Ozawa talks big, but can he deliver?
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan under Ichiro Ozawa needs to present the public with clear and feasible policies that could offer a viable alternative for Japanese politics.
An easy metric for weighing the pros and cons of policies is to look at them when linked to financial resources available to enforce them. If it is not clear where the money for election pledges will come from, then these pledges cannot be seriously considered as viable alternatives.
Ozawa's reelection to a third term as party president was formally endorsed at the party's convention on Sunday.
In his acceptance speech, Ozawa said the next House of Representatives election would be the "deciding battle" and stressed he would stake his political career to bring about a change of government. He retained all the party's current executives, including Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama, a sign Ozawa is setting the stage early for the next general election.
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A question of funding
In his speech, Ozawa presented three timelines for implementing different policies under a DPJ administration: one for policies concerning the fiscal 2009 budget; one for policies to be put in place within two years; and one for policies to be put in place within four years. Financing these policies, which would come to about 22 trillion yen, would be secured by boldly changing the general and special account budgetary systems. (227 words)
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