July 2009 to July 2010 - Religion and Politics in Contemporary Japan - page 179

taxes were pledges that Minshut - had popularised in the 2003 Lower House
election, but as indicated by Yamada in Chapter 2 , they had not then been
perceived as really feasible. Komeito was the only party that pledged in its
2009 manifesto to keep the 1,000-yen toll, as well as the gasoline tax. Min-
shut - and the SDP pledged to abolish the unpopular gasoline tax, and the
LDP did not refer to either issue. Since climate change was now a hot inter-
national topic, I inquired why supporters did not stress what seemed to an
outsider a more honest and courageous point of Komeito s manifesto. They

told me that there was a general impression that environmental issues cost a
lot of money, so it was not an attractive point to stress to potential voters
who may be facing economic di

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culties. The fact that environmental issues
were such a marginal part of the contest between the main parties, the main
pledges of one of which would directly result in an increase in CO 2 emissions,
succinctly demonstrated that this election battle lacked both political leader-
ship and vision for the future, despite promises of historic change. 3 Moreover,
as became apparent less than a year later in the 2010 Upper House election,
the two-party system, while heralded as historic and important in 2009, was
clearly not viable as a system that could represent Japanese voters.

The cleanliness (seiketsu) of the Clean Government Party
Komeito publicised its 2009 manifesto on 13 July (Komei 2009). It divided its
manifesto into four main themes: a clean government, a government that
protects life, a government for education, and revolutionising industry for
sustainable development. The first step to realising clean government entailed

dismissing dishonest lawmakers; then stamping out amakudari; 4 delegating
work within the civil service to eliminate waste; eradicating dishonest accounting
practices by civil servants; and reducing the costs of the administration. The
second point on its agenda was to have a government that protects life, the
ever-returning slogan in Japanese politics, which here referred to re-examining
the medical treatment fee system that had come into existence when Komeito
was in government, but was now heavily criticised; relieving anxiety over
nursing care; and substantiating the pension system. The third point, bringing
in a government that supports the education of young people, referred speci-

fically to making pre-school education free; expanding help for parents with
primary school children; lessening the burden of school fees; and stabilis-
ing and increasing employment for young people. Last, but most distinctly
from other parties, was Komeito

s pledge and emphasis on revolutionising
industry towards sustainable development. Speci

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cally this meant creating
work and developing a competitive edge as a nation at the forefront of tech-
nology for sustainable development. New deals for schools, wherein they
become points of departure to practise and teach children about sustainable
development (by, for instance, installing their own solar power system); and
importantly, as part of cutting CO 2 emissions, becoming 50% self-su cient in

food supplies.