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On February 23, Prime Minister Naoto, participated in his second Prime Minister’s question time, engaging in debate with LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki and New Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi.
Kan questioned Tanigaki’s stance, saying, “The most important factors for the lives of the Japanese people are the enactment and implementation of the budget. I asked you about this last time, but in the end I still didn’t receive a reply.” He went on to say, “We are currently right in the middle of debating the budget, so why is it that you are unable to answer a question asking whether you consider the budget to be the most important issue.” Kan continued, “You keep repeating, ‘dissolve the Diet, dissolve the Diet’, but are you really making such comments because you believe that dissolving the Diet without passing the budget or doing anything is to the advantage of the Japanese people?” He stressed that the DPJ government intended to do their utmost to ensure that the budget and related legislation were passed within the current fiscal year.
Kan also cited the example of the 1998 Diet session, stating, “At that time, there was also a divided Diet, [with the roles of the ruling and opposition parties] reversed.” He said that as legislation submitted by the LDP proposing a “bridge bank” system was voted down and ended up being postponed, “[the LDP] thought that a proposal submitted by the DPJ suggesting temporary nationalization was a good one and accepted it without alteration.” Kan added, “Considering such past examples, I would like you to take actions through which you fulfil your responsibility to the Japanese people. I would like you to take actions through which you fulfil your responsibility to history.” He went on to say, “I call on you to produce a proposal that would cause me to say that the LDP’s budget draft is wonderful and to accept it wholeheartedly. I’m looking forward to it.”
Asked whether he was running the administration in accordance with the party Manifesto, Kan denied opposition charges that his government was violating Manifesto pledges, saying, “As I have already stated several times during the budget debate, these are promises we made to the people in the general election the year before last, and we have been doing our utmost to realise them up until this very day.” He went on to state, “We have realized several pledges, and have already embarked on fulfilling several more. However, there are still some pledges that remain unfulfilled. In September we will reach the midpoint of our term of office, and I have already stated clearly in the Committee on Budget that we will carry out research and will make further explanations to the Japanese people regarding those policies that have not yet been carried out.”
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