[talk] No Time Left for Political System Reform

Yasunori Sone: Professor of Policy and Media Studies Department, Keio University Graduate School

Yasunori Sone was born in 1948. He holds a postdoctoral position in the Politics Department, Law Faculty of Keio University Graduate School. He was a visiting researcher of the Center for International Affairs, Harvard University from 1998 to 1999, before assuming his current position. His major published works include Kettei no Seijikeizaigaku (Political Economic Science for Decision Making) and Kono Seiji Kuuhaku No Jidai (In This Age of Political Vacuum) (co-written).

Koichiro Genba: House of Representatives member

Koichiro Gemba was born in 1964. He graduated from the Department of Law in the Law Faculty of Sophia University in 1987. He was a member of the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly before being elected for the first time as a member of the Diet in 1993. After joining the New Party Sakigake, he later became a member of the Democratic Party. He served as Vice Chairman of the Policy Planning and Research Committee, Vice Chairman of the Diet Affairs Committee, and is now a member of the Committee on Public Management in the House of Representatives. He specializes in studies of decentralization and diplomacy.

Yoshimasa Hayashi: House of Representatives member

Yoshimasa Hayashi was born in 1961 and graduated from the Law Faculty of Tokyo University in 1984. After working for Mitsui & Co., Ltd, he completed graduate studies in Harvard University. He was elected as a member of the Diet for the first time in 1995. He Worked for the Mansfield Bill in 1991, during his stay in the capital hill. He is now Secretary General of the Administrative Reform head quarter of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Although there are many political scandals in the news at the moment, the issue involving Muneo Suzuki and the scandals that were revealed after that, including that of Kiyomi Tsujimoto, differ in nature. That is because "while the problem of Muneo Suzuki is related to the essence of the political system, discussion about problems of Kiyomi Tsujimoto and those revealed afterwards has been rather trivialized" (Genba). While the Muneo Suzuki problem has an aspect of being an opportunity to once again study the relation between politicians and bureaucrats or that of lawmaking and administration from its base, the problems discussed afterwards are about breaking the law, namely breaching the law regulating political funds or fraud.
Ethics to which politicians should adhere must be considered separately from that of an individual's sense of ethics, and must be institutionalized based on their inherent functions such as the handling of powers, making laws and deciding national policies. This problem should be discussed individually, and it must be separated from the problem of politicians' policymaking function.

Policymaking and lawmaking are primarily the task of Diet members. However, in Japan, bureaucrats cover these jobs. On the other hand, politicians interfere in areas of budget and law enforcement that should primarily be carried out by administrators from a neutral position. "You call someone that interferes in individual matters in their implementation stage a lobbyist. The biggest problem here is that Diet members are becoming lobbyists" (Hayashi). It's high time for politicians to recover their authority in lawmaking and policymaking.

"Capable politicians should join the Cabinet and prepare cabinet bills using the bureaucrats of Kasumigaseki. In order to do so, politicians must always be thinking about their policies, whether in the ruling or opposing parties" (Sone). Also, "Politicians will join the government as a Minister, Vice Minister b or Ministerial Aid, while also bringing in non-politicians as political appointees. Policymaking must be done under these circumstances" (Genba). Coordination with bureaucrats is certainly needed, but it would be best to generally let them be in charge of employment and implementation of the policy.

Moreover, politicians must prepare a manifesto showing as specifically as possible the policies they will implement when they come to hold the reigns of government. The Koizumi Administration remains at a standstill in the materialization stage because it did not have this kind of manifesto.