|
On July 28, DPJ President Banri Kaieda held his regular press conference at party headquarters.
(1) Earlier on the same day, Speaker of the House of Representatives Bunmei Ibuki held a meeting with the secretaries general and other members of ten ruling and opposition parties. The meeting approved Ibuki’s proposed 15 members of the Study Panel on the Electoral System of the House of Representatives, a third-party body set up to study reforms of the electoral system of the House of Representatives. Kaieda commented, “I support going ahead with the study with these members. In particular, I urge the panel to take bold efforts with a sense of urgency to deal with the issue of reducing Diet seats, as was promised during the November 2012 party leaders’ debate between then-Prime Minister Noda and LDP President Abe.”
(2) With regard to the Okinawa gubernatorial election, Kaieda refuted media reports alleging that the DPJ endorses Naha Mayor Takeshi Onaga, saying, “It’s not time for the DPJ to determine which candidate to endorse or field. Nothing of that sort has been decided.” Regarding the DPJ’s position on the relocation of Futenma Air Station to Henoko, Kaieda indicated that the party still supported the relocation to Henoko. He explained, “The issue of relocating Futenma Air Station in Okinawa to Henoko is a subject of various opinions and was examined extensively; the relocation to Camp Schwab was the agreement that was ultimately reached. A part of a runway will stretch into the coastal area off Henoko. The DPJ will accept this as fact.”
(3) On July 25, the DPJ Revitalization Panel (Chair: Yoichi Funabashi, Chairman, Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation) compiled a report for party reform, recommending that DPJ members and supporters be allowed to cast votes for presidential elections held prior to the expiration of the president’s term of office. Concerning this recommendation, Kaieda noted that the report also recommended the revision of the weight allocated to the votes of DPJ members, supporters, and local assembly members in presidential elections, and that the report sought the introduction of preliminary elections for the presidential election. “On the whole the recommendations include both items that need to be implemented with a sense of urgency, as well as items that require careful deliberation. I hope we can get them done as quickly as possible. However, details like how preliminary elections would be conducted need to be examined going forward,” said Kaieda.
|
