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On July 20, excerpts of an interview with DPJ Vice President Yoshio Hachiro, which took place July 4, were published on the party website. Hachiro is Chair of a committee responsible for considering the proceedings for electing the party President, which is one of three committees set up under the authority of a Headquarters currently considering party reform, chaired by DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada. A translation of the interview is as follows.
The “committee for considering the way in which the election for party president takes place” (provisional translation) was established to consider the way in which the election for party president takes place now that the DPJ is the ruling party, and the election is for all intents and purposes one for choosing the prime minister. Six Diet members from both Houses engaged in repeated discussions and submitted a mid-term report on June 16.
Ultimately, this matter will be decided by the Standing Officers Council and will entail amending the party rules and regulations at the party convention, but this mid-term report is the precursor to these discussions. Discussions about a new system are being undertaken with a view to implementation at the next regular election for party president, which is scheduled to be held in September 2012.
On the current system for election of the party president
Under the rules regarding the election of the party president, the term of office is for a period of two years, lasting from a president’s selection [in September] until the end of September two years later [in the case of a regular election]. If there is a change of president in the middle of that term, the new president will serve until the end of their predecessor’s term of office. Recently, former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigned in June of last year, and Prime Minister Naoto Kan took over, serving the remainder of Hatoyama’s term of office, until another election for president was held in September.
However, while running the government as the party in power, the prime minister is chosen by the Diet, and so the fact that the prime minister may change after a short time due to the internal party workings of the election for party president is a problem. Thus it was decided that a review was needed and we have been considering this matter.
Mid-term report of the committee
Considering that the president of the ruling party will become the prime minister of Japan, we have considered new rules that would enable the prime minister to exercise [more] leadership. There are two proposals for [the selection of party leader] when we are serving as the ruling party. (1) abolish the term of office requirement for presidents who have been selected as prime ministers, or (2) make the president’s term of office longer than when we were in opposition, extending it to three years. In the interests of encouraging widespread debate we have included both proposals in our mid-term report.
Note that while the party is in opposition and the president will not become prime minister, the current rules will apply, with the term of office being two years, and the incoming president serving the remainder of the outgoing president’s term if there is a change of leadership part way through a term.
As a precursor to our discussions, we used the examples of how other parties in North America and Europe, as well as here in Japan, choose their party leader as a point of reference. In the United Kingdom and Canada, both of which have a parliamentary system of government, the ruling parties do not have a set term of office for their party leader. In Germany, legislation governing political parties stipulates a term of office of two years, but in the case of the ruling party, a party leadership election has never been implemented.
The content of both proposals
Proposal A: Abolishing the requirement for a set term of office for the DPJ President when the party is in power
When the party is in power, and the president is to be appointed prime minister, we will abolish the requirement for a fixed term of office. The general election for the House of Representatives, which is a national election, is the ultimate means [of selecting the prime minister] and the final decision would be made at the ballot box.
However, if the president’s term of office is abolished there is a danger that internal party opinion will not be accurately reflected. Therefore, if a majority of DPJ Diet members issue a request for the implementation of a leadership election, it will be possible to call an election for party president that includes party members and supporters at an interim stage. If such an election is called it will be possible for the incumbent president to stand as a candidate. Furthermore, it will not be possible to submit a further request for the implementation of an election for president to for one year following the implementation of such an election.
Proposal B: Extending the DPJ President’s term of office to three years when the party is in power
The second proposal argues that making the president’s term of office unlimited does not suit our circumstances, and so suggests extending the term of office from two to three years. If a president changes part way through a term, then the term of office of the incoming president will not be the remainder of his predecessor’s term, but three years if the party is coming into office following a change of government, and two years in other instances.
The circumstances that led to consideration of these proposals stem from our desire to eliminate the situation where the nation’s leader changes time and again due to internal party affairs, and to create a system where the prime minister can exercise leadership and run the administration in a stable and continuous manner.
The Committee also intends to discuss the way in which the election is implemented (the allocation of points to each electoral constituency and to local assembly members), the way in which party members and supporters, as well as voters in the leadership election are registered, and the participation of party members and supporters of foreign nationality in the election.
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