ニュース 2010/05/24 Ozawa states it is the DPJ’s task to implement Manifesto pledges On May 24, DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa held his regular press conference at party headquarters. He responded to a question regarding the prospects for passing postal reform legislation within the current Diet session, saying, “There are only a few days of the session remaining, and I am fully aware that the schedule is very tight. The so-called Koizumi [postal] reforms have not been of any benefit whatsoever to the Japanese people. We have promised to rectify this matter and so I believe it is our task to be resolved to pass this legislation during the current Diet session.” A reporter said that interviews and research suggested that the DPJ’s failure to implement its pledges to reduce the number of Diet members and to cut the personnel costs of civil servants employed by central government would cause support for Your Party to increase. Ozawa replied, “We fought the election stating that we would cut waste, discipline ourselves, and use hard-won tax monies efficiently, and that if we did so sufficient financial resources could be found. I think it is a fact that we have not been fully successful in this. When we drafted our Manifesto, we said that we would reduce the number of members of the House of Representatives elected by proportional representation by 80, and reduce the number of Diet members in the House of Councillors by 40. It is important for us to realize what we have pledged. It is fine to make changes or revisions in order to adapt to the changing times, but if we do not stick to our stance of implementing and realizing what we have promised, then the people will wash their hands of us. Inclusion [of a policy] in our Manifesto, means at the same time that we must implement it.”