[talk] A Politicians' round-table discussion ―Is it Possible to Create a Government-Led Political Decision-Making System?―

Yasunori Sone: Professor

Born in 1948. He is a Professor of Political Science and Governance at Keio University Graduate School of Media and Governance. His current research focuses on the relationship between the government and market in the policy-making process. Professor Sone's numerous publications include Ketteino Seiji Keizaigaku (The Political Economy of Decision-making), Gendaino Seiji Riron (Theories of Contemporary Political Analysis), and the co-edited volume, Political Dynamics in Contemporary Japan (Cornell University Press). BA, MA from Keio University. Visiting fellowships at Yale University (1974-76), The Australian National University (1983-4), The University of Essex (1984), and Harvard University (1998-99).

Ichita Yamamoto: Member, House of Councilors

He was born in 1958, graduated from the Law Department of Chuo University and received his master's degree in international relations from Georgetown University. After leaving the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), he has been a member of the House of Councilors since 1995. He was the Liberal Democratic Party's Deputy Secretary-General in the House of Councilors and the Director of the Public Speeches Division before he was assigned as the Parliamentary Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs in the second Obuchi Cabinet in 1999. His current positions in the LDP include member of the National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Councilors, Director of Research Commission on International Affairs, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Division and Deputy Director of Youth Division.

Takumi Nemoto: Member, House of Representatives

The government-led reform and emergency measures plan released on March 13 by the National Vision Project Headquarters is designed to build a Cabinet led, political decision-making system to enforce the leadership of the Prime Minister and his functions. One important concrete example is the proposal to change the rule of voting on policies in the Party policy committee from unanimity to majority rule. Mr. Nemoto and Mr. Yamamoto say that it is necessary to integrate the ruling party and the government, and develop rules that will help policies flow from the party to the government, especially the elimination of prior review. On the other hand, Prof. Sone suggests a "parallel review" system in which there would be a simultaneous review by the ruling party and the government.

The government-led reform and emergency measures plan released on March 13 by the National Vision Project Headquarters is designed to build a Cabinet led, political decision-making system to enforce the leadership of the Prime Minister and his functions. One important concrete example is the proposal to change the rule of voting on policies in the Party policy committee from unanimity to majority rule. Mr. Nemoto and Mr. Yamamoto say that it is necessary to integrate the ruling party and the government, and develop rules that will help policies flow from the party to the government, especially the elimination of prior review. On the other hand, Prof. Sone suggests a "parallel review" system in which there would be a simultaneous review by the ruling party and the government.

The discussions on how the government should act to lead decision-making reform led to a discussion of the scandals involving House of Representatives member Mr. Muneo Suzuki. It is suspected that he shifted national contributions to African and Russian ODA to his own funds, gave ODA-related preferential treatment to some construction companies that maintain special relations with him, and that he exerted inappropriate pressure on bureaucrats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There is a view that Mr. Suzuki is a typical example of the "petitioner type politician," referring to old style politicians who pressure public officials in the narrow interests of the voters of his or her electoral district. At the same time, it can be thought that this is only a part of a structural problem involving a reciprocal dependent relationship between the bureaucracy and the private sector that has continued since the war. There are bureaucrats who have to repay politicians for passing bills on the one side, and there are assemblymen who cannot make policy without bureaucrats' assistance on the other. We cannot expect to radically reform the behavior of politicians without changing this situation. Politicians must be completely independent of bureaucrats. We must immediately create a system in which politicians have real authority to decide policy and bear responsibility for those decisions and the role of bureaucrats is limited to submitting policy options to lawmakers.

The situation of assemblyman Mr. Koichi Kato, in which Mr. Kato's secretary illegally created political funds through tax evasion, highlighted the old system that requires huge amounts of money to run for a general election. But the exposure of this problem may also be a sign that the awareness of the electorate has changed, and that politicians will not be able to buy their voters' approval. The Prime Minister must clearly indicate his intention that the government will prosecute the cases of Mr. Suzuki and Mr. Kato to show that it is committed to political reform and ending the old ways.