Kan vows to exert strong leadership to revive Japan+

TOKYO, June 11 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Friday pledged to exert strong leadership
both at home and abroad to revitalize Japan, with his approach to be founded on
''realism'' and the sovereignty of the people.
In his first policy address to parliament as prime minister, Kan emphasized
that his participation in politics began at a grass-roots level, unlike many of
his predecessors who were hereditary politicians.
He said his ultimate goal is turning Japan into a country that will
''genuinely'' be governed by the wider public, not just a handful of
bureaucrats in Tokyo.
Kan, who took office on Tuesday, said ''a lack of political leadership'' is the
biggest cause of Japan's nearly 20 years of stagnation, and called on the
public to place great trust in him, as such leadership can only be exercised
with support from the public.
He said his Cabinet has three major goals -- a full-scale cleanup of the
postwar government, comprehensive reconstruction of the economy, finances and
social welfare, and formulation of responsible diplomatic and security
policies.
Vowing to ''never turn back the clock,'' Kan said his government would press
ahead with ongoing reforms made possible by the landslide election victory last
year of his Democratic Party of Japan.
The 63-year-old premier said Japan must rebuild its economy, finances and
social welfare system all together by pursuing what he calls a ''third way.''
To keep up with drastic socioeconomic changes, he said Japan should break from
out-of-date policies of either relying on public works projects or excessive
market fundamentalism as a means of accelerating economic growth.
He said Japan will instead be able to promote growth and create more jobs by
taking advantage of the need to solve social problems, such as those related to
environmental protection and the aging of the population.
Kan warned that Japan's finances will not be sustainable if it continues to
generate revenues by relying heavily on government bond issuances.
''Our country has a huge outstanding debt and it is not a problem that can be
solved in a short time,'' he said. ''That's why we now have to undertake a
drastic overhaul for achieving fiscal soundness.''
To that end, Kan said his government will first thoroughly eliminate the
wasteful use of taxpayers' money while implementing a set of appropriate steps
to boost growth.
Kan also said Japan cannot escape from reforming its tax system, although he
did not go into detail, such as mentioning when the government may plan to
raise the consumption tax rate from the current level of 5 percent.
The premier, however, proposed the establishment of a special committee of both
ruling and opposition parties to discuss ways to rebuild the country's troubled
finances.
He said Japan cannot fail to rein in the swelling national debt and this
pressing task requires national debate, regardless of political parties.
In an apparent bid to contrast himself from his predecessor, Yukio Hatoyama,
Kan said his diplomatic and security polices will not be based on any
''ideology, but realism.''
Kan said Japan will deepen its long-standing alliance with the United States,
as he believes it contributes to the stability and prosperity of the
Asia-Pacific region.
He said the alliance is the international community's ''common property.''
At the same time, he said Japan will continue to enhance its ties with the rest
of the world, especially with its Asian neighbors.
On the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa
Prefecture, Kan reiterated that he will honor the agreement reached late last
month with Washington.
But Kan said he will also try to reduce the burden shouldered by the prefecture
in hosting the air base and the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan under a bilateral
security accord.
Kan said he will visit the prefecture on June 23 to attend a ceremony to mark
the 65th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, in which more than
200,000 were killed during the closing stages of World War II.
By attending the ceremony, Kan said he will think more about Okinawa's tragic
past and heighten his sense of gratitude for it to having taken on a ''very
heavy burden'' for many years.
==Kyodo
2010-06-11 23:05:16