EDITORIAL: Moving into election mode

Should the next extraordinary session of the Diet be convened in late August or late September? After protracted wrangling within the ruling coalition, the matter has finally been settled. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's decision was to go for the midpoint--mid-September.

The prime minister continues to face tough times. Not only Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) and other opposition parties, but even New Komeito, the junior coalition partner of the Liberal Democratic Party, is openly demanding early dissolution of the Lower House.

Will Fukuda give the green light for a snap election, or will that decision be left to his successor? With this question foremost in the minds of ruling and opposition legislators alike, the coming session is bound to turn stormy.

This, however, makes its significance all the more obvious. Should the ruling coalition remain in power or is it time for a change of government? In preparation for the looming Lower House election, the Diet has a duty to engage in active and thorough policy debates and provide clear options to the voting public, so the latter can decide which way to choose.

To help voters make up their minds, there are two things we want Fukuda to explain.

One concerns the large-scale supplementary budget bill for priming the economy, which is being awaited most eagerly by the ruling coalition.

New Komeito has demanded a supplementary budget of "more than 1 trillion yen," while Makoto Koga, chairman of the LDP's Election Strategy Council, has upped the amount to "between 2 trillion and 3 trillion yen." Fukuda has not said much on this matter, noting only that "talks on the budgetary content should come before discussions of revenue sources." This hasn't helped shed light on his true intentions.

LDP Secretary-General Taro Aso has suggested postponing the fiscal 2011 deadline of creating a surplus in the basic fiscal balance. He has also gone so far as to suggest the possibility of doing away with the current fiscal brake that limits new government bond issues to less than 30 trillion yen a year.

Should Aso have his way, it will bring about the most significant transition in the nation's structural reform policy since the administration headed by Junichiro Koizumi. Is this what Fukuda wants?

The second matter concerns a bill to extend the Replenishment Support Special Measures Law to continue Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean by the Self-Defense Forces.

Fukuda initially sought to convene the Diet during August to secure sufficient time to get this bill re-approved by the Lower House.

But his plan was blocked by New Komeito. The party must have foreseen a public outcry in the event of the ruling coalition relying again on its numbers to steamroll the bill, which in turn would diminish the chances of an early dissolution of the Lower House. The party must have concluded that the later the Diet were to be convened, the better.

Fukuda seems still eager to get the extension bill passed into law, but Aso and other LDP executives are beginning to side with New Komeito. We wonder how Fukuda intends to handle this matter.

Be it over the supplementary budget bill or the replenishment support issue, a policy war could erupt within the ruling coalition depending on what decisions Fukuda makes. However, with political tensions continuing to mount, it just would not do for Fukuda to remain non-committal and try to please everyone.

We are pleased that Minshuto intends to rejoin deliberations from the start of the extraordinary Diet session.

Minshuto should certainly challenge the prime minister and Cabinet ministers vigorously, but that won't be enough. Minshuto must indicate realistic and constructive policy ideas of its own, and compete squarely with the ruling coalition to let the public know what to expect if and when it seizes power.

We look forward to a lively and productive Diet session.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 20(IHT/Asahi: August 21,2008)