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Japan's incoming government faces weak mandate
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-02 16:28 TOKYO: Japan's new government will have a shaky mandate when it takes office later this month, a poll indicated Wednesday, as party leaders acknowledged they must get to work immediately to deal with the country's severe economic problems.
Most Japanese voters chose the opposition in historic weekend elections because they were fed up with a half century of rule by the governing conservatives, not because they were enthused by what the opposition had to offer, according to the poll in the Asahi, a major national newspaper. The poll found most voters remain skeptical about whether the victorious Democratic Party of Japan can make good on its promises to bring the world's second-largest economy out of its worst slowdown since World War II, rein in the powerful bureaucracy and restore Japan's international credibility after a succession of three prime ministers in three years. The Democrats are expected to form a new government and name leader Yukio Hatoyama as prime minister on September 16, replacing outgoing Taro Aso. In Sunday's elections, the Democrats won 308 of the 480 seats in the powerful lower house, giving them control of the chamber.
"We will do all we can to ensure a smooth transition," chief Cabinet spokesman Takeo Kawamura said Wednesday. In the first major poll since Sunday's elections, the Asahi said 81 percent of respondents felt the reason for the Democrats' win was that voters wanted a new administration. Only 38 percent said the victory was due to support for the party's polices, it said. Only 32 percent of respondents said they felt the Democrats would be able to change the government significantly, while 46 percent said they would not, the poll said. It put the Democrats' approval rating at just 39 percent. The poll was a random telephone survey of 1,104 eligible voters conducted on Monday and Tuesday. It reported direct results and so gave no margin of error, but a poll of that size would generally have a margin of about 3 percentage points. "They must demonstrate their political leadership, and policy implementation should be as fast as possible," said Susumu Kato, chief economist at Calyon Capital Markets Asia in Tokyo. The Democrats acknowledged they will face tough economic realities when they take over. "The economy is in a severe condition," Katsuya Okada, a senior Democratic Party executive, said Wednesday. "We deeply feel the responsibility of what we must do." Japan, the world's second-largest economy, climbed out of a yearlong recession in the second quarter, but its recovery is still weak. The unemployment rate has risen to a record 5.7 percent, its highest since World War II. Japan also must figure out how to cope with a rapidly aging and declining population. The government estimates that the population will shrink from 127.6 million to 115 million in 2030 and fall below 100 million by the middle of the century. That means fewer people will be paying taxes and more will be collecting pensions, straining tax coffers and threatening the government's ability to pay for public projects. The Democrats have proposed cash handouts to families and farmers, toll-free highways, a higher minimum wage and tax cuts. The estimated bill comes to 16.8 trillion yen ($179 billion) if fully implemented starting in the 2013 fiscal year. The party has said it plans to cut waste and rely on untapped financial reserves to fund their programs. Kato, the economist, said he thinks the Democrats are on the right track. "Households are hurting," he said. "For now, they are talking about taking the appropriate steps." |
