|
On August 22, a meeting of secretaries general and election campaign managers from DPJ branches around Japan was held at party headquarters. Discussions were held between senior party executive members, including President Banri Kaieda and Secretary General Akihiro Ohata, and the assembled party branch executives for a total of three hours. On the agenda was a comprehensive review of the recent House of Councillors election and reform of the party itself.
In his opening address, Kaieda thanked participants for taking part in that day’s meeting and the block meetings that had been held on five previous occasions and for submitting reports analysing the election. He commented, “We have taken on board all your opinions, and renewed our sense of readiness, sense of crisis and sense of mission. We would like to complete our final review of the House of Councillors election.”
Kaieda went on to say, “Since being elected as the 10th President of the DPJ last year, I have continued with dialogue and travel [around the country] through the “wearing down the soles of our shoes” campaign, but we have still not succeeded in winning back the trust of the people. At the same time, organizational reform is an urgent issue. The House of Councillors election result was an extremely severe one, but we must accept the judgement of the people head-on, engage in thorough analysis, and make a new start toward a comeback. In order to recover the trust of the people, each and every one of us must grit our teeth and travel around the regions diligently, and continue to persistently engage in gathering people’s opinions. I believe that it is vital for us to proceed determinedly with party reform.” He added, “After the House of Councillors election, the flush of victory will surely lead Prime Minister Abe to act recklessly. I am convinced that only the DPJ is capable of acting as a brake on such rampant acts by the Abe administration. I am resolved to produce visible results by the time we start full-on preparations for the 2015 nationwide local elections next spring.”
Furthermore, with regard to the urgent issue of party reform, Kaieda stated that the initial direction for this would involve a total of 7 items including, (1) steady implementation of the first proposal included in the preliminary report by the DPJ Revitalization Headquarters which was adopted at the party convention on February 24 this year, (2) clarifying the party stance with regard to key policy issues (comprehensive reform of social security and taxation, TPP, energy, the right to collective self-defence etc.) by engaging in thorough discussions within the party in two stages, one up until the extraordinary Diet session scheduled for mid-October and the other until the regular Diet session scheduled to start early next year, (3) establishing a “Study Group to Protect Lives and Livelihoods” (tentative title), which should include external participants from academia, and speedily formulating the DPJ’s economic policy, (4) positioning the 2015 nationwide local elections as “a crucial battleground for determining the recovery of the party’s fortunes”, with the aim of establishing an election strategy and rejuvenating the party’s regional organization by the time of the 2014 annual party convention. Following the completion of the House of Councillors election review, a new system will get underway at party headquarters from the beginning of September, and thorough party reform will be implemented.
Finally, Kaieda cited words used by economist Yonosuke Miki, saying, “There is a reason why companies succeed in rebuilding themselves. It all stems from the love that the executives and the employees feel for that company. I would like to engage in the rebuilding of the DPJ based on the deep affection and attachment you all feel for the party.”
Next, Secretary General Ohata, Policy Research Committee Chair Mitsuru Sakurai and Election Campaign Committee Chair Toshiyuki Kato reported on the key points of the election review, opinions expressed during the web discussion held on July 29 between party policy chiefs nationwide regarding the House of Councillors manifesto, the requirements for holding the post of party representative in a specific single-seat electoral district and the process of lining up candidates for the next general election. Following that, a vigorous discussion was held regarding the direction of party reform, including the form of organizational structure in the regions and the way in which key policies are determined.
|
