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On October 1, the Diet session was convened, and Prime Minister Naoto Kan gave a policy speech in the plenary session of both Houses, vowing to eliminate the postponement of important policy issues by announcing “This is the point of departure for my “true to its word Cabinet”. What will we seek to achieve? In a word, this will be the implementation of the important policy agendas that have been postponed so far.”
Kan stated that there were five important policy agendas that needed to be tackled: first, the integrated implementation of “economic growth”, “sound public finances” and “social security reform”, along with “advancing reforms of regional sovereignty” and “implementing active diplomacy” in which the entire nation plays a part.
With regard to economic growth, Kan said “we must bring about a shift from supplier-based standards toward viewing things from the perspective of the consumer” and stressed that the government would take the lead in increasing employment opportunities.
In the section of his speech referring to the creation of sound public finances, Kan said that if current trends continue Japan’s fiscal situation will “become unsustainable”. He went on to describe the government’s strategy as being “to halve the primary deficit as a percentage of GDP by fiscal 2015 from fiscal 2010 levels and to achieve a primary surplus by fiscal 2020. These are ambitious goals, but we will seek to achieve them one step at a time, while at the same time also seeking economic growth and expansion of employment.”
On reforming social security, Kan said, “My view is that it is preferable to have a reliable social system, even if it means asking citizens to shoulder a slightly heavier burden.” He went on to say, “The government intends to present the Japanese people with choices that are easy to understand regarding the overall reform of our social security system, including the level and content of services that are thought to be needed.” Moreover, with regard to securing the necessary resources, Kan said that he would like to “pursue debate on our overall system of taxation, including the consumption tax,” and stressed that discussions between the ruling and opposition parties would be essential for the resolution of such issues.
Furthermore, Kan commented on various issues relating to political reform, stating that he would like internal debate within the DPJ on proposals for banning political donations by corporations and organizations and on reducing the number of Diet members to be completed by the end of the year, and for the resulting proposal to be discussed with the opposition parties following this.
Kan concluded his speech by stating, “Can the members of the Diet cooperate in finding solutions to the problems facing Japan today and fulfill the responsibilities we cannot postpone to the next generation? Will we be able to fulfill the expectations of the Japanese people? This session of the Diet will be a critical test.” He said that members would be required to debate such issues as a postal reform bill, a bill for a basic law on climate change countermeasures, and a bill for revising the Labour Services Temporary Assignment Law. He stressed that he hoped to make this Diet session a “Policy Diet” capable of drafting concrete measures, and would work to make it a “Deliberation Diet” that would deepen debate.
A full provisional translation of the policy speech is available on the Cabinet Office website at:
http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/kan/statement/201010/01syosin_e.html
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