ニュース 2014/07/24 Conclusion of meetings with secretaries general and electoral chiefs of regional blocs, and with chairs of Party branches On July 24, the DPJ concluded a series of meetings with executives from its regional blocs and branches. The meetings were designed to solicit regional feedback regarding the initiatives of the DPJ over the past year, including efforts to revitalize the Party following the major defeat in the 2013 House of Councillors election. Kaieda explained that for the Party’s revitalization, he had focused on three points to date: (1) reorganizing the Party into a robust entity by “wearing down the soles of our shoes” traveling around the regions; (2) reforming the Party from an organization centered on Diet members into one in which local assembly members can make the most of their abilities; and (3) reflecting on the election defeat and building collaborative relationships with other opposition parties to avoid being jointly defeated in the future. Regarding policies, Kaieda reported that he had introduced a procedure whereby in cases where the “Next Cabinet” could not decide on its position on a particular issue, it could ask the Standing Officers Council to decide on issues that might lead to a rift in the Party, reflecting on the schism that the Party faced over the consumption tax hike issue. He went on to explain that the Council on Protecting Livelihood, under the direct control of President Kaieda, had drawn up the Party’s new macroeconomics policy. Kaieda underscored that the policy focused on smaller businesses, the middle class, and regionalism, whereas “Abenomics” was oriented towards major firms, the wealthy, and metropolitan areas. He stated that based on its experience as a ruling party for three years and three months, by the end of the year the Party would completely review about ten policy themes in the 2009 Manifesto that seem impossible to achieve, starting over from the beginning. Kaieda indicated that to ensure victory in the unified local elections next spring, he placed high priority on: (1) the Party’s full commitment to lodging an intensive national campaign related to the right to collective self-defense from August to September; (2) supporting the drafting of local manifestos by the Regional Welfare Team and the Regional Revitalization Team of the Council on Protecting Livelihood; and (3) building trust and cooperative relationships with labor unions and economic organizations in the regions regarding non-regular employment and the reinforcement of corporate taxes levied on smaller businesses.