October 5, 1999

Kiyoshi SASAMORI
General Secretary
Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO)

The second Obuchi Cabinet starts today, consisting of the three parties, namely the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberty Party and the Komei Party.

The LDP and the Komei has agreed to establish a coalition government, considering that the stability is a prerequisite to the leadership building up the Japan of the 21st century.

Of course, a coalition based on policy agreements is one of forms of the government, when the Diet is split into many different parties. However, it is hard to say that this coalition is not based on any policy agreement as it passed, at the 145th session of the Diet, a lot of important bills owing to its numerical power. It now accounts for 70% in the House of Representatives and a majority in the House of Councilors. We couldn't help feeling that something is wrong with this coalition government.

This coalition government aims only at prolonging the life of the Obuchi government. The LDP first merged the Liberty Party and then the Komei in order to secure the number. The Komei at its augural conference in November 1998 stated that it would fight against the LDP remaining in unchanged position of concession politics. The Komei should now sum up its anti-LDP history.

While this coalition is considered as a step toward a new restructuring process of the politics, it should not be allowed, according to the principle of constitutionalism, to make a start of the Obuchi Cabinet with out the judgment of the general election anymore. We request for the dissolution of the House of representatives at the earliest date.

It should be given the highest priority to overcome the current recession and to secure employment. RENGO is monitoring this coalition cabinet in implementing its policies.

Toward the 146th special session of the Diet, RENGO will continue to struggle for realizing its policy and institution-related demands. They include: 1.4 million job creation to overcome the unemployment problems; the expansion of children-allowance and the increase of defray out of the National Treasury in the basic pension premium to ease the sense of insecurity; the enforcement of measures to promote medium and small enterprises and others.