Sengoku to lead drafting of new DPJ manifesto

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Democratic Party of Japan will soon start full-fledged work to draft a new manifesto for the next House of Representatives election, party sources said.

In drafting the new manifesto, the DPJ's leading members aim to put priority on its feasibility, based on the lessons they learned from their manifesto for the 2009 lower house election.

Many of the major pledges in the current manifesto, such as child-rearing allowances and making expressways toll-free, hit deadlocks mainly due to the difficulty of securing funds for their implementation.

But many DPJ members resist the idea of reviewing the policy goals, which were key pledges made to voters. The work of drafting a new manifesto thus may face difficulties, the sources said.

The new manifesto will be drawn up by the party's Policy Research Committee's panel on economic, fiscal and social affairs. The panel is chaired by Yoshito Sengoku, former acting chairman of the committee.

The panel was set up in October last year when Policy Research Committee Chairman Seiji Maehara, who is close to Sengoku, asked it to review the 2009 manifesto and draw up a new manifesto.

"As Mr. Sengoku supervised ministries and agencies as the chief cabinet secretary of [former Prime Minister Naoto] Kan's administration, I want him to examine all policies," Maehara said.

Last year, the DPJ held negotiations with the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito over the child-rearing allowance and other policies. Thus a senior DPJ member said, "Things won't move forward if the matters are discussed only within the party."

Due partly to such considerations, little progress was made on the appointment of research panel members.

However, there is now only slightly more than 1-1/2 years left until the tenure of current lower house members expires, and this year's ordinary Diet session may see some rough going, including the possibility that the lower house will be dissolved.

Therefore, Sengoku is set to speed up drafting of the new manifesto.

Sengoku, who places great importance on fiscal reconstruction of the government, has been a key party executive in the administrations of Kan and current Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

Sengoku and former DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada have played key roles in reviewing the 2009 manifesto.

Sengoku is said to be enthusiastic about reviewing the 2009 manifesto by considering the current state of the child-rearing allowance and other key pledges.

A senior member of the Policy Research Committee said Sengoku will aim to draft a "down-to-earth manifesto suitable for a ruling party."

But some DPJ members--including those whose relations with the current party leadership are cool and those who were first elected in 2009 on the strength on the manifesto--are critical of such a move.

One of them said, "It's irrational to give up on key election pledges so easily."

The situation may develop into an internal conflict over how to achieve a unified party stance.

In the case of the 2009 manifesto, senior members of the party's Standing Officers Council and the Policy Research Committee worked totally behind closed doors until shortly before its announcement.

Some DPJ members say the closed-door drafting led to insufficient debate on how to secure government funds.

Some DPJ members are calling on the party leadership to ask for opinions from a wider range of people, including voters. A middle-ranking DPJ member said, "The decision should not be made by a handful of senior members like it was in 2009. We should visit all over the nation to solicit opinions."

Another focus of attention will be how Sengoku will consolidate opinions on the new manifesto, observers say.

===

Ozawa critical

Former DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa on Tuesday expressed subtle criticism of Noda over the prime minister's plan to raise the consumption tax rate.

Speaking about Noda's performance in office, Ozawa said, "I want the prime minister to remember our original goal and do his best."

He made the remark to reporters during a fact-finding visit to the tsunami-hit city of Rikuzen-Takata, Iwate Prefecture.

On the day, Ozawa attended meetings in five locations in the prefecture's devastated coastal areas. The events were hosted by the DPJ's Iwate prefectural chapter.

In the meetings, Ozawa criticized the government's response to the March 11 disaster.

"Long-term control by Kasumigaseki [bureaucrats] still continues, allowing them to allocate the budget just as they did in the old days," Ozawa said.

He also said, "I myself am very irritated, but the thick wall of bureaucracy is making those in the top positions hesitate."

When Ozawa met with Iwate Gov. Takuya Tasso and other local officials on Tuesday evening, Ozawa reportedly said, "This year will be a very hard year."

This was the first visit for Ozawa, who was elected from the Iwate Constituency No. 4 of the lower house, to the prefecture's coastal areas since the March 11 disaster.

Though Ozawa ordinarily holds a New Year's gathering at his private house in Tokyo on Jan. 1 each year, he refrained from doing so this year because of the disaster in his electoral home turf and instead started this year's political activities in Iwate Prefecture.