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On December 9, DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada held his regular press conference at party headquarters. He commented that the issue of politics and money was being debated, and expressed the opinion that “it was important from the perspective of fully gaining the trust of the public and proceeding with strong governance.” Okada said that it was important for former Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa to make an explanation regarding the allegations he faces to the Deliberative Council on Political Ethics.
Okada stressed his own sense of responsibility and the need to resolve this issue before the start of the ordinary Diet session, commenting, “It is necessary to obtain the cooperation of the opposition parties in order to pass the budget during the ordinary Diet session. Another reason is the local elections scheduled for next spring. I will proceed with this in my position as Secretary General.”
Asked for his evaluation of the first six months of the Kan administration, Okada said that it was not the DPJ’s place to carry out self-appraisal. However, he mentioned such achievements as the child allowance, individual household income support for farmers, lump-sum subsidies for the regions, and the global-warming tax measures. Okada said that significant shifts in philosophy which could not have occurred under past LDP administrations had occurred, stressing as one example: “The establishment of a child allowance signals a shift to the philosophy that child-rearing is the responsibility of society [as a whole].” Okada also emphasised, “We need to explain the philosophy behind such policies through government promotional materials, and that should also include party promotional efforts.” He ended by stressing “I am convinced that the change of government to a DPJ administration will be judged as an historic shift in Japanese politics.”
Okada also revealed that he would visit Hiroshima on December 11, and listen to the accounts of A-bomb survivors in person.
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