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On September 4, DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama participated in the World Economic Forum Japan Meeting being held in Tokyo, giving a keynote speech entitled, “Japan’s Role in the Global Agenda”
At the start of the speech, Hatoyama congratulated the WEF on the opening of their Japan office, praising the significance of the achievements made by the WEF and expressing his delight that the office should be opened just at the time the new DPJ administration was to begin, saying that this was “extremely encouraging”.
Hatoyama went on to comment on the recent general election, saying, “In Japan, as in the United States, people wanted to see change. As a result of this, the feelings of many people who care for this nation have borne fruit and a change of government has been realized. This is not simply a victory for the DPJ, but for Japanese democracy. It is the aim of the DPJ to connect this to a victory for the Japanese people.” Hatoyama continued by expressing his strong resolve to engage in running the government effectively, stressing, “In order to improve the lives of the Japanese people, the DPJ will change the mode of governance that has been in place up to now, which has left everything to the bureaucrats, to a mode of governance that is led by politicians.”, “It is vital to create a more active diplomacy. It is only through these means that a change of government will lead to victory for the Japanese people in the true sense of the word.”
In addition, Hatoyama said, “The DPJ government must move forward while considering the role it should play for the sake of the peace and prosperity of Japan and the world.” He commented that the prevailing mindset at the 2001 Davos WEF meeting that he had participated in previously was that “the freer the markets are the better”, “the fewer regulations the better”, and suggested that there was a problem with the simplistic way of thinking that “if we leave things up to the markets everyone will be content”
Hatoyama continued, “Competition is a source of vitality, but overemphasis [on competition] causes disparities to widen between individual citizens and between central government and the regions, while income disparities in turn invite educational disparities.” He added, “If competition is not accompanied by “fraternity”, this invites the confusion of a lack of governance. If there is a complete devotion to market fundamentalism there is no room for governments to play a role.” He went on to explain, “Socialistic equality robs the economy of its vitality and so is not a solution. The concept of “fraternity” exists under the banner of liberalism. It is important to preserve an appropriate degree of tension between the activities of a free market and the role which should be played by governments, and to create a balance between regulations imposed by governments and the market.”
Furthermore, Hatoyama added that “Globalization and the deepening of mutual independency internationally have both positive and negative aspects. What is important is to limit the negative aspects as much as possible, while accentuating the positive.” He also referred to key policies promoted by the DPJ, proposals for “a job training system”, “a child allowance”, and “an individual income support allowance for farmers.” He expressed the opinion that the establishment of a safety net was necessary in order to enhance the positive aspects of globalization, and added, “It is a mistake to use protectionism as a means of limiting the negative aspects. There is no sense in individual countries trying to deal with issues such as financial regulations and climate change. It is necessary to respond through international regulations.”
Finally, Hatoyama said, “In terms of foreign policy, politicians, bureaucrats and the private sector must cooperate and devise ways of working for Japan’s national interest and international prosperity.”
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