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2014/11/13
Edano vows to fight the election “viewing this as an opportunity to return as many of our colleagues as possible to the Diet”
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On November 13, DPJ Secretary General Yukio Edano held his regular press conference at party headquarters. Edano criticized the decision to call snap elections, saying: “I would like us to fight this election with all our resources, viewing this as an opportunity to return as many of our colleagues as possible to the Diet. But when we think about what kind of election this is, such a snap dissolution of the Diet can only be described as totally selfish.” He continued, “If there is a problem with the running of the administration, then that is down to nothing less than the internal issues existing within the ruling parties.” He pointed out that the most significant of these internal issues was the resignation of two Cabinet members, and went on to state: “But a more fundamental problem is the administration’s handling of the economy. It has been successful insofar as it managed to raise share prices and with them public expectations. But, two years on, those expectations have faded, and the reality has become clear to the public. The livelihoods of the Japanese people have been greatly damaged, as is symbolized by the fact that the average national wage has fallen.”
Asked what the main pillars of the DPJ manifesto would be should snap elections be called, Edano commented, “During the past two years, it has been increasingly difficult for people to make ends meet and to lead their daily lives. Wages are failing to rise in response to steeply rising petrol prices, falls in the price of rice, and the increasing cost of imports. Under circumstances such as these, the lives and household budgets of the nation are suffering. We will set forth specific policy pillars aimed at dealing with these issues.” Edano said that, “one more pillar would be measures aimed at putting a stop to the rampant behavior demonstrated by the Abe administration,” which included the steam-rollering through the Diet of the special secrets protection law which trampled underfoot the ideals of freedom of the press and of expression that lie at the root of democracy, and also the Cabinet decision allowing the use of the right to collective self-defense, which goes against Constitutionalism.
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