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On May 29, DPJ President Banri Kaieda gave a speech at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (FCCJ).
At the start of his speech, Kaieda explained that since his appointment as party president last December, he had travelled around the country to get a feel of voter mood following the general election. He said that he had spoken to more than 2000 party members and supporters, and stated, “We have engaged in revision of our platform in order to unite our party going forward.”
Regarding the new platform, Kaieda said that it positioned the DPJ as the party of “citizens, taxpayers, consumers and workers”, and stated the party’s intention to aim to construct a “society based on mutual co-existence”. He said “The concept of a society based on mutual co-existence is particularly important,” and went on to stress that the current Abe administration emphasized policies such as new liberalism, the market as a cure for all ills, and competition, but the DPJ would aim for a society with few inequalities, where individuals would accept each other’s unique characteristics.
With regard to the economic policies promoted by the Abe administration, Kaieda said, “At first glance, these seem to be going well, but there is a great deal of risk involved.” He expressed his concerns regarding the rise in price of imports caused by the sudden fall in the value of the yen, and the sudden crash in the market for government bonds following the rise in interest rates. He added that the Japanese economy must overcome deflation, but that it would be preferable to achieve this by means of demand-pull, rather than the current cost-push measures. Kaieda went on to comment on Japan’s current situation, saying, “It is difficult for young people in particular to obtain permanent employment, and so their annual income is low and as a result I don’t think that consumption will expand.” He went on to express the opinion that a recovery from deflation should be engineered by strengthening the ranks of the middle class, and creating a climate in which workers continue to engage in consumption.
Following the speech, Kaieda provided thoughtful responses to a variety of questions from the assembled foreign media, on topics such as economic policy, constitutional reform, nuclear energy policy, and the growth strategy.
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