ニュース 2009/11/29 Ozawa attends Shiga event, vows to gain majority in House of Councillors election On November 29, the “DPJ Party 2009 in Shiga” was held by the DPJ’s Shiga Prefectural Headquarters at a venue in Otsu city. DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa gave the opening address to the approximately 700 participants in the event, expressing his appreciation for their support during the recent general election. Ozawa pointed out that “Following the general election held on August 30, we were able to realise a DPJ-led government. This was a genuine change of government brought about by the power of the Japanese people and with their cooperation, and as such it was an epoch-making event in the history of constitutional politics in Japan.” Ozawa went on to say that in the two months following the launch of the new government, the DPJ had been making every effort toward “implementing electoral pledges” and “[policy] realisation”, and added, “I believe that we have been entrusted with an extremely large and weighty mission and responsibility.” At the same time, Ozawa stressed that “As the ruling party we cannot rely on mere grandstanding. The Japanese people will not permit it…We must produce results that show we are truly protecting people’s livelihoods.” Ozawa said that Prime Minister and DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama and others in the administration are now making great efforts towards this goal. He added that there had been some criticism from the media and elsewhere, but “The DPJ must do its utmost to work on behalf of the people. That is our duty” and said he was proud of the focused approach of the DPJ government, which was decidedly superior to that of the long-running LDP government. Ozawa said that a strong belief in the importance of implementing electoral pledges and making efforts towards this end was a precious quality and one that united the party. Ozawa reiterated that as a complement to these efforts being made by the government toward governing the nation, he himself had been entrusted with the responsibility of dealing with party matters, and in this context he referred on the House of Councillors election, scheduled for next July. He commented, “At the House of Councillors election two years ago, the opposition parties succeeded in gaining a majority, but the DPJ was unable to win enough seats for an outright majority…We must succeed in gaining a majority at next year’s House of Councillors election. I am working hard toward this goal.” Ozawa repeated that the cooperative framework that the DPJ had formed with the Social Democratic Party, the People’s New Party and the New Party Nippon was solid. He said that as the ruling party, securing a majority in the Upper House was essential for realising a mode of government for “putting people’s lives first”, and ended his address by calling for the participants’ support and cooperation in achieving this goal.