Recently, another scandal surfaced in which the Hokkaido Teachers Union allegedly gave illegal election campaign funds to a DPJ lower house member's election office.
What is common among these scandals is that all the politicians facing allegations have not fully explained their cases nor taken responsibility. It is also unusual that fellow DPJ lawmakers also did not question the responsibility of those facing allegations.
Although Hatoyama has been dubbed "the king of tax evasion in the Heisei era" for receiving a huge amount of money from his mother, he has not spelled out how he used this money.
Ozawa, for his part, has not tried to explain himself at the Diet despite the allegations against him having not been cleared.
Opposition parties are seeking to summon persons involved to the Diet, including Ozawa as a sworn witness. However, the DPJ refused to hear such demands. The party, using its majority in the lower house, has been dismissing such calls.
When the LDP was in power, a certain self-purification was seen when such demands were made from opposition parties, as with maneuvering among the intraparty factions.
However, under the present DPJ, which can be described as the Ozawa dictatorship, many party lawmakers keep their mouths shut, as if observing the proverb, "Silence seldom does harm."
If the DPJ abandons the search for the truth and dodges the subject that discussions on reform of the current political funds control system, it is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.
Ministers not on same page
Also, we cannot overlook the fact that opinions among Cabinet members often clash under the coalition framework of the DPJ, Social Democratic Party and People's New Party.
The prime example is the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture. The Hatoyama administration postponed the settlement of the issue simply because the SDP's leader implied the party might leave the coalition if the government decides to follow the relocation plan as agreed between the previous administration and the United States.
What will it take for Hatoyama to stop being swayed by the unrealistic stance of the SDP for relocating the base functions outside Japan?
Even in advancing the start of discussions on drastic reform of the taxation system, including the consumption tax, we cannot expect constructive discussions, considering the coalition government has agreed not to raise the consumption tax rate while it is in power.
A coalition of political parties that have wide gaps in their opinions over the nation's basic policies not only delays the execution of policies but also damages national interests and the stability of people's lives.
Also, Hatoyama's pet goal of having the decision-making processes of the Cabinet and the ruling parties integrated into just the Cabinet is now on shaky ground.
Ozawa integrated petitions from industry organizations and others into the DPJ's secretary general's office. He also was deeply involved in the compilation of next fiscal year's budget. The DPJ secretary general's office leaked information to DPJ prefectural chapter members in January on the amount of funds the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry would allocate from the fiscal 2010 budget to specific public works projects. This is nothing but classic patronage-driven politics--a typical example of the "same old politics."
Relations between politicians and bureaucrats remain strained. Obviously it is very haphazard to reform the current system to make it easier to demote administrative vice ministers in ministries and the Cabinet Office to lower posts such as bureau or department chiefs, as well as the administration's handling of the amakudari issue.
It's now or never
For the past six months, the administration reexamined the issue of secret agreements between Japan and the United States, including the introduction of nuclear weapons by U.S. forces into Japan, and settled this long-standing problem. This is indeed an achievement brought about by the change of the administration.
However, the Hatoyama administration has achieved no other notable results, and it is losing momentum. The biggest reason for the situation is Hatoyama himself.
People have seen his series of casual remarks, coupled with the fact that he makes statements on the same subjects but often makes changes, and are now unable to believe the words of the nation's top leader.
To mend Japan-U.S. relations, the Futenma issue has to be resolved by the end of May.
If the government will continue pork-barrel type spending--represented by child allowances without income caps--with no permanent revenue sources, the nation's fiscal situation will implode.
Also, we would like each minister to refrain from evading responsibility by citing as excuses the "negative legacy" of the former administration, and this includes the fiscal deficit.
If the prime minister tries to continue political management with a lack of a crisis mentality, he should prepare himself for the administration to run up on the rocks.
