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On May 23, DPJ Secretary General Goshi Hosono held his regular press conference at party headquarters. On the agenda were the party’s preparations for the forthcoming Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and House of Councillors elections, the issue of electoral cooperation for the House of Councillors election, the increase in the long-term interest rate, and comments made by senior figures in the Japan Restoration Party and the LDP regarding the so-called “comfort woman” and historical perception issues.
Regarding election preparation, Hosono commented, “We have exactly 30 days from today until polling in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election. There are only 3 weeks until the start of the official campaign period, and so we have only a very limited number of days remaining, and the DPJ must gear itself up properly for the election. In other words, I believe that we have reached the point where we must shift from a peace-time set-up to a state of emergency. Yesterday, we carried out a second round of electoral rallies, and from now on I would like not just the current party executive, but also former party presidents and former cabinet members to be included in the move to a state of alert.” The party leadership is set to travel to various locations around the country at the weekend, with Hosono himself scheduled to travel to Nagano Prefecture on May 25, and Osaka and Shiga Prefectures on May 26.
Regarding the sudden increase in the long-term interest rate, Hosono said, “Share prices have suddenly risen, and in response investment has shifted from securities to shares. I think that it is due to such developments that interest rates have increased. The sudden increase in interest rates is not desirable, and abrupt fluctuations are also definitely not desirable.” He expressed concerns regarding the influence such developments would have on housing loan interest rates and people’s daily lives, saying, “This will have a negative impact on livelihoods. I believe that this is probably the dark side of the Abe administration’s economic policies.”
Furthermore, Hosono commented on the situation from a long-term perspective, saying, “If [such policies are] carried out with the aim of generating inflation, then rising stock prices which take place without corresponding increases in wages will have a cost-push effect, and are something that will have the worst impact on the economy. Consequently, such conditions will need to be dealt with at some point by making interest rate adjustments. BoJ Governor Kuroda himself has also pointed out the difficulties of this. If interest rate adjustments are made in the midst of rising share prices, the payment of interest on government bonds will start to become an issue. If we look at it long-term, the BoJ will be called upon to make a variety of extremely difficult decisions and so to be frank, in my opinion there is a call for concern.”
With regard to the issue of so-called “comfort women” used by the Japanese Imperial Army, Hosono was asked for his opinion regarding the comments made by senior figures in the Japan Restoration Party, which had become the subject of investigations in the UN Committee Against Torture. He said, “I will avoid naming names, but I believe that the fact that various people, including the leader of the Japan Restoration Party, are repeatedly delivering a message that differs from the Kono statement, which sets forth our nation’s basic position on this issue, is obviously damaging to our national interests. With regard to this issue, I believe that we should basically respect the history by which those concerned have taken much trouble to put together Japan’s position, and developed various policies over time. I think that we have reached a time when we ought to be making efforts to put this to rest.” With regard to comments made by a number of LDP politicians regarding the revision of historical perceptions, Hosono stated, “Our nation should basically continue to firmly tread the path that we have taken up until now in the post-war period, and issue the message that we will continue firmly down that path in the future.”
Hosono was asked for his opinion regarding the election to the House of Councillors from the PR list of Kanako Otsuji, following a vacancy in the DPJ ranks. Otsuji is the first openly LGTB member of the Japanese Diet. Hosono said, “Otsuji’s remaining term of office is only a rather short two months, but I would like her to work hard as a member of the Diet. She is a new member and as such we will do our best to support her. It is important for us to engage in policy making with a stance that places importance on the various issues relating to minority rights and diversity.”
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