Money politics in Japan

Press, 8 June 1989, Page 16

Money politics in Japan

Japan’s Recruit scandal has had a dramatic effect on politicians and parties but seems to have left the system of money in politics untouched. The final report of the Recruit inquiry prosecutor did not bring to light much new information and did not mention either the present Prime Minister, Mr Takeshita, or his predecessor, Mr Nakasone. The prosecutor was courageous, and had evidence been available to name and possibly prosecute these two men then he would have done so. As it is, Mr Takeshita has resigned from the Prime Ministership and Mr Nakasone from the Liberal Democratic Party. In this they are following Japanese custom — admitting shame rather than guilt and trying to divert the blame on to themselves and away from the party. But the scandal has caught the public imagination, and is generating intense interest. So whether the resignations of these two, as well as the resignations of three others and a number of indictments, will satisfy the public demand to clear up the mess remains to be seen. Recruit . is * a publishing and telecommunications firm that made shares available to politicians before the company went public. When it did so the politicians realised big profits. The question of whether this amounted to a bribe has hung over the inquiry. For a long time the L.D.P. seemed not to grasp the public interest in the affair. This may have been because large donations from firms to L.D.P. coffers is part of normal political business in Japan. In the case of Recruit, however, the firm was open, some say clumsily so, about its political donations. In effect, apart from the arrest of a few, the resignations and the indictments of some who were considered minor players, not a great deal has changed. Aides have taken responsibility in gestures that accord with custom. Ritual rather than reform has won the day. One of the people who saw most clearly how the mess could be cleaned up was Mr Ito, who was pressed to become Prime Minister. He refused on two grounds; his health and his differences with colleagues about how to reform Japan’s political system. Just how radical Mr Ito’s reforms would have been is hard to say. Japanese politics relies

heavily on politicians belonging to factions. The leaders of the different factions within the L.D.P. provide their members with the vast amounts of money needed to stay in politics. Politicians are expected to buy handsome gifts for voters in their electorates on special occasions, including weddings. The annual income of all political parties in Japan in 1975 was 69.3 billion yen; in 1987 it was 1444.2 billion yen; in the last election year, 1986, it was 167.6 million yen. The difficulty is in knowing whether this can be changed without changing the multiseat voting system. Japanese voters do not select, as New Zealand voters select, one candidate for one electorate, but a number of candidates for a single electorate seat in the Lower House. This has the effect of having several L.D.P. candidates running against each other as well as against the Opposition parties. The individual candidates within the L.D.P. have to rely on factional support. In the absence of great policy differences, the emphasis shifts to deciding what the candidates can do personally for the voter; and because money is so important, corporate donors may find it easier to buy favours. Taking bribes is illegal, but there are too many grey areas in Japanese politics. The multi-seat electorates were introduced to prevent a strong labour movement uniting behind a single Marxist-oriented party. There is, however, reasonable evidence to suggest that money politics has become institutionalised. Nothing in the Recruit scandal is likely to affect New Zealand’s relationship with Japan in the short term. New Zealand’s trade with that country has been affected adversely in the past because of the strong links between the L.D.P. and Japan’s farmers, ensuring that there are barriers of various kinds to New Zealand’s agricultural exports. Some Japanese farmers are becoming disenchanted with the L.D.P. not because of the Recruit scandal, but because of the handling of the rice market and because of the 3 per cent consumption tax recently imposed. If the strong links between the farmers and the L.D.P. were broken, then New Zealand’s sales to Japan might improve. For the moment, however, it seems to be political business as usual in Japan.