FOCUS: Koizumi case intensifies criticism of hereditary legislators+

YOKOSUKA, Japan, Aug. 18 Kyodo - Sons and daughters of politicians have occupied a major part of Japan's political landscape for years. But these so-called ''hereditary'' legislators had never come in for particularly harsh criticism until reform-minded Junichiro Koizumi designated his second son to succeed to his constituency last September.

The charismatic former prime minister declared on Sept. 27, 2008, that he would
end his 36-year-long political career and have Shinjiro run in the next House
of Representatives election from his district in Kanagawa Prefecture.
The announcement quickly spurred controversy as it was Koizumi who introduced
more competition to the economy and promised to shake up the old-fashioned
Liberal Democratic Party -- the largest nest of hereditary lawmakers.
Even before that, however, people had started to question the capability of
hereditary politicians, as two former prime ministers -- Yasuo Fukuda and
Shinzo Abe -- consecutively threw in the towel in 2007 and 2008 after about
only one year each in office. Abe quit due in part to health reasons after the
LDP's election defeat, while Fukuda pulled out, citing political stagnation
amid a divided Diet.
The leaders' abrupt resignations gave the public the impression that sons of
politicians are ''gutless,'' said Tomoaki Iwai, professor in politics at Nihon
University.
Seeing a one-time reformist all too readily passing on his constituency to his
son left people ''disappointed'' and thinking, '''You of all people,
Koizumi!''' said Iwai.
Inheriting the electoral district means that Shinjiro can secure, at a stroke,
the backing of Koizumi's supporters' groups, campaign money collected by
Koizumi's fundraising body, as well as the reputation established by his
father.
Critics say that if Diet seats are too heavily dominated by hereditary
candidates, it would undermine social diversity, occupational mobility and
equal opportunity, and that parliament would fail to reflect wider public
opinion.
Sota Kato, a senior research fellow at the Tokyo Foundation, cautions that
legislators who are supposed to hammer out steps to rectify social disparities
have become the ones who contribute to widening these gaps and are hampering
social mobility.
Hereditary politicians account for roughly 40 percent of all LDP Diet members,
although the figure varies depending on how ''hereditary'' is defined. Compared
with most other industrialized nations, however, the percentage of hereditary
legislators in the ruling party is much higher in Japan, according to Kato.
As many as 12 ministers in the 18-member Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso,
including the prime minister himself, have inherited their constituencies from
parents or relatives who were Diet members or have parents who were Diet
members.
If Shinjiro wins a Diet seat on the LDP ticket, which local observers say is
quite likely, the 28-year-old will be a fourth-generation politician.
In an effort to shrug off criticism that he is riding on the elder Koizumi's
coattails, Shinjiro has announced that he will never have his father make a
campaign speech on his behalf and has refused to secure collateral by having
his name added to the LDP's list of candidates for the proportional
representation system.
Under Japan's electoral system, a candidate running on a party ticket can also
appear in a proportional representation list that offers a second chance of
winning even if he or she loses in a single-seat district.
''I would like to show people how strongly committed I am to becoming a
politician,'' Shinjiro said.
The younger Koizuimi avoids talking about the issue of hereditary legislators,
saying that whatever he might say on the matter would be ''subjective,'' and
that in any case it is up to the electorate to decide how to vote.
Shinjiro says that he decided to enter politics because he wanted to change his
hometown for the better and that running from any other constituency was never
an option.
''The reason I decided to run from this district is perfectly natural... As I
have spent all my 28 years here in Yokosuka, I have strong feelings for the
city,'' he said in a stump speech in front of a local station on one day in
August. The No. 11 constituency of the prefecture covers the cities of Yokosuka
and Miura.
Shinjiro's speech is an apparent attack on a 27-year-old parachute candidate --
Katsuhito Yokokume -- who is from Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, and is running on
the ticket of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
But the University of Tokyo-educated lawyer, who is a strong opponent of
Koizumi's structural reforms and hopes to rescue Japan from the consequences of
them if he wins, said he had never thought of running from a constituency other
than his enemy's territory.
''One fiasco in politics could demolish our lives and we are now aware of that
because of the lessons of Koizumi's reforms,'' Yokokume said.
In a bid to differentiate himself from his political blue-blood rival, Yokokume
said, ''I grew up in an ordinary family and have a feeling for ordinary people,
and that's my strength.'' He added that he senses the momentum for a change in
power is growing even in what is often called the ''Kingdom of Koizumi.''
While he was delivering a speech in front of Yokosuka Chuo Station, one
middle-aged woman came up to him and said, ''Don't give up. Down with
Koizumi!''
Local observers say that at first they saw no chance of Yokokume winning, but
he has been doing far better than they expected and has even proven strong
enough to threaten Shinjiro.
Yokokume, who was once on a popular reality TV program called ''Ainori'' (love
ride) in which boys and girls meet in a van and travel the world, and who was
known for his dream of becoming prime minister, has raised his profile by
traveling all over the constituency by bicycle.
His efforts have even won a visit to his office on Aug. 5 from Ichiro Ozawa,
the DPJ's election strategist. The party's former president tends only to visit
candidates who have a good shot at winning.
Yet Hideaki Fujino, an independent Yokosuka city assemblyman, said, ''There is
no tailwind blowing for the DPJ in either Yokosuka or Miura.''
''To clearly indicate disapproval of the Koizumi family could invite social
ostracism,'' he said, warning that not much can be expected from such a
strategy.
Shinjiro is not the only hereditary candidate running in the Aug. 30 election.
Among others is Jun Tsushima, the son of a retired LDP bigwig, Yuji Tsushima.
But he failed to receive the LDP's endorsement when he declared his candidacy
after the party decided to limit the number of such candidates it backs amid
growing public criticism of the practice. He is still running from his father's
constituency in Aomori Prefecture, but as an independent.
Critics attribute the unusually high proportion of hereditary lawmakers on
Japan's political scene to the current single-seat electoral system, in which
the winner can be predicted easily so that the prospective winner obtains more
votes.
As one way to bring more parity to the nation's electoral system, Keio
University Professor Yoshiaki Kobayashi suggests that campaign subsidies, which
are currently provided to political parties, should be distributed to
candidates instead, so as to open doors for more individual candidates and
those from low-income households.
==Kyodo