In Japan, opposition party hopes to forge two-party system(Nix on Troops)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/55866/1/.html

TOKYO, : Japan's main opposition party is campaigning for power in a general election Sunday but its more realistic goal, analysts say, is to establish itself as a viable alternative, forging a two-party political system.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has ruled Japan for all but 11 months since its formation in 1955 and most polls and commentators expect it to maintain its grip on power.
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The party also said it would not send Japanese troops to Iraq to help with that country's reconstruction following a war most Japanese opposed. It would also seek to abolish the law passed authorising their dispatch, which the LDP is planning to announce if it wins the election.
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Bush really IS spreading our form of Democracy... Even though it's not having quite the effect he wanted.

[dArKeR]

1. Japan inches toward a two-party system

"Manifesto" is the buzzword of Japan's political season. Each party must have one. Newspaper headlines squeeze it in.

Policies and ideas, the lofty sounding foreign word implies, will now determine the outcome of elections, instead of pork-barrel politics.

But in this corner of rural Japan, where public works and the heavily protected konnyaku yam are the main motors of the economy, the manifesto is as alien a concept as its promise of political transformation.

"The word manifesto has already been used around here for a long time," said Toru Ikehara, 70, the president of a construction company bearing his name and that of a construction association. He took a form out of a drawer. "Here," he said, "this is the manifesto for construction scrap disposal. You pull down a house, state in detail what waste went where, so as to take responsibility for the disposal."

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2003/11/06/2003074786

Then Japan will be ready for another Fascist Government modeled after the Bush Crime Family

[Art_from_Ark]

2. A few more things would have to be done before Japan is ready for

another fascist government:

Reinstall a state religion:
No one in this country (Japan) really gives a whack about religion, and too many people still remember what happened the last time there was a state religion.

Raise the leader to the status of a deity, or at least "chosen by God":
Fat chance for that, especially after what happened when the Emperor told everyone that he wasn't a god after all. And no one is going to believe that Koizumi even comes close to sainthood.

Control the media:
Fortunately, the Asahi News Network helps to balance its major national rival from the other side, the Yomiuri News Network. Asahi has shown some political stuff on TV that you would never be able to see in the US, like a program that depicted Tony Blair as Bush's pooch. And then there is also NHK, Japan's public broadcasting service which is funded by license fees and is fairly independent. And there is no hate radio to speak of!

Dumb down public education:
They ARE working on that. But overall, the Japanese school system is still much more demanding than the average American school district. And more people go on to college here than in the US, and the vast majority of Japanese respecet a high level of education.

Screw up the economy:
That is a matter of concern. Naoto Kan, the leader of the main opposition party, has said he wants to raise the consumption (sales) tax to double digits, from its current 5%! Apparently, he has forgotten how implementing the tax helped trigger a major recession (in 1989), and raising it from 3% to 5% in 1997 killed the recovery that was starting at that time. For his part, Koizumi has pledged to keep the tax where it is. However, Koizumi's so-called "economic revolution" seems to have died before it even started.

Get people waving the flag and singing God Bless Japan:
There's not a whole lot of flag-waving in this country, and not too many people even pay attention when members of the imperial family come to town. And the Cult of the Military was crushed in 1945.