Fiscal Policy and Science and Technology Policy

Age: 62

Party: DPJ, L.H.

Kan won accolades from the public as health minister in the coalition government of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party of Japan and New Party Sakigake, for his dogged approach in unraveling a scandal over tainted blood products.

His candor in apologizing to patients who contracted HIV after being treated with the blood products won him praise as well.

A champion of reform of the bureaucracy, Kan is known for directing shrewd questions on policy matters.

He has worked alongside Yukio Hatoyama, a close friend and rival, since the forming of the precursor to the current DPJ in 1996, and led moves later to merge with Ichiro Ozawa's now-defunct Liberal Party. He has held various key posts, including president, secretary-general and chairman of the party's Policy Research Committee.

While Kan poked fun at ministers in the Koizumi administration who had failed to pay pension premiums, he himself ended up red-faced when it was found that his payment record was faulty.


Kazuhiro Haraguchi

Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications/ State Minister in Charge of Promotion of Decentralization

Age: 50

Party: DPJ, L.H.

Haraguchi won wide recognition through his appearances on television, sparring with LDP lawmakers and others on various issues.

He gained his first Diet seat in 1996 on the now-defunct Shinshinto (New Frontier Party) ticket. After the party dissolved, he joined forces with the DPJ two years later.

Haraguchi backed Yukio Hatoyama in the party's presidential election in May. As internal affairs minister in DPJ's shadow Cabinet, Haraguchi looked into the issue of the Japan Post group's plan to sell off its Kanpo no Yado inns.

He also served as the party's liaison to local governments amid calls ahead of the Aug. 30 Lower House election for decentralization and held talks with popular Osaka Governor Toru Hashimoto, who spearheaded the move. Haraguchi took on the task of penning the party's policy on decentralization ahead of last month's historic ballot.

After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Haraguchi entered the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, considered a springboard for aspiring politicians.


Keiko Chiba

Justice Minister

Age: 61

Party: DPJ, U.H.

A lawyer by profession, Chiba was involved in a lawsuit filed by local residents over noise pollution caused by jets taking off and landing at the U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture.

She was first elected to the Diet in 1986 on the former Japan Socialist Party ticket, and joined the DPJ in 1997. She has vigorously sought revisions to the Civil Law to allow couples to register marriages under separate surnames, and to set the minimum age limit for marriage at 18 for both sexes.

In the debate over revising the organ transplant law, Chiba, with others, submitted a bill which proposes setting up an ad hoc commission to discuss brain death in children. She argued that spending a year to discuss the issue would be the best way to reach consensus.

Chiba has served as secretary-general of a Diet members' league which supports the activities of Amnesty International.

Calling the death penalty issue "a matter of human life," Chiba has said she will "cautiously" deal with the matter while fulfilling her responsibilities as justice minister.


Katsuya Okada

Foreign Minister

Age: 56

Party: DPJ, L.H.

Regarded as an expert on policy matters, Okada, a former trade ministry bureaucrat, comes across as a rather serious character to the point that he is sometimes derided as being strait-laced.

Such qualities will likely be put to the test when he deals with shedding light on a Japan-U.S. secret nuclear pact and other issues that the Liberal Democratic Party had tried to keep under wraps.

Okada accompanied former party leader Ichiro Ozawa and others in bolting from the LDP in 1993, and was in the forefront of moves to orchestrate a new era in politics through regime change.

When Ozawa disbanded the Shinshinto (New Frontier Party) in late 1997, he harshly criticized the move, saying voters would feel betrayed.

After joining the DPJ, Okada took the helm of the party but was forced to resign after an embarrassing defeat against the LDP in the 2005 Lower House election. He lost to Hatoyama in the last presidential election in May.

The son of Aeon Group founder Takuya Okada has said his favorite credo is "being a late bloomer." He enjoys exercising at the gym twice a week.


Hirohisa Fujii

Finance Minister

Age: 77

Party: DPJ, L.H.

After bolting from the Liberal Democratic Party, Fujii stuck by Ichiro Ozawa, becoming one of his closest aides. But after Ozawa became embroiled in a political donation scandal involving Nishimatsu Construction Co., Fujii distanced himself from the veteran lawmaker and led calls for him to step down as party leader.

As a former Finance Ministry budget examiner, Fujii is said to be keen on policy. He was encouraged to enter politics by the late Iichiro Hatoyama, a former foreign minister and Yukio Hatoyama's father, who once served as a senior official at the Finance Ministry.

Fujii had planned to retire before the Aug. 30 Lower House election. But he changed his mind at the request of DPJ head Hatoyama who said he wanted Fujii to serve in the new government.

As finance minister in the administration led by Morihiro Hosokawa, Fujii warned against taking a confrontational stance against the bureaucracy.

He is known for displaying a mild-mannered and unpretentious personality.


Tatsuo Kawabata

Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

Age: 64

Party: DPJ, L.H.

Kawabata is a key member of a group of former Democratic Socialist Party members, who to this day holds Suehiro Nishio, the late founder of the now-defunct party, in the highest regard.

In the DPJ, Kawabata is known as a hands-on type, who has served as chair of the Diet Affairs Committee and secretary-general. In his new post, he will be responsible for implementing the policy of making public senior high school education basically free.

Kawabata studied chemical engineering at Kyoto University's graduate school and then joined Toray Industries Inc. as an engineer, getting involved in research of desalination of seawater.

He takes a scientific approach to everyday problems and is said to have a knack for fixing anything that is broken.

After serving as a branch executive of Toray's labor union, Kawabata went into politics. He has said his decision to become a politician stemmed from his belief that the political system failed to address the needs of the average working person.


Akira Nagatsuma

Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare/ State Minister in Charge of Pension System Reform

Age: 49

Party: DPJ, L.H.

Nagatsuma's hounding of government officials over the sloppy way in which millions of pension records were mismanaged led the DPJ to victory in the 2007 Upper House election. His diligence earned him the moniker of "Mr. Pension." The tag is apt, given that he now heads the ministry.

Nagatsuma is widely regarded for his investigative abilities, which were apparently honed during a stint as a reporter for Nikkei Business magazine. Back then, he reported on the failures of jusen housing loan institutions.

In 2008, he uncovered the practice of bureaucrats treated to beer, snacks and other goodies by taxi drivers during rides home after working late.

His father was a police officer who rose up through the ranks. How well Nagatsuma can demonstrate his political ability, based on a strong sense of justice, is about to be tested.

His hobbies include watching movies, karaoke and soccer. While studying at Keio University, he was a vocalist in a rock band.


Hirotaka Akamatsu

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Age: 61

Party: DPJ, L.H.

As chairman of the DPJ's Election Campaign Committee, Akamatsu traveled around the country during stumping for the Aug. 30 Lower House election. He is close to Ichiro Ozawa.

A major goal in his new post will be the creation of a system to provide income support for individual farming households, which the party proposed when Ozawa was DPJ president.

Akamatsu's father once served as vice chairman of the Japan Socialist Party, a predecessor of the Social Democratic Party, and under his influence, he joined the JSP at age 18.

Akamatsu rose to prominence by being appointed the party's secretary-general at the relatively young age of 44. He had to resign after the JSP lost half of its seats in the Lower House election in 1993.

In 1996, Akamatsu left the SDP and joined the DPJ.

After college, Akamatsu worked for Nippon Express. He was working as a tour conductor in 1973 when a flight he was on was hijacked. On behalf of the passengers, he negotiated with the Palestinian hijackers in English.


Masayuki Naoshima

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

Age: 63

Party: DPJ, U.H.

After the DPJ's victory in the 2007 Upper House election, Naoshima was appointed chairman of its Policy Research Committee by Ichiro Ozawa, then the party president.

Naoshima was the first Upper House member to hold the post.

Despite his low-key image and mild personality, Naoshima is widely respected for his knowledge on policy matters.

He was a driving force in efforts to draw up the party's policy platforms for the Aug. 30 Lower House election and negotiate the formation of a coalition government with two smaller parties.

His ability as a politician is about to be put to the test because some labor unions affiliated with Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) strongly oppose new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

Naoshima had previously been a top official at the Confederation of Japan Automobile Workers' Unions.

His father's premature death forced Naoshima to work while he attended evening classes at high school.


Seiji Maehara

Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism/ State Minister in Charge of Okinawa and Northern Territories and Disaster Management

Age: 47

Party: DPJ, L.H.

A former DPJ president, Maehara frequently tackled the government led by the Liberal Democratic Party on foreign policy and security issues as well as administrative and fiscal reforms.

He pointed out earlier this year that although then Prime Minister Taro Aso insisted his government had made it possible to use road-specific tax revenues for general purposes, the amount earmarked for road improvement in the fiscal 2009 draft budget remained almost the same as that of the previous year. He accused Aso of being a "con man" who never keeps his promises.

While heading a group of about 30 younger DPJ lawmakers, Maehara has kept a distance from Ichiro Ozawa.

Maehara became party president at age 43 in September 2005 but he was forced to resign over a fake e-mail scandal in spring 2006. Hisayasu Nagata, who was at the center of the scandal, left the Lower House and later committed suicide.

Maehara tearfully recalled Nagata's death, saying, "I will bear the cross for the rest of my life."


Sakihito Ozawa

Environment Minister

Age: 55

Party: DPJ, L.H.

Ozawa switched to politics from a career in banking when he was first elected to the Lower House on the Japan New Party ticket. In the administration led by Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, who headed the now-defunct party, Ozawa was tasked with policymaking.

This earned him the trust of Yukio Hatoyama, who was deputy chief Cabinet secretary at the time. Ozawa is regarded as one of Hatoyama's close aides.

In his new post, Ozawa is in charge of implementing measures to combat global warming, one of the party's major policy planks.

Ozawa, who is from Kofu, grew up knowing many people with disabilities because the printing company run by his father, who also had a disability, had a policy of hiring such workers.

Since he attended elementary school, Ozawa had set his heart on becoming a politician to "create a society where everyone can live with vigor."

In junior high school, Ozawa was captain of a baseball team. He is keen on sports, particularly skiing, tennis and swimming.


Toshimi Kitazawa

Defense Minister

Age: 71

Party: DPJ, U.H.

Kitazawa defected from the Liberal Democratic Party in 1993 and joined non-LDP coalition governments led by Morihiro Hosokawa and Tsutomu Hata.

Kitazawa has worked closely over the years with Hata, whose constituency is also in Nagano Prefecture. They were both members of the now-defunct New Frontier Party and the Sun Party. They joined the DPJ in 1998.

Kitazawa has long been a champion of regime change through Lower House elections.

After the 2007 Upper House election that gave opposition parties control of the chamber, Kitazawa looked into a corruption scandal that had embroiled the Defense Ministry. At the time, he was chairman of the Upper House committee on foreign policy and defense.

He is regarded as a tough negotiator. Kitazawa summoned Takemasa Moriya, a former vice defense minister accused of receiving bribes from a defense contractor, to testify before the Diet committee. But the LDP and its then junior coalition partner New Komeito criticized the move, calling it a self-righteous act.


Hirofumi Hirano

Chief Cabinet Secretary

Age: 60

Party: DPJ, L.H.

Hirano served as deputy secretary-general when Yukio Hatoyama was the party's secretary-general under Ichiro Ozawa. After Ozawa stepped down earlier this year, Hirano worked behind the scenes to help Hatoyama win election as president of the DPJ.

Hirano, who is regarded as one of Hatoyama's most trusted aides, jokingly refers to himself as a "backseat player."

Hirano is adept at dealing with crises. In 2006 when Seiji Maehara was the party leader, Hirano scrambled to contain the fallout from a fake e-mail scandal.

Earlier this year, when an aide to then party leader Ozawa was arrested over corporate donations from scandal-tainted Nishimatsu Construction Co., Hirano demonstrated all his crisis management skills.

It is this strength that will serve him well in his new post.

After graduating from Chuo University, Hirano worked for Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., the predecessor of Panasonic Corp. Having served as an executive of its labor union, Hirano ran for a Lower House seat in 1996 and won as an independent.


Hiroshi Nakai

National Public Safety Commission Chairman/ State Minister in Charge of North Korean Abductions of Japanese Nationals

Age: 67

Party: DPJ, L.H.

Nakai's father Tokujiro became the first mayor to gain office on the Japan Socialist Party ticket when he was elected as municipal head of Ueno, now Iga, in Mie Prefecture. Tokujiro later served six terms as a Lower House member.

Nakai took over his father's constituency in 1976, running on the now-defunct Democratic Socialist Party ticket.

He served as justice minister in short-lived administration headed by Tsutomu Hata in 1994.

When Ichiro Ozawa realigned the DSP and other minor parties into a major opposition force, the New Frontier Party, in 1994, Nakai joined him. He has remained close to Ozawa since then, following him in the process of forming the Liberal Party in 1998 and joining the DPJ in 2003.

At a news conference, referring to the brief tenure of the Hata Cabinet, he said, "I will make utmost efforts to keep the DPJ members together so as not to repeat the failure."

He says he lives by the words, "Work now, play later."


Shizuka Kamei

State Minister in Charge of Financial Services and Postal Reform

Age: 72

Party: People's New Party,

L.H.

A onetime Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight and a vocal critic of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's postal privatization initiative, Kamei left the party in 2005 to form the People's New Party.

He said the program would hurt those who are worse off. Kamei outlined his proposals to offer certain borrowers a grace period during which they would only have to repay the interest on their loans--not the principal. People will be watching to see how Kamei's aggressive approach to policy matters influences the workings of the new administration.

Kamei has served in the transport and construction portfolios as well as LDP policy chief. His network of contacts in the political world is extensive. He also has the ear of Ichiro Ozawa.

After he joined the National Police Agency in 1962, Kamei was put in charge of a number of high-profile cases, including the United Red Army Asama-Sanso incident in 1972, in which members broke into a holiday lodge following a bloody purge of the group.

He opposes the death penalty.


Mizuho Fukushima

State Minister in Charge of Consumer Affairs, Food Safety, Declining Birthrate and Gender Equality

Age: 53

Party: SDP, U.H.

The crisp speaking style of the lawyer-turned-politician, especially in her criticisms of the former coalition government, won Fukushima many fans through her TV appearances.

Before entering politics in 1998, Fukushima tackled issues such as separate family names for married couples and sexual harassment.

As a lawmaker, she has focused on issues involving the environment, human rights, women and peace.

Fukushima ran in the 1998 Upper House election on the SDP's proportional representation list after then party leader Takako Doi recruited her.

She had been active as a commentator on television as well as a lawyer. She took over the party leadership in 2003 after Doi stepped down following the party's defeat in the Lower House election.

Fukushima became a mother when she was still a legal trainee. She commuted to court until the day before she gave birth. Her common-law husband is also a lawyer.

She enjoys Hayao Miyazaki's animated movies.


Yoshito Sengoku

State Minister in Charge of Administrative Reform and Civil Service Reform

Age: 63

Party: DPJ, L.H.

Sengoku, a former member of the Japan Socialist Party, joined the predecessor of the DPJ in 1996.

He is well-versed in policy matters, especially health, labor and welfare issues. He has twice served as chairman of the party's Policy Research Committee.

Given the party's credo that "politics values people above concrete projects," Sengoku will work to move away from a public works-driven administration to one that makes greater use of people.

He says the budget should place priority on developing human resources and easing the public's anxieties about social security and education.

Sengoku played a crucial role in negotiating with Taro Aso's government on the establishment of the Consumer Affairs Agency. He was put out that Aso's team appointed a former bureaucrat as its director-general despite strong opposition from the DPJ.

Sengoku passed the national bar exam while he was still a University of Tokyo student. He specializes in cases involving false charges and labor issues.

He had his stomach removed in 2002 for cancer treatment.


Cette équipe a en tout cas commencé à prendre en main les dossiers du PLD et à se montrer en rupture avec les politiques de son prédecesseur. Il est prévu que le ministère des affaires étrangères réouvre le dossier des accords militaires secrets nippo-ricains, d'abandonner des projets de construction de barrage, de réformer le système d'assrance de santé, et de supprimer le taux d'imposition sur l'essence.

Citation:

Ministers target huge dams, an unpopular health insurance program, a 'temporary' gas tax and secret deals with the U.S.


・Looking into secret pacts

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Thursday ordered the top bureaucrat in the ministry to clarify the facts surrounding four secret military-related deals with the United States that the government has long denied.

Okada ordered Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka to provide progress reports from time to time and to submit a final report on the investigation by the end of November.

In an interview, Okada later said bureaucrats will not be held responsible even if the investigation concludes that the secret deals existed.

It will be the first government investigation into the secret agreements, which have been largely exposed by declassified documents and statements by related officials in the United States and Japan.

"The issues of the secret deals have added to the people's distrust in diplomacy. It is necessary to clarify the facts thoroughly and realize diplomacy based on the people's understanding and trust," Okada told reporters after his meeting with Yabunaka.

Okada will explain the investigation during a Japan-U.S. foreign ministers meeting in New York next week.

In one secret deal, concluded at the time of revisions to the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty in 1960, Japan agreed to allow U.S. warships and aircraft carrying nuclear weapons to make port calls or pass through Japanese territorial waters and airspace without prior consultations.

Tokyo also agreed that Washington could use its military bases here for contingencies on the Korean Peninsula without consulting the Japanese government.

In another deal reached when Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972, Japan said the United States could bring nuclear weapons into Japanese territory during emergency situations.

In addition, Japan agreed to shoulder the costs of returning former U.S. military base sites to their original state.

Although the existence of the four secret deals has become clear, government officials have repeatedly denied the existence of the agreements, even at Diet sessions.

In the meeting with Yabunaka, Okada demanded the ministry set up a team of experts from not only the ministry's offices in Japan but also from Japan's diplomatic missions abroad.

Okada will also set up a committee of outside experts to scrutinize the documents and interview former ministry officials and Americans with knowledge on the deals.

The entire investigative process will end next year.

・Scrapping dam projects

Land minister Seiji Maehara said Thursday he will scrap two mammoth dam projects and review all other dam projects to uphold his party's promise to eliminate wasteful spending.

The two dams are the 460-billion-yen Yanba Dam in Naganohara, Gunma Prefecture, and the 340-billion-yen Kawabegawa Dam in Sagara, Kumamoto Prefecture.

Maehara, who was appointed minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism on Wednesday, told reporters early Thursday that he will cancel the Yanba Dam project.

He said a precondition for ending the project is that the government will take compensation measures.

Maehara later said he will soon visit Naganohara to seek understanding from residents and local government officials over his decision to scrap the project.

In its Lower House election manifesto, the DPJ proposed special legislation to help residents rebuild their lives after projects in their areas are canceled.

"This issue dates back long years. I think local residents are the most seriously affected victims," he said. "We want to offer our opinions and listen to their opinions on how to scrap the project and take a plenty of time before finding a solution."

Around 322 billion yen has already been spent for such purposes as buying substitute land for Naganohara residents whose homes would be submerged as a result of the dam construction.

Maehara also said he will hold talks with the governments of six prefectures downstream of the dam site, which have shouldered part of the costs.

The ministry had planned to accept bids for construction contracts for the main portion of the dam project this month.

After the DPJ won the Lower House election, however, the ministry postponed the bidding to await instructions from the new minister.

The DPJ had long criticized the Yanba Dam project as a waste of taxpayer money. The party in its campaign manifesto pledged to drastically review large-scale public works projects that fail to meet the needs of the times.

・Reforming health insurance system

Health minister Akira Nagatsuma said Thursday he would abolish the unpopular health insurance program for senior citizens aged 75 and older.

Even before the program began in April 2008, it was criticized by senior citizens, who were forced to contribute 10 percent of the funds as premiums to pay their medical fees.

Because of the higher medical fees incurred by elderly people, the program was designed to place a greater burden on senior citizens.

Nagatsuma, however, stopped short of stating when the program will end.

As for an alternative health insurance program for senior citizens after the program is abolished, Nagatsuma only said, "After we have gained a solid understanding of the current situation, we will work out the details in designing a new system."

Medical care for senior citizens was a key issue debated in past elections. The coalition government led by the Liberal Democratic Party implemented a measure to reduce insurance premiums for seniors with low incomes.

"Classifying people according to age and placing those who frequently go to doctors together in one insurance program will not work," Nagatsuma told a news conference.

The Democratic Party of Japan called for the elimination of the health insurance program for those aged 75 and over in its campaign manifesto for the Aug. 30 Lower House election.

Agreement was also reached with two minor parties in the new coalition government to cancel the program.

Once the program is eliminated and senior citizens are reinstated in the national health insurance program operated by municipalities, there will likely be an increase in insurance premiums to gain the funds needed to cover the expected higher costs.

Under the coalition government agreement, the three parties proposed to have the central government provide assistance to cover the additional burden placed on the national health insurance system with the elimination of the program for those 75 and older.

How to obtain those funds to assist the national health insurance program will become a major issue, along with how medical care for the elderly can be incorporated into it, once the current program is eliminated.

・Repealing special auto tax rates

Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii has reaffirmed his party's pre-election pledge to abolish a provisional gasoline tax rate in fiscal 2010, along with temporary rates for other automobile-related levies.

"It's an important theme of the (Democratic Party of Japan) manifesto," Fujii said Wednesday. "It's a matter of course."

The DPJ vowed in its manifesto for the Aug. 30 Lower House election to "abolish provisional auto-related tax rates that have outlived their purpose."

Provisional rates introduced in 1974 have nearly doubled the amount of tax consumers now pay on gasoline purchases. The revenue pays for road construction and maintenance.

Ending the provisional rates would cut gas prices by about 25 yen per liter.

If all provisional auto-related tax rates are abolished, it will slash 2.5 trillion yen in the tax burden of households and businesses.

Such a move would likely leave a 1.7-trillion-yen dent in national tax revenue and strip about 800 billion yen from local tax coffers.

The DPJ does not plan to increase other taxes to fill the gap but rather cut road construction budgets in line with its policy of eliminating wasteful spending, officials said.

To allay local government concerns about reduced incomes, the DPJ plans to abolish a system under which local authorities share costs of state public works projects that benefit their regions.

Kazuhiro Haraguchi, minister of internal affairs and communications, said Thursday that he would honor the pledge in fiscal 2010.

Such burdens on local governments total about 1 trillion yen. For cities, towns and villages that do not bear such costs, the government will consider other steps to offset lost income, according to officials.(IHT/Asahi: September 18,2009)
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