By Yuki Tsukui

The Diet is heated up in debate now. Yasuo Fukuda came into power on September 26th and the Diet is arguing over the piling up of problems. It is worth keeping an eye on how Fukuda recovers trust in politics and in the administration which has to solve urgent issues.

Also, there are Diet affairs caused by the recent elections for the House of Councilors which gave a majority to the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). This is extremely severe for the ruling parties, but it has started a real democratic debate.

There have been some urgent issues which have been left since the Abe Cabinet. For example, if the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces will continue its refueling mission or not. In addition, there's the pension system issue and the misuse of political funds. The new government has taken actions to solve those problems.

First, opinions on the Maritime Self-Defense Force are divided between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Democratic Party of Japan. The administration presented the New Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law to the Diet on October 17th. After that, the DPJ presented the Repeal Plan of Special Measures Law for the reconstruction of Iraq.

When there are Diet deliberations, the DPJ tries to hold out against the House of Representatives, where the LDP has a majority. The LDP asked the DPJ to share their opinions and pass the bill in the Diet. However, the LDP predicts that they will exercise their voting rights and make a decision in the House of Representatives if the House of Councilors rejects it. The DPJ emphasizes the necessity of international peace and cooperative activities, so it is possible to find common ground.

Second, it is becoming clear that the Social Insurance Agency did a sloppy job in managing the national pension system on a daily basis. The Prime Minister stated, "the pension system concerns the entire nation and serves as the foundation for the lives of the elderly," and he put it as one of the top issues to solve.

In addition, on October 19th, the LDP will discuss the bill banning pension premium appropriations. They will examine the issue thoroughly. They disclose problems publicly and take various measures continuously, but they still face harsh public criticism.

As the population ages and fewer babies are born, people hope to establish a stable social security system. The government should give understandable answers to the public through debate in the Diet of how they intend to provide relief to allocate money for pensioners and how they intend to build a reliable system for those who will pay pension premiums from now. The key is whether they can obtain a secure source of revenue or not.

Third, some doctrines, which were made under the former Prime Minister Abe have turned out to be a problem now. For example, the authorization of school textbooks to delete or rewrite passages which claims the Imperial Japanese Army soldiers coerced civilians to commit mass suicide in Okinawa.

During the Diet questioning on October 4th, Fukuda affirmed that it should be taught in school. The governor of Okinawa and Kisaburo Tokai, the minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, had a conference that same day. Three ward assemblies in Tokyo carried a motion without dissent on a petition which they forwarded to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. They asked to have school textbooks written to show that the Japanese Imperial Army forced people in Okinawa into mass suicide.

As mentioned above, the structural reforms of Koizumi and Abe are being criticized now. There are also some difficult problems, such as the widening gap between rich and poor, the impoverishment of local communities, and the policy regarding North Korea. The government needs to cooperate across party lines to solve these problems.

It will be hard for the LDP to tackle problems in this Diet, though they can reflect the will of the people more if they are hammered out through negotiations with the DPJ in the House of Councilors.

The settlement of problems through dialogue, which is the basic principle of democracy, is welcomed from the viewpoint of a renaissance of democracy. Members of Congress who attend seriously in interpellations can be seen in Diet proceedings on TV.

With the Fukuda Cabinet, conservative politics came into power because citizens cannot accept sudden changes in the political weather. The DPJ was chosen as the leading party in the last election of the House of Councilors. It is politicians that are working to solve problems, but it is voters that elect the politicians. Citizens are the power behind politics. Therefore, the important thing to remember is to show an interest in politics, to cast a vote in elections, and to watch politicians' actions.