"Former Secretary-General Koichi Kato is the conscience of the
Liberal Democratic Party," I overheard someone say recently.
Lately, former LDP Secretary-General Koichi Kato has been making some
insightful remarks. On the lecture circuit around the country, I've
started to hear comments from LDP supporters like "the party won't
revitalize itself unless Kato becomes president and prime minister"
and "Koichi Kato is the LDP's conscience."
Koichi Kato attended a party for LDP members of the House of
Representatives in Tokushima on Feb. 10 and offered some candid
advice on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plans to focus on
constitutional revisions in the House of Councillors election. "If
the party is afraid to discuss lifestyle issues, and it focuses on
themes like constitutional revision or the right to collective self-
defense, it is going to lose badly," he said. "But if it talks in a
dignified manner about the wealth gap controversy and education
problems, the party will see its way to victory."
Kato's primary point is that if the LDP focuses on constitutional
revision or the right to collective self-defense, it is going to lose.
The country is becoming more interested in lifestyle issues. A large
majority of citizens have had their livelihoods negatively affected
as the wealth gap continues to grow. It seems that Prime Minister
Abe's stance is to run away from this problem and wrap himself in
empty theorizing about constitutional revisions.
END
Shouldn't the LDP entrust Kato with the job of rebuilding the party?
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the leaders of the LDP-Komeito
coalition ought to listen to the former secretary-general's candid
advice.
Kato sharply criticized the Abe administration on February 10 in
Tokushima, and the mass media picked up on the story.
The following morning, the Tokyo Shimbun, a large metro newspaper,
ran a headline that said: "Kato Says LDP Bound to Lose if It Runs on
Constitutional Revision in Upper House Vote; Party Needs to Address
Wealth Gap." The article then went on to say:
Kato went on to say that the prime minister's "rechallenge society,"
which aims to give people a second chance at finding jobs, is at odds
with his other catchphrase, "A beautiful nation."
"Japan's beauty comes out when it stresses sympathy and supports its
local communities," Kato said, adding that he sees an inherent
contradiction between "rechallenge" and "a beautiful nation."
To tackle the issues of deteriorating living standards and a
widening wealth gap, one would have to criticize the politics of
former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi because it is Koizumi's
politics that are at the roots of the various social ills Japan
faces. But Prime Minister Abe ? a man who became prime minister by
swearing that he would carry the Koizumi torch ? may not have the
guts to criticize or turn away from his predecessor's policies.
Isn't Prime Minister Abe simply running from this dilemma and
rolling out the unrealistic theme of constitutional revision as a
diversion? The prime minister is like one of those chatterbots
spewing forth meaningless platitudes: "a beautiful nation," "set
sail from the postwar regime," "constitutional revision," educational
reform." Kato's criticism of the "rechallenge" slogan hits the nail
on the head.
The Abe administration has adopted a policy of embracing the
American far-right. If Prime Minister Abe is not up to the task of
changing course, we need to force him out as quickly as possible.
