Liberal and Liberal Democratic Party Coalition 
                                                                                                                                Ichiro Ozawa and Keizo Obuchi shake hands.
 


On November 19, 1998, the Presidents of Japan's Liberal and Liberal Democratic Parties, Ichiro Ozawa and Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi respectively, put their names to an agreement which sets out a power-sharing arrangement between the two parties.   The coalition was designed to give the parties a stronger hand in Parliament in order to pass promised economic stimulus measures.   In the words of the Liberal Party, "Japan is facing an important period domestically and internationally, and so in order to regain the trust of the people of Japan, and build a Japan which is respected by the rest of the world, the two parties will resolutely carry out reform in all areas and issues facing the country, and will make clear the direction Japan should take into the 21st Century."  In an attempt to prove its commitment to goverment streamlining, two cabinet posts were elimated from the start, decreasing the members from 20 to 18.  The agreement, and the policy direction which they agree to, can be found here.

On October 4, 1999, the coalition was expanded to include the Komeito/Reform Club, represented by Takenori Kanzaki.  The statement signed by the leaders covers areas of the economy, social security, national security, political and administrative reform, and education and the environment.

Due to health problems Obuchi was forced to step down in April, 2000 (on May 14, 2000 Obuchi passed away).  On April 3, 2000, the end of the three-party coalition was marked by the en masse resignation of the Obuchi cabinet and the introduction of the Mori cabinet.  Seen from the perspective of the Liberal Party, "the Mori cabinet is nothing but a collusive arrangement which has neither the will nor the ability to solve important national issues, such as tax and social security, national security, deregulation, and decentralisation."  In a meeting held a few days previous to the resignations, Mr. Ozawa expressed his dissatisfaction with the progress of the coalition, stating that "most of the important policies in the three party agreement have not been realised. Given this situation, it would be impossible to respond to criticism that the coalition government is nothing more than an arrangement based on numbers. A policy agreement between coalition partners is also an agreement with the people, and so if it is not carried out, it is equivalent to their betrayal."  The coalition government will therefore continue "with courage" through the current session of the Diet, the highest organ of state power and the country's sole law-making body.


tyman@ldc.upenn.edu
July 17, 2000