The Democratic Party of Japan窶冱 Platform for Government
Putting People窶冱 Lives First

Ozawa窶冱 Message: In Order to Achieve 窶弃roper Politics窶?/p>

What we need now is proper politics.
But what is politics?
There is only one answer to that.
It is enabling people to live their lives free of anxiety.
This is the purpose of politics, and realising this goal is the mission of politicians.
So, does 窶徘olitics窶 exist in current day Japan?
In the name of fine sounding phrases such as 窶彷ree competition窶 and 窶徨eform窶? the Japanese people have been forced to bear an increasingly heavy burden, and a whole variety of disparities are threatening to destroy our society.
Even pensions, healthcare and nursing care, which are a contract between the people and the state, cannot be relied on.

Putting people窶冱 lives first.
Now, let窶冱 take this opportunity to return 窶徘roper politics窶 to Japan.
Let窶冱 make our nation one where people can live their lives free of anxiety.
This is the only chance we have to rebuild our nation.
I will stake all 38 years of my political career on protecting the interests of the people and ensuring the future of Japan.
I will make 窶弃utting People窶冱 Lives First窶 a reality.
I will do this without fail.
I will put this into practice without fail.

Ichiro Ozawa
President, the Democratic Party of Japan

窶弋here was no alternative but to create a two-party system窶?/p>

Japanese politics must change.
I used to be a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.
I was a member of that party from when I was first elected in 1969, at the age of 27, for a period of 24 years.ﾂ? During that time I served as Secretary General of the party for three terms.ﾂ? I also served as a minister.ﾂ? But the more experience I gained, the more I felt a sense of crisis about the way in which politics was run.
The Cold War had ended and the world had started to shift dramatically, but there was not even a hint of a change in Nagata-cho, and politics continued on in the same old way.
If things went on like this, Japan would no longer be able to survive.
Out of this conviction, I tried to bring about political reform, centring on the introduction of single-seat constituencies.ﾂ? But what awaited me was a huge up-swelling of opposition from within, that is from inside the LDP.ﾂ?
Upon seeing this, I made up my mind.
For the sake of Japan窶冱 future, there was no alternative but to create a two-party system.
If one power group remains in government of a country for too long, then that country窶冱 politics will be doomed for certain.
That is a cast-iron rule of history.ﾂ? The LDP had been in control of the reins of power for far too long.
If we did not realise a genuine change of government, the country窶冱 future would be at risk.
Having determined this, I left the LDP.
That was in May of 1993.

Politics exists to protect the lives of the people.
Since then fourteen years have passed.
But can we say that Japanese politics has changed in that time?
Regrettably, the answer is 窶廸o窶?
The true role of politics is to protect the assets and the safety of the people.
However pleasing the ideology and the appeals, if people窶冱 lives are not protected, then politics has no meaning and no value.
In other words, politicians are representatives chosen by the people and it is an overarching principle of democracy, simple common sense, that they should think and act by putting the people窶冱 lives and safety first.
However, that 窶彡ommonsense窶 has long been trampled underfoot in Japan, and the situation continues to worsen.

窶廬 will ready myself for this battle窶?/p>

People, lifestyles, regions are falling apart.
A symbol of this is the problem of 窶忻anishing pensions窶?
It has become clear that the pension premium payments made by the people have been wasted by public officials, and even the basic records of those payments have not been properly administered.
Pensions should be the 窶徑ast refuge窶 of people窶冱 lives, and yet the state cannot even administer them properly.
Pensions are, undoubtedly, a contract between the state and the people.
If that contract is not fulfilled, then it cannot be trusted.ﾂ? The same applies to health and nursing care.
Can such a nation truly be described as a nation?
It doesn窶冲 end there.ﾂ? The 窶徨eforms窶 carried out during the past six years by the Koizumi administration and now by the Abe administration amount in the end to nothing more than enabling only the strong to survive, and placing an increasing burden on the weak members of society.
In fact, under the Koizumi and Abe administrations, tax increases and increases in social insurance premiums have been carried out one after the other, and people窶冱 financial burdens have continued to increase.
At the same time, 窶彗makudari窶 and wastage of taxpayers窶 money continue to thrive unabated.ﾂ?
As a result, a whole variety of social disparities have been created around Japan.
Disparities in income, employment, healthcare and nursing care, disparities between the regions and the centre.
Does a politics that allows these kind of disparities to widen and leaves social distortions uncorrected really deserve the name of 窶徘olitics窶?

What Japan needs now is 窶徘roper politics窶?
There is no time to lose in rebuilding a Japanese society that has been so ravaged.ﾂ? The disparities between the regions and the metropolitan areas in particular are extremely serious.
Since I became DPJ President, I have traveled to every corner of Japan, and this conviction of mine has been reinforced.
However, it is in just such difficult times as these that we should return to the 窶徭tarting point of politics窶?
Protecting the lives of the people and helping them to find happiness.
If we cannot manage to realise such everyday goals as these, Japan may end up reaching a dead end.
In order to avoid this, first of all we will rebuild people窶冱 lives.
We will rebuild the regions, the homelands of the Japanese people.ﾂ? Everything starts from that.
Let窶冱 return 窶徘olitics窶 to Japan and make her into a 窶徘roper nation窶?
To achieve this we will engineer a reversal of fortunes between the ruling and opposition parties in the House of Councillors election and realise a change of power.
The DPJ will take the reins of government.ﾂ? There is no other way to save Japan.
I will ready myself for this battle, placing the convictions of 38 years on the line.
We, the DPJ, ask for your support.
In order to protect your lives, please vote for the DPJ.
We promise 窶徃enuine politics窶?

Toward a Two-Party System in which Changes of Government are Possible
Thirty-eight years in pursuit of an ideal. The footprints of that journey are a history of the struggle between the ideal and the reality of Japanese politics. Ichiro Ozawa is embarking on this election with the determination to bring that ideal to fruition.

Political History
A History of Ichiro Ozawa, the Politician
1. The postwar 55-year system

2. Toward the era of a two-party system