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2016/01/05
Okada holds New Year press briefing
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To mark the beginning of the New Year, President Katsuya Okada held a press briefing at the party headquarters on January 5 and expressed his goal of positioning this year as a “young people’s year” to “achieve politics that empower young people to live with hope.”
Okada highly praised the fact that many young people spoke up in the debate over the Security Legislation last year. In addition, in light of the fact that the voting age will be lowered to 18 from July this year, he stated that “The ‘Abe Politics’ of dishonesty, pork-barrel spending and postponing challenges is not politics that gives young people hope. We intend to pursue politics that allow young people to live their daily lives with hope.” Furthermore, as a policy for young people, he mentioned not only lowering the voting age, but also “lowering the election eligibility age.”
Okada said the House of Councilors election being held this summer “is significant on two fronts.” He pointed out that there are two crossroads: “As a result of the election, will politics in which a change of administration is possible be realized, or alternatively, will it recede further away?” and “Will importance continue to be placed on the fundamental mindset of the pacifist constitution, or will Japan become a country that is freely able to use military force overseas, if such action falls under the right to collective self-defense?”
Asked by a reporter for his views on the increased size of the regular budget for the coming fiscal year, Okada was critical, explaining that “By chance, in the supplementary budget, the tax revenue increased. The very stance of using all of that up as if it is money that is free to use also presents a problem for the next generation. The Abe Administration talks about fiscal reconstruction, but does not take concrete action.”
At a press briefing on January 4, Prime Minister Abe presented a plan to position constitutional reform – centering on establishing an “emergency provision” – as a point of contention in the House of Councillors election. Regarding this point, Okada explained that “It would be outrageous to commence a discussion on the emergency provision alone, without examining its substance. Since it is conceivable the content could constrain the fundamental human rights set down in the constitution more than is necessary, it needs to undergo robust debate.” He added that he wants to see Prime Minister Abe “address citizens dependably, instead of taking a dishonest approach, as happened with the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets, which was not mentioned at all in the election and then suddenly appeared after the election was over, or the Security Legislation, which only received a minor mention in the corner of the manifesto but became a central theme following the election.”
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