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Urgent
Appeal Regarding the Coming General Election
(September 29, 2003)
Congressional Forum for New Japan (21 Seiki Rincho) |
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| The
Congressional Forum for New Japan held its second general
assembly and announced an Urgent Appeal. |
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The Congressional
Forum for New Japan held its second general assembly on September
29, where it adopted and announced the urgent appeal given
below. The Forum’s four Co-representatives and four Vice-representatives,
as well as 110 influential members attended the general assembly.
They unanimously passed a resolution calling for all political
parties to present “manifestos” to the public in
the coming general election and to take that as a historically
significant starting point of government by party politics. |
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Four Diet members
also participated in the general assembly as representatives
of the ruling and opposition parties. They expressed their
resolve to formulate “manifestos” and to realize
the revision of the electoral law so that they can be distributed
to the public. |
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Even if each party
formulates a “manifesto,” Japan’s election
system as it stands prohibits their distribution to the public
during the campaigning period. Subsequently, the Diet is expected
to enact a bill to revise the electoral law in accordance
with the proposal presented by the Congressional Forum for
New Japan on October 10, in effect marking the beginning of
the first manifesto-based general election in Japan. |
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Also at this general
assembly, Mr. Agehara, National President of the Japan Junior
Chamber, announced the Chamber’s plans to hold over a
hundred debate meetings on “manifestos” throughout
Japan in the coming weeks in an effort to change the mindsets
of politicians and the electorate. |
| Urgent
appeal addressed to all political parties |
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| I.
Appeals for responsible administration policy pledges (manifestos) |
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| 1. |
All political
parties aiming to take the reins of government should present
a policy package containing goals to be achieved during their
four-year term in office in the form of an administration
policy pledge (manifesto) as a contract with the public. |
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| 2. |
In doing so, political
parties should, as much as possible, incorporate into their
“manifestos” (1) specific targets (numerical targets,
timetables, financial means, etc.) so that the public can
judge and evaluate, and (2) the implementation framework and
the means for achieving targets, and a working schedule. |
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| 3. |
The Liberal Democratic
Party, in particular, should promptly commence activities
under the central leadership of Prime Minister Koizumi who
was newly re-elected as LDP president, to formulate and present
a “manifesto” to the public. In order to make their
“manifesto” a responsibility of LDP itself, policies
and presidential election pledges upheld by Prime Minister
Koizumi should form its foundation. |
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| 4. |
Ruling political
parties have an obligation to present to the public administration
policy pledges based on the past performance of the Cabinet.
In the case of the LDP, it should include a performance evaluation
of policies pursued by the Cabinet in its “manifesto,”
and seek public judgment of them. |
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| 5. |
In presenting
party “manifestos” to the public, political parties
should require all official candidates to have full comprehension
of the contents of their “manifesto,” and have them
pledge themselves to assuming a collective responsibility
in actualizing them. Political parties should not acknowledge
as official candidates those members of their party who cannot
take on the collective responsibility for the “manifesto.” |
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II. Appeals for realizing an election in which the public
has the chance to choose a political party |
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| 1. |
Political parties
aiming to achieve power should present a prime minister candidate
and a “manifesto” as a set, so that the general
election can serve as an opportunity for the public to positively
select the next party with power. Parties that cannot field
enough candidates to gain the majority alone should set forth
a governmental framework in advance – i.e., a coalition
with other political parties. |
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| 2. |
To ensure that
public participation in the selection of government is a meaningful
process for democracy, political parties should hold open
debates on manifestos at every opportunity. Especially in
the case of the LDP and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),
who are closest for the power, their respective prime minister
candidate should engage in an one-on-one “manifesto debate”
sometime between the dissolution of the Lower House and election
day. |
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| 3. |
During the current
extraordinary session, the Diet must pass a bill to revise
the Public Offices Election Law, so that the distribution
of pamphlets containing administration policy pledges (manifestos)
during the campaigning period is made legal. |
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