ID :
73301
Sat, 08/01/2009 - 18:27
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/73301
The shortlink copeid
LDP aims for steady economic growth, hints at sales tax hike
TOKYO, July 31 Kyodo -
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party unveiled its campaign platform Friday,
vowing to achieve steady economic growth while suggesting it will hike the
sales tax to finance its pledges, as it prepares to face off against the main
opposition Democratic Party of Japan in the Aug. 30 general election.
Now that both parties have presented their manifestos, Prime Minister Taro Aso,
who doubles as LDP president, and Yukio Hatoyama, president of the DPJ which is
seeking to strip the LDP of its decades-long power, are set to begin a
full-fledged battle in the run-up to the election.
''We are still halfway'' in achieving what the LDP has promised, Aso said at a
press conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo, asking people to let the
LDP remain in power for another four-year term.
The LDP's manifesto says the party aims to achieve annual growth of 2 percent
in the latter half of fiscal 2010 and boost the nation's per capita income to
the highest level in the world in 10 years' time, while it also says it will
carry out a tax system overhaul including an increase in the 5 percent
consumption tax once the economy recovers.
By showing how it will pay for its plans, the embattled LDP apparently aims to
emphasize that it is more responsible than the DPJ, which is against raising
the consumption tax and has failed to spell out in its own platform how it
intends to bankroll its policies.
''Taro Aso and my Liberal Democratic Party will take responsibility for
Japan,'' Aso said.
But Hiroyuki Sonoda, acting chairman of the LDP's Policy Research Council,
hinted at the same press conference that the party would issue deficit-covering
bonds to pay for its economic steps.
The ruling coalition of the LDP and the New Komeito party has already floated a
hefty amount of bonds to finance a series of economic stimulus measures that it
has implemented since late last year.
More bond issuances could raise public eyebrows for what Aso calls
''responsibility,'' analysts say.
Dogged by internal rifts and Aso's lack of leadership, the LDP, which has ruled
Japan almost uninterruptedly since 1955, is already in danger of suffering a
historic defeat in the upcoming election.
DPJ President Hatoyama, who could become Japan's next prime minister if the
party wins, denounced that a manifest should comprise promises for the next
four years, not 10 years.
''It is not a manifesto,'' the opposition leader said.
He also criticized that the LDP's financial policy remains unclear, saying, ''I
can only assume that the party will move to borrow or raise the sales tax, when
it runs out of funds.''
In the area of child care and education, the LDP vows to waive educational fees
for children aged three to five in three years' time, whereas the DPJ is
offering to pay 26,000 yen per child per month to households and scrap tuition
fees for public high schools.
Aso referred to the DPJ's pledges as ''extraordinary pork-barrel policies'' and
''a complete pipe dream,'' saying that the DPJ's claim to secure funds by
cutting waste sounds like the party can make as much as several trillion yen by
merely modifying the expenditures.
One of the issues on which the two parties take very different positions is
that of national security.
The LDP is looking to continue the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling
mission in the Indian Ocean in support of the U.S.-led fight against terrorism.
The DPJ, which has blocked bills to extend the mission in parliament, says it
will pull the navy out of the region and seek alternative ways to maintain
Japan's alliance with the United States.
But the party dropped any reference to its opposition in its manifesto. It has
apparently adopted a more pragmatic foreign policy with an eye to taking power
in the election and maintaining friendly ties with Tokyo's closest ally, the
United States.
Pointing to the DPJ's inconsistencies, Aso said, ''I don't think we can leave
Japan's safety in the hands of a political party whose position on the issue of
national security is equivocal.''
Concerning the Constitution, the LDP suggests the current Constitution be
amended soon, while the DPJ says only that it should be revised if necessary.
But the two parties also have many things in common, both pledging to prohibit
the inheritance of Diet seats from close family members and to ban bureaucrats
from landing jobs related to the sectors they formerly supervised after
retirement.
Both also propose that the number of Diet members be slashed, with the LDP
aiming to cut the overall number by 30 percent or more from the current 722
seats and the DPJ seeking to reduce the number of lower house seats elected
under the proportional representation system by 80 from the current 180.
The LDP appears to have imitated the ideas presented by the DPJ, which has
pushed ahead with drastic administrative and political reforms.
Aso is set to go on a stumping tour this weekend, with Niigata Prefecture
selected as the destination for his first street speech outside Tokyo.
==Kyodo
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party unveiled its campaign platform Friday,
vowing to achieve steady economic growth while suggesting it will hike the
sales tax to finance its pledges, as it prepares to face off against the main
opposition Democratic Party of Japan in the Aug. 30 general election.
Now that both parties have presented their manifestos, Prime Minister Taro Aso,
who doubles as LDP president, and Yukio Hatoyama, president of the DPJ which is
seeking to strip the LDP of its decades-long power, are set to begin a
full-fledged battle in the run-up to the election.
''We are still halfway'' in achieving what the LDP has promised, Aso said at a
press conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo, asking people to let the
LDP remain in power for another four-year term.
The LDP's manifesto says the party aims to achieve annual growth of 2 percent
in the latter half of fiscal 2010 and boost the nation's per capita income to
the highest level in the world in 10 years' time, while it also says it will
carry out a tax system overhaul including an increase in the 5 percent
consumption tax once the economy recovers.
By showing how it will pay for its plans, the embattled LDP apparently aims to
emphasize that it is more responsible than the DPJ, which is against raising
the consumption tax and has failed to spell out in its own platform how it
intends to bankroll its policies.
''Taro Aso and my Liberal Democratic Party will take responsibility for
Japan,'' Aso said.
But Hiroyuki Sonoda, acting chairman of the LDP's Policy Research Council,
hinted at the same press conference that the party would issue deficit-covering
bonds to pay for its economic steps.
The ruling coalition of the LDP and the New Komeito party has already floated a
hefty amount of bonds to finance a series of economic stimulus measures that it
has implemented since late last year.
More bond issuances could raise public eyebrows for what Aso calls
''responsibility,'' analysts say.
Dogged by internal rifts and Aso's lack of leadership, the LDP, which has ruled
Japan almost uninterruptedly since 1955, is already in danger of suffering a
historic defeat in the upcoming election.
DPJ President Hatoyama, who could become Japan's next prime minister if the
party wins, denounced that a manifest should comprise promises for the next
four years, not 10 years.
''It is not a manifesto,'' the opposition leader said.
He also criticized that the LDP's financial policy remains unclear, saying, ''I
can only assume that the party will move to borrow or raise the sales tax, when
it runs out of funds.''
In the area of child care and education, the LDP vows to waive educational fees
for children aged three to five in three years' time, whereas the DPJ is
offering to pay 26,000 yen per child per month to households and scrap tuition
fees for public high schools.
Aso referred to the DPJ's pledges as ''extraordinary pork-barrel policies'' and
''a complete pipe dream,'' saying that the DPJ's claim to secure funds by
cutting waste sounds like the party can make as much as several trillion yen by
merely modifying the expenditures.
One of the issues on which the two parties take very different positions is
that of national security.
The LDP is looking to continue the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling
mission in the Indian Ocean in support of the U.S.-led fight against terrorism.
The DPJ, which has blocked bills to extend the mission in parliament, says it
will pull the navy out of the region and seek alternative ways to maintain
Japan's alliance with the United States.
But the party dropped any reference to its opposition in its manifesto. It has
apparently adopted a more pragmatic foreign policy with an eye to taking power
in the election and maintaining friendly ties with Tokyo's closest ally, the
United States.
Pointing to the DPJ's inconsistencies, Aso said, ''I don't think we can leave
Japan's safety in the hands of a political party whose position on the issue of
national security is equivocal.''
Concerning the Constitution, the LDP suggests the current Constitution be
amended soon, while the DPJ says only that it should be revised if necessary.
But the two parties also have many things in common, both pledging to prohibit
the inheritance of Diet seats from close family members and to ban bureaucrats
from landing jobs related to the sectors they formerly supervised after
retirement.
Both also propose that the number of Diet members be slashed, with the LDP
aiming to cut the overall number by 30 percent or more from the current 722
seats and the DPJ seeking to reduce the number of lower house seats elected
under the proportional representation system by 80 from the current 180.
The LDP appears to have imitated the ideas presented by the DPJ, which has
pushed ahead with drastic administrative and political reforms.
Aso is set to go on a stumping tour this weekend, with Niigata Prefecture
selected as the destination for his first street speech outside Tokyo.
==Kyodo
