Watch out for the Loud Chorus Calling for a DPJ-LDP Coalition

DPJ Chief Cabinet Secretary Okada and his ilk abet the cause by making remarks in support of a coalition assuming that Prime Minister Kan
will step down. It's dishonest, hypocritical politics, and it's dangerous. It is not necessary to dance to the media's tune just because they are agitated about a possible coalition.


"If the paper boat doesn't sink today, it will sink tomorrow." — Indian proverb

A grand coalition, or a politics that doesn't lean one way or the other, is not something we should pursue. Parties should pursue cooperation with opposition parties in the Diet. A grand coalition means that one party (the governing party) and a second party (the main opposition) lean against each other, creating a system where no one takes responsibility. When one party holds political power, the second needs to use the Diet to bear witness, criticize and point out the ruling party's faults.

When a governing party finds it necessary to take on a coalition partner, it should unite with a smaller opposition party. A grand coalition blurs the responsibilities of the government and the governing party. It also absolves the leading opposition, the Liberal Democratic Party, of any responsibility because a vote for the LDP would simply return political power to the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.

To revive the country in the wake of the East Japan disaster, political cooperation should occur in the Diet. A grand coalition between the DPJ and the LDP would leave out smaller parties such as New Komeito. That would be a grave mistake. The politicians of the smaller parties such as Komeito work much harder than the average DPJ politician. And they clearly make greater efforts than LDP politicians. These efforts are what hones a politician. The politicians of the smaller parties have honed themselves much more than DPJ and LDP politicians. Compare them on an individual basis, and the politicians of Komeito and other smaller parties have greater capacities. There are some exceptionally capable politicians in New Komeito and the New People's Party. To exclude the capable while fusing together the incapable and arrogant is a very dangerous proposition. What we need to do right now is end the con job of Kan politics. This is our biggest obstacle. Then the DPJ and New People's Party should get behind the idea of making NPP President Shizuka Kamei a candidate for prime minister. This is where we need to start.