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Noda’s Appointment Sparks Questions

JapanNikita Nagras, International School of the Sacred Heart
December 15, 2011

NEWS

TOKYO, JAPAN--The election of a new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in late August has left citizens questioning the stability and priorities of the government.
The lack of stability in the nation’s previous leadership has diminished Japanese people’s hopes of rebuilding the economy and restoring the devastated nation after the March 11 disasters. “A government should offer hope to its nation,” says Kyoko Arai, the head of the International School of the Sacred Heart Japanese Department. “And unfortunately, Japanese people don’t have much hope for a better future at the moment, given the recent events.”
The first priority for most people mind is the recovery from the Tohoku disaster. “But it is hard, considering the new government is inexperienced in handling such a big disaster,” says Mrs. Arai. “Local mayors are handling the restoration excellently, but the same can't be said for the central government.”
In terms of the Japanese economy, economist Mary Saso believes that the government should spend more on infrastructural improvements and on the welfare of the aging population. “A good civilization is supported by government spending,” she says. “The government also needs to move forward on increasing taxes.” Ms. Saso's views seem to match the opinions of Naoto Kan, the previous Prime Minister. The Japanese society's apprehension about increasing taxes may have something to do with their distrust of government spending. According to Ayuko Tomita, an ISSH Japanese teacher, the Liberal Democratic Party had been greedier than the Democratic Party of Japan. “And many of the older politicians still remain in our new government,” she says. “They continue to use tax revenues for themselves.”
Mrs. Arai believes that the current government is preoccupied with the 2013 elections. “The DPJ gets anxious when approval ratings for the Prime Minister go slightly down, or when the public expresses lack of support for a new proposal.” Prime Ministers in Japan not only maintain foreign relations and internal infrastructure; they also have to keep polished images. “The DPJ has only recently been elected,” says Mrs. Arai. “They don’t have as much experience or knowledge as the LDP did, who were in power for over fifty years. Adding to that, they are now faced with a huge disaster they have to fix.”
Given the disappointment Hatoyama and Kan left in their wakes, Noda has to mitigate the distrust for the central government. Even though the polls indicate an approval rating of 63%, Hatoyama and Kan had started with higher approval ratings. However, Mrs. Arai considers this an advantage for Noda: “He wasn’t in the political scene as much as the other two, so people don’t expect too much from him.” Ms. Tomita agrees that having Noda as Prime Minister is an improvement. “He’s humble, considerate, and doesn’t make false promises,” she says. Many believe that today’s Japanese politicians don’t act on their promises. “They say beautiful words,” says Ms. Tomita. “But their actions are lacking.”
Not everyone agrees that Noda will serve full-term. “It’s just not that likely, given the history with Prime Ministers,” says Reona Kimura, a junior at ISSH.
Ironically, many people think that the DPJ’s constant changing of Prime Ministers to maintain the party’s image lowers chances of actually keeping one. “It looks bad for Japan when a Prime Minister can’t stay even for half a year,” says Atsumi Kimura, another junior.
The shifting government may have to battle its disunity before battling any other pressing issue. “The DPJ has good intentions, but there are too many different views within the party,” says Mrs. Arai. “It should develop a strong ideal, and work towards that.”
The indecisiveness of the government has affected the Japanese society’s respect for it. “The title of Prime Minister has lost its meaning and prestige,” says Atsumi. “It seems as if anybody can become Prime Minister now.”
Others hold a more optimistic view. “I feel enthusiasm for our new government,” says Ms. Tomita. “It has its flaws, but it addresses social issues the old government had ignored.”

The photograph shows buildings destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami, which hit the Tohoku region of Japan in March 2011. The image is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license on Flickr, © olcoge.

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Tags: japan, japan2011, earthquake, tsunami

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