ニュース 2009/01/29 Kan says PM clearly admitted “running away” On January 29, DPJ Acting President Naoto Kan held his regular press conference at party headquarters. At the start of the conference, Kan gave his impressions of Prime Minister Aso’s policy speech, saying that “compared to his previous policy speech, I feel a lack of potential, with almost no memorable comments.” He quoted the PM’s statement, “I will not run away”, commenting ironically, “in stating repeatedly that he is not running away, he is testifying himself that he is in fact running away.” Kan also touched on the questions made by the representatives of various parties regarding the speech, saying, “many pointed out contradictions [in the PM’s comments], but his answers merely mouthed words prepared by the bureaucrats and there was nothing that left an impression.” In addition, with regard to the start of debate over the 2009 budget, Kan emphasised that the DPJ needed to “stay alert and not let down our guard.” He indicated there was a high possibility that the House of Representatives would be dissolved and a general election called following the budget debate, and called on sitting Diet members, as well as new candidates and former Diet members standing again as candidates, to brace themselves and focus on the prospect of an election in April or May. Kan himself, from the perspective of his position as Chair of the DPJ’s Tokyo branch office, said that “the (electoral) situation in Tokyo is not at all promising.” He said that the timing coincided with the election for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and that he intended to revamp the electoral framework in Tokyo and the metropolitan area with a view to the forthcoming elections, and that he wanted to work on this issue with officers of the central election campaign headquarters playing a key role. Furthermore, Kan explained that the DPJ’s proposed employment measures bill, for which a mid-term report was issued in a meeting of the party’s Next Cabinet on January 28, was a landmark piece of administration. He said that it would establish a new safety net between the existing systems of employment insurance and guaranteeing livelihoods, and aimed to conduct job-seeking and livelihood support simultaneously, with provision made to give job-skills training and livelihood support to those who have been actively seeking work but have been unsuccessful in finding a job. Referring to the fact that a joint committee of both houses had been convened after the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors had issued different verdicts on the second supplementary budget bill, Kan explained that this was an absolute requirement under the Japanese Constitution. He pointed out that “The ruling parties seem to have failed to understand this point” and went on to call for the joint committee to play a more active role in the current “twisted” Diet, with sessions being held in public and becoming a forum for real decision-making.