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On the afternoon of December 25, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) held a joint plenary session consisting of both Houses of the Diet in Tokyo. The purpose of this meeting was to elect a new President under special rules for the presidential election. Candidate Banri Kaieda was elected by garnering 90 out of a possible 145 (57 from the House of Representatives and 88 from the House of Councillors) Diet member’s votes, while Sumio Mabuchi, the runner-up candidate, received 54 votes.
Following the results of the election, President Banri Kaieda held his first press conference as the DPJ leader where he introduced a Chinese poem of his own composition. Written the previous day, President Kaieda stated that, “This poem summarizes all my feelings.” According to the DPJ President, the poem expressed his sentiments that while many candidates ended up losing, every effort would be made towards the revival of the DPJ. A summary of the press conference is as follows:
【Q&A with the media】
Q: Regarding specific policy issues, what is your stance on TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership)? Also, how will you distinguish the DPJ from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in areas such as diplomacy, national security and the economic policies often referred to as “Abenomics?”
A: The DPJ has had ongoing discussions regarding TPP, which we are currently “carefully considering.” Regarding the third matter you mentioned, Abenomics is an old-style approach of splurging on public works to boost the economy. There is a variety of opinions relating to monetary easing - including within the DPJ - but the fact is anything that would undermine the independence of the Bank of Japan must be avoided. This would result in a loss of confidence in the central bank, and by extension, a loss of confidence in the yen. We must be careful and thorough, because there are many potential side-effects to consider. In terms of diplomacy and national security, the alliance with the United States will act as our cornerstone as we pursue a foreign policy with other countries in Asia based on friendship. As I’ve said previously, the true strength of Japan’s national power is dependent on the economy and the confidence of the Japanese people in their country’s future. Which is why through the strengthening of Japan’s economic and national power, and the Japanese people’s confidence in their nation, I will boost Japan’s diplomatic and security capabilities
Q: You have emphasized the “revival of the party.” What is you stance on the appointment of key party executives?
A: Matters pertaining to personnel will be addressed soon.
Q: You referred to cooperation with other opposition parties toward the coming Upper House election in your speech. Does the proposed cooperation also cover the Japan Restoration Party, which has a completely different policy direction? What sort of framework are you thinking of?
A: Obviously the DPJ needs to cooperate with other parties in order to increase our seats in the Upper House as much as possible. If that is not possible we must limit the decreasing of our strength in the Upper House. All parties just finished campaigning in the Lower House election on December 16, so at the moment I have no specific ideas about how to deal with each respective party. We can decide on our approach after seeing what happens in the new Diet, including their respective party appointments and systems. At this stage, I have not yet decided on whether “we will cooperate with only these parties” or whether “we cannot cooperate with these parties.”
Q: You mentioned that you are planning a full review of the latest election. There are some views that the split of the DPJ or internal strife have greatly affected voting behaviors of the Japanese electorate. Do you have any particular measures on your mind to preclude any further divisions or internal conflict?
A: We will be taking a hard look at the factors that led to the election defeat of the DPJ, which will include hearing views of people outside the party. I think the sentiment you just mentioned would be echoed by many people. You asked about measures to prevent such things. The first thing we should do is to demonstrate that the party as a whole will work single-mindedly toward a unified goal.
Q: Looking toward the Upper House election in 2013, what original policies is the DPJ considering to show a difference from the governing LDP? Are you going to review the DPJ’s latest Manifesto?
A: This is a discussion that we are set to have in the near future. The ruling party said many things in the recently completed Lower House election, and it is not yet fully clear what policies the ruling parties will be emphasizing before the Upper House election. We will decide on our campaign policy at a party convention while we monitor the LDP’s stance.
Q: Before becoming a Diet member, you had contributed an article to a magazine recommending investment in “Agura Bokujo,” which was charged with the fraudulent business of soliciting investment in the breeding of “wagyu” Japanese cattle. How do you feel about your responsibility?
A: I would like to comment on that at a later opportunity, but this is also something that happened over 20 years ago. I invested my own money and closed on that investment in due course. I cannot make any comment with regard to that at this time.
Q: The conference room for the latest party presidential election was much smaller than before. When you stood at the podium, how did you feel about the atmosphere of the convention and the expressions on the faces of your party colleagues?
A: When I looked at the faces of my colleagues from the podium and did a quick count, I was struck by the small number. They all looked pensive, as our seats in the Lower House were squeezed to the left corner of the chamber.
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