Japanese political parties are assemblies of special interest-representing hacks, combined in factions headed by big money commanding scions
Dotonbori.(Chuo Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
of political dynasties who accept power as a birthright (or, rather the “family business”) and have no new ideas for resolving Japan’s problems. The parties are without clear or (especially) consistent policy platforms, defining themselves almost exclusively ( issue-by-issue) in opposition to whatever the ruling or other opposition parties are proposing.
Thus, the Japanese national political scene is shifting, unpredictable, largely unproductive, and hugely (for citizens) frustrating circus-like affair, a kind of diversionary entertainment, but only for people of the mind that likes riddles, puzzles, and the occasional histrionic protest (read: the Ozawa split from the DPJ).
Am I exaggerating and distorting reality? A bit, yes. That Japanese politics is still taken seriously my most of the (rather seriously-minded, if easily bamboozled) Japanese public, is proven by still very high voting participation rates (close to 70% in the last national election). But plummeting levels of voter support for specific parties (the party getting majority support is neither the DPJ nor the LDP, but “none of the above”) suggests that I am more correct than wrong.
The important question raised here is: Is there a vacuum in political leadership in Japan that a new party can fill?
The answer here is almost certainly “yes.” And such are the times that the Osaka Ishin no Kai (in Japanese 大阪維新の会-- literally “Association for the Restoration of Osaka”) “movement”—formally established in April 2010 under the leadership of 42 year old Osaka mayor Hashimoto Tooru, may be it. The Osaka Ishin no Kai is not yet a recognized national party. Its representatives now occupy 57 of 109 seats (52%) in the Osaka prefectural government assembly and 33 of 86 seats (38%) in the Osaka municipal assembly.
All eyes are on whether Hashimoto and the Osaka Ishin no Kai will seize the next general election as their chance to “go national”—fielding candidates in elections throughout the country to gain seats—and power--in the national Diet.
But is the Osaka Ishin no Kai just another of the type of party described above? Definitely not. Firstly, Hashimoto Tooru is not a scion of a wealthy political dynasty. His father was a low level yakuza gangster who committed suicide when Tooru was in elementary school. Tooru was raised by his single mother in humble circumstances. With drive and intelligence he graduated in policy economy from Waseda University in 1994 and passed the exam to become a lawyer (bengoshi) in 1996. He practiced and—because of his outspokenness--was a frequently invited commentator on television talk shows during the 2000s. He was elected Osaka governor in 2008. One other remarkable bio entry: Hashimoto and his wife have 7 children.
In the last post, I said that in this one I would outline the main points in the “Eight Measures for Restoration” (“維新八策”) policy manifesto of the Osaka Ishin no Kai. This post has gotten a bit long, however, so the outline will follow in the next post.
Advance notice: the “Eight Measures for Restoration”--like Osaka mayor Hashimoto Tooru—are something new, and very likely something truly important, in Japanese politics.
