ニュース 2010/03/23 Ozawa vows efforts to gain sympathy of floating and non-affiliated voters On March 23, DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa held his regular press conference at party headquarters. A reporter commented he had the impression that if the DPJ were to prioritise the philosophies of existing support bases and organisations it would be difficult for the party to win the House of Councillors election, and that he had felt the same way when he had covered the Socialist Party in the past. Ozawa responded, “I totally agree. At that time too the existing support base and support organizations was almost entirely made up of floating voters. I often say to trade unionists: ‘The reason that we can’t succeed in gaining the votes of even one third of trade union members is that the day-to-day activities [of the unions] are inadequate.’” He went on, “That is what I am talking about when I say to young Diet members that it is not enough simply to meet with the top of the organization, and that they need to get in among the citizens, to meet with the men and women in the street. I believe that I also have to make efforts to gain the sympathy of the floating and non-affiliated voters who make up the majority of the electorate.” Ozawa was asked what he believed to be the significance of the Japan-US alliance, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. He replied, “During the past half century, [the alliance] has played an important role, not just for Japan and for the Japan-US relationship, but also at a global level. It is natural that individual issues, specifically strategic matters, should change along with the times, but the significance of the Japan-US alliance can only grow and deepen and will not decrease. I believe that the majority of the Japanese people support [the alliance]. I consider the Japan-US alliance to be very important.”