THE PRESS TUESDAY, JULY 25, 1989. A big change for Japan

Press, 25 July 1989, Page 12

THE PRESS TUESDAY, JULY 25, 1989. A big change for Japan

The loss of power by the Liberal Democratic Party in the Upper House, in Japan was predicted often enough in the run-up to the election. The predicted result may lack surprise; it nevertheless amounts to a significant moment. The defeat is the first since the Liberal Democratic Party was formed from the old Liberal Party and the Japan Democratic Party in 1955 and it indicates problems for the party in the more important election for the Lower House of the Diet, probably next year. In the meantime, the defeat has led to the resignation of the Prime Minister, Mr Uno. This may compound problems for the L.D.P. because, after Mr Takeshita resigned as Prime Minister, the party had grave difficulties in finding a suitable leader untouched by the Recruit share scandal. The loss of Mr Uno will revive those difficulties. A host of reasons have been advanced for the defeat of the L.D.P. in the election, which was for half: the seats in the House of Councillors. The Recruit scandal, in which a firm made shares available to politicians before the public float, thus enabling the politicians to make very substantial capital gains on the price of the shares, is one of the chief reasons given. The result from the ballot boxes seems to support that view. Liberal Democratic Party candidates lost in all electorates in which the member of the Diet had been tainted by the Recruit scandal. Mr Uno was also adversely affected by the allegations of a geisha that he had paid for her sexual favours. Japanese women, indignant over the behaviour of the Prime Minister, were further outraged when a Japanese Cabinet Minister said that women were not meant to be politicians and that Ms Takako Doi, the chairwoman of the Japan Socialist Party, would not make a good Prime Minister because she had never married nor had children.

The L.D.P. had also offended voters in more traditional ways. It introduced a consumption tax which, at the modest rate of 3 per cent, might make it seem desirable to New Zealanders paying 12.5 per cent under GST. However, Japanese voters have disliked the tax and it might be a casualty of the election. Japanese farmers have been enraged by the freeing of import restrictions on agricultural produce. Japan has been under severe pressure internationally to ease restrictions on imports of agricultural goods and the L.D.P. knew that it was taking political risks in opening its markets. Nevertheless, it moved to take account of some of the criticism and has paid a price.

It would be a mistake, however, to point to isolated factors to account for the loss of control of the House of Councillors. What is happening in Japan has a more profound import. Although the Recruit scandal seemed to fall into the category of a dozen money scandals involving politicians in Japan, it assumed far greater significance than did others in the public mind. A revolt began against the money-politics of Japan; that is, the system under which politicians are expected to be able to pay for gifts for special occasions for their supporters and under which the leaders of political factions are the providers of huge amounts of money to their faction members. This is the accepted way of practising politics for the L.D.P. and the L.D.P. has shown no real intention of ceasing to play politics that way. For some reason, however, the Recruit scandal seems to have aroused more public feeling than previous scandals. The geisha’s allegations have clearly hit a raw nerve among Japanese women. The House of Councillors election was marked by a high participation rate by women, both as candidates and as voters. The L.D.P. and the Japan Socialist Party sought to give prominence to women candidates. This has been at the expense, in the case of the L.D.P., of giving great weight to the preferences of big business, religious organisations, and the bureaucracy. In the Japan Socialist Party it was at the expense of giving weight to the trade union movement.

Clearly what is happening in Japan is a challenge to traditional political and social values and practices. A revolt against continued support of the L.D.P. is part of that challenge. Although the Japan Socialist Party and Labour-backed candidates made strong gains, there is little evidence that this was more than a protest vote. During the Recruit scandal investigations, the L.D.P. showed little appreciation of the difficulties it was in. Because of the geisha’s allegations against Mr Uno, it seems likely that Japanese women will demand a change in attitude towards their position in the society. In the past, the L.D.P. has tried to adapt to accommodate changing attitudes. This time it may have left change too late. A minor revolution in attitudes seems to be under way in Japan, leaving the L.D.P. behind. Mr Uno’s resignation is a traditional gesture to draw the blame on to himself and away from the party; but almost certainly that will be too little and too late to save the party from upheavals and perhaps its overthrow.