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Koizumi's reform agenda on test

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE Nov. 8. The Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, and the leader of the main Opposition Democratic Party of Japan, Naoto Kan, raised competitive politics to a new pitch in Tokyo on the eve of Sunday's national election.

In a sense, the election to the 480-seat House of Representatives has turned into a political referendum on Mr. Koizumi's reform agenda that consists of plans to restructure the ailing economy and cleanse the party systems.

Domestic issues, such as the availability of jobs and public spending as also private sector initiative, dominated the campaign themes. Attention was also turned on the postal services, highways and pensions. While some of these issues impinge on Mr. Koizumi's reform agenda, a counter-point made during the quest for votes was that an economic revival, and not a re-invention of the economy would be the "people's priority''.

External issues were less in evidence as campaign themes, despite a high-profile visit to Tokyo by the U.S. President, George W. Bush, after the poll was notified. Mr. Koizumi did not stake his political prestige on his move to send Japanese troops to Iraq on "non-combat duties'' in aid of the U.S. forces there. Although he had played the prime mover in piloting a legislation in support of his Iraq initiative, Mr. Koizumi did not project it as a campaign theme, if only because he did not want to appear to be placing Japanese soldiers in harm's way, according to regional diplomats and analysts.

However, Mr. Kan reminded the voters on Saturday that the Japanese troops, who could only be armed within the re-interpreted limits of the country's pro-peace Constitution, should be sent to Iraq only on the basis of definitive U.N. norms.

As for the numbers game of this parliamentary poll, Mr. Koizumi campaigned hard to secure an absolute majority for his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which currently shares power with two other outfits in a coalition. He had led the LDP to a clear victory in the upper House elections two years ago, and the party has not so far won an absolute majority in the lower House of Representatives since the introduction of the present electoral system about a decade ago.

Opinion polls have indicated the possibility of an LDP victory on the strength of Mr. Koizumi's rating of 53 per cent as the preferred candidate for prime ministership.

However, the "resistance group'' within his party may get emboldened even if he were to carry the ruling coalition to power but without the LDP itself securing the 233 seats that it got in the 2000 general election under Yoshiro Mori, who was considered quite `unpopular' in the electoral arena.

Mr. Koizumi is leading his party for the first time in an election for the House of Representatives.

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