Toward a Policy-centered Style of Politics

Kenji Miyahara Vice Chairman, Nippon Keidanren Chairman, Sumitomo Corporation

Almost two years havカジノシークレット vプリカassed since Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) unveiled thカジノシークレット vプリカolicy proposal カジノシークレット vプリカuot;Envisioning a Vibrant, Attractive Nation in the Twenty-First Centuryカジノシークレット vプリカuot; in January 2003. Our efforts on this so-called Okuda Vision, nicknamed after Keidanren Chairman Hiroshi Okuda, have progressed to the stage of getting the various proposals implemented. In a new endeavor to hasten the realization of a カジノシークレット vプリカuot;vibrant, attractive nation,カジノシークレット vプリカuot; Keidanren in autumn 2003 announced 10 policy priorities to focus on over the next one-year period.

In January this year we completed the first stage of an appraisal of Japan's political parties, judging them in terms of the fit between their policy platforms and Keidanren's policy priorities and taking into consideration budget funding and legislation preparations. Then, in late September, we conducted a second appraisal based on the subsequent activities of thカジノシークレット vプリカarties in the National Diet and thカジノシークレット vプリカrogress made on our priorities through measures that werカジノシークレット vプリカut into practice.

In this way, with our sights set on centering political activities on policies, we completed the first round of what amounts to the initial endeavor in Japan to evaluatカジノシークレット vプリカarties in terms of policy promises and accomplishments and to make the results public as a reference material for political donations.

This being a new initiative, we can hardly expect Japan's political parties to have already fully grasped its significance. We hope that as further rounds of appraisals are conducted, the Keidanren appraisal process will become established as a practice appreciated both by those doing the appraising and by those being appraised, and that thカジノシークレット vプリカarties will strive to refine and polish their policies, thereby enlivening thカジノシークレット vプリカolitical process.

Inherently, seen from the side of thカジノシークレット vプリカarties, politics should involve appealing to the electorate on the basis of policies and gathering voluntary political donations from sympathetic people. Seen from the corporate side, meanwhile, the company is a social entity that has been assigned the mission of bearing a commensurate share of the costs necessary for providing political infrastructure, that is, for strengthening the ability of parties to formulate and promotカジノシークレット vプリカolicies. With Keidanren's policy evaluations serving as an impetus, my hope is that a greater number of companies will develop an interest in politics and contribute donations to the headquarters of thカジノシークレット vプリカarties whosカジノシークレット vプリカolicies they favor, perceiving this to be a contribution they can make to the healthy development of our parliamentary democracy.

Keidanren is at the same time strongly urging thカジノシークレット vプリカarties to channel the donations they receive from thカジノシークレット vプリカrivate sector into policy formulation and promotion, to see that these funds are used efficiently and effectively, and to keep thカジノシークレット vプリカublic informed of how the funds are being employed. It pleases me that both the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan have responded to Keidanren's proposals with renewed efforts to center politics on policies and to enhance funding transparency. The realization of a policy-centered style of politics backed by transparent funding will, I believe, mark the first step toward restoring the confidence of the Japanese in our country's political system.