# Japan: DJP takes power. Will this result in real change? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 30, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261 "2009-08-30T15:56:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/1 "2009-08-30T15:56:33Z")
[Link.](http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/08/30/japan.elections/index.html) > [@](#): > > Japan’s voters, fed up with the party that has governed the country for decades, gave the opposition an enormous landslide victory in parliamentary elections Sunday, exit polls suggest. > > Official results have not yet been announced, but the exit polls indicate the Democratic Party of Japan (DJP) may have won a 3-to-1 victory over the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP.)… > > … Voters at polling stations told CNN they wanted change and wanted to give new leaders a chance, even if they were not sure what policies would replace the ones that have run the world’s second-largest economy for more than a generation. > > Lines at polling places spilled out into Tokyo streets Sunday as Japanese citizens showed up in what seemed to be record levels. My eldest son currently lives in Japan (teaches English there for now) and is duly impressed by the atypical political engagement of the populus. I quote from his election eve blog for feedback. > [@](#): > > it is exciting to see the whole country electrified with anticipation of reform. Perhaps Japan is partly fired-up by the recent Obama frenzy of the US election, which was heavily covered and glorified by the Japanese media. During the campaign, this kind of programming was on TV almost 24/7 and children I didn’t even know yelled “YES WE CAN” at me from their passing bicycles. Drive-by English. > > But it would not be fair to give credit for the current fanfare to America. It is genuinely exciting to see so many Japanese people in my own community and all across the country coming together in droves to give a damn about their own political grievances. With little control over the political process, and therefore lacking a sense of responsibility, my Japanese counterparts have been shockingly ambivalent up until now towards all things political. On the other hand, perhaps this is simply a derrivative of Japanese reservedness, for even now, amidst the great energy in the air, people are still reluctant to share which party they support. > > Indeed, my girlfriend, whose parents are both local politicians, joined the DPJ effort by volunteering to canvass; talking to her friends and neighbors door-to-door and and asking for support for our local DPJ representative amidst of local malls. Determined to make a difference in our fairly rural, conservative community, she donned a mic in one of the infamously boisterous announcement-vans: huge RVs which drive around in the evening dispensing political messages from giant loudspeakers which can be heard for miles. > > This kind of campaigning may seem dated old-fashioned because direct internet campaigning and news coverage of campaign events has been barred in an effort to control media bias. This gives the whole election a wholesome grass-roots consistency. > > * * * > > The stars seem to be aligned > …for the DPJ to overtake the long-obsolete LDP. Things are slow to change in Japan and this has been long in coming; the LDP has shuffled in and out three prime ministers since 2007–which would be like having the Republicans switch the president without an election every year for 3 years. And now it has all come to a head: people are fed up with corrupt autocrats and mismanaged resources, and the resulting economic stagnation. The last thing Japan needs is another Lost Generation. > > Indeed, the DPJs message “change,” hoping to replicate Obama’s success. The system certainly needs an overhaul; the DPJ has pledged to phase out corrupt local officials and crack down on backroom dealing, promoting an unheard-of brand of transparent politics. > > * * * > > But all is not perfect in the world of Japanese politics. > While they are slated for an historic victory, the DPJ hardly appears prepared to take the reigns of the world’s second-largest economy. A series of bribery scandals does not further their case against corruption, and the current head of the DPJ, Yukio Hatoyama, who will likely become the new Prime Ministerm, has managed to bungle issues as sensative as the role of the passive Japanese Self-Defense force. … > > … Another problem is The DPJ has recently been targeting capitalist free-markets as a source of economic downturn, and plans to promote more over-regulation in a market already strangled by government policy. At the same time, they have already agreed to protect many markets from Free Trade. What Japanese businesses need is more freedom to fire and hire, to grow and to die if need be. Ever increasing are zombie companies barred from firing employees and staying afloat only through aide from the federal government. Sound familiar? This will do little to reverse the tides of a culture that was once reknowned for it’s innovative businesses, now more famous for it’s droning, drunken bureaucrats . Unfortunately this may continue to be the shape of things to come. Nevertheless, the normally passive and indifferent general population seems desperately hungry for reform, and that is as promising a sign as any. (A link can be provided, but as it is my son’s blog I feel little odd about doing that. I’d want his permission first.) ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/2 "2009-08-30T16:44:04Z")
No one knows, and by “no one” I’m including the DPJ. I hope so, though I’m as interested in the effect of losing on the LDP. I’m not a big fan of a lot of the DPJ’s election manifesto (more promised public spending in a country that already has an absolutely staggering debt problem) but I think they’ll manage to at least weaken the hold of the bureaucracy which would be a very good thing. The extent of the DPJ victory can be laid at the feet of the LDP. They were like a patient who refuses to go to the doctor even though he knows he has a problem because he doesn’t want to accept reality. They should have held an election years ago… they would have lost, but nowhere near this badly. You might find [this blog post](http://www.observingjapan.com/2009/08/meet-japans-democrats.html) interesting (with the disclaimer that the author is very much pro-DPJ). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/3 "2009-08-30T18:00:47Z")
Up to now [there have been five major parties:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Japan)[LDP,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_of_Japan) [DPJ,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_of_Japan) [New Komeito Party](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Komeito) (right-wing, Buddhist-theocratic), [Japanese Communist Party,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Communist_Party) and [Social Democratic Party.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Communist_Party) I was speculating about which of these would join the DPJ in a new governing coalition – but it appears [the LDP has won 300 of 480 seats in the House of Representatives](http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2009/08/historic_victor.html) and therefore will have no need of coalition partners. Quite an upset! No matter how well or badly the DPJ governs, this is certainly a good thing for democracy in Japan, as the end of the one-party rule of the PRI was a good thing for democracy in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/4 "2009-08-30T18:10:04Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > You might find [this blog post](http://www.observingjapan.com/2009/08/meet-japans-democrats.html) interesting (with the disclaimer that the author is very much pro-DPJ). Based on that, the biggest change will be the DPJ’s top priority: Administrative reform, which means shifting the balance of power away from the bureaucrats and toward the politicians. I’m of two minds on that [based on America’s recent experiences](http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070709/hayes) – but Japan, being a very bureaucratic country historically, probably needs that particular shake-up badly. ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/5 "2009-08-30T18:30:41Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Based on that, the biggest change will be the DPJ’s top priority: Administrative reform, which means shifting the balance of power away from the bureaucrats and toward the politicians. I’m of two minds on that based on America’s recent experiences – but Japan, being a very bureaucratic country historically, probably needs that particular shake-up badly. That’s pretty risky though given how much power Japanese bureaucrats have, how dependent the entire economic-politico system is on them, and how little experience any of them have in actual governing. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/6 "2009-08-30T18:46:51Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Up to now [there have been five major parties:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Japan)[LDP,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_of_Japan) [DPJ,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_of_Japan) [New Komeito Party](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Komeito) (right-wing, Buddhist-theocratic), [Japanese Communist Party,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Communist_Party) and [Social Democratic Party.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Communist_Party) I was speculating about which of these would join the DPJ in a new governing coalition – but it appears [the LDP has won 300 of 480 seats in the House of Representatives](http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2009/08/historic_victor.html) and therefore will have no need of coalition partners. Quite an upset! [The DPJ is still going to form a coalition with the SDP and the PNP.](http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090831x2.html) Presumably this is with an on the future, when electoral fortunes may shift; after 2005 the LDP maintained their coalition with the Komeito despite having a majority. That said, this will fortunately lower their influence to an extent. With the prospect of having to actually govern looming, the DPJ became a bit more pragmatic on topics such as the US-Japan alliance. There were some concerns that, if dependent on their partners, they’d wouldn’t have that freedom of action. > [@](#): > > Based on that, the biggest change will be the DPJ’s top priority: Administrative reform, which means shifting the balance of power away from the bureaucrats and toward the politicians. I’m of two minds on that based on America’s recent experiences – but Japan, being a very bureaucratic country historically, probably needs that particular shake-up badly. The US has never been as bureaucratically-dominated as Japan is now (even though bureaucratic influence in Japan is currently at an all-time low). The central plank of the DPJ’s administrative reform platform is _to make it so that the prime minister controls the formulation of the budget_; something that is a given in any other modern, industrialized country would be revolutionary in Japan. And I wouldn’t be too concerned about the willingness of the bureaucracy to say no to the government… it’s something that they were more than willing to do, even to their allies in the LDP. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/7 "2009-08-30T19:08:38Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > [The DPJ is still going to form a coalition with the SDP and the PNP.](http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090831x2.html) Hmm. Interesting alignment. The [SDP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_(Japan)) is left-of-center and the [PNP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_New_Party) is right-of-center. ---
**Author:** ![Sepiachoice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Sepiachoice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sepiachoice)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/8 "2009-08-31T01:04:05Z")
“Eldest son” mentioned in the OP here. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > the LDP has won 300 of 480 seats in the House of Representatives That’s the **DPJ** , by the way, which will now hold a ruling majority in the upper Diet. Aso Taro donned a black tie–reserved for funerals and other dark issues–and announced his stepping down in a speech that has been airing all night on NHK. Meanwhile Hatoyama is preparing to take power. Can’t wait to see [this hairstyle](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4dAAfCKktFI/Spkxrk_XdqI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/FE0EgCcKrQQ/s400/hatoyama-bad-hair-day.jpg) on the news every day. The historic election’s now over and I am back in the office of my sr. high school on this Monday morning. Nobody is chatting at all about the election. All business until the enkai next week, I guess. One LDP politician said that this election is more about emotions than about policy. I think that is a totally accurate assessment. The DPJ built a pretty absurd platform, vowing to spend a fortune on administrative reforms, while also cutting back costs in a crusade against pork, for example doing away with the extremely high tolls for the nation’s highways, which brings in a LOT of money. It’s true that the 80’s Boom mantra of “BUILD BUILD BUILD” left a lot of pork flowing into the system, but the economy is already aching and it’s gonna be harder than they imagine to cut back costs. At the same time, Hatoyama has named the US as a declining power, and blames under-regulated free markets largely for the economic downturn. The DPJ vows to bring more regulation into the already-choked Japanese markets, and protect Japanese agriculture from free trade. On the plus side, he views Japan-Asian relations as a high priority and plans to make official apologies for Japan’s wars in Korea and China for the first time. This was really exciting to me because I have been continuously horrified to learn that these wars are not even taught in public schools, while at the same time they study the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in great detail and proceed to take class trips to these countries with absolutely no historical framework. I mean many of my Japanese friends don’t even know who Hitler was. Washington might be seeing this as a big “screw you guys, we are gonna hitch a ride with China.” It all goes back to this old-school notion of “What we say in Japanese is not meant to be translated and broadcast across the world.” that still exists in Japanese politics, responsible for quotes like [these](http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fd20030713pb.html). Did the DPJ make a lot of ridiculous promises to win votes? Yes. Are they perfect? Not in the slightest. But the truth is it’s a step up from the unquestionably corrupt LDP, and looks at least a little bit like democracy. Now that the ball is rolling, people may be less inclined to put up with corruption and mismanagement of their resources. To me, the DPJ win is very promising. It shows that the Japanese population is taking some degree of ownership. The landslide victory element is not surprising in this culture which likes to make decisions unanimously. As soon as the notion of throwing out the LDP began to pick up momentum in the major media outlets, the group think machine took over. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/9 "2009-08-31T02:57:03Z")
Welcome number one son! It does seem, **BG** that aligning both to the right and the left, and needing neither, gives them some freedom to position themselves as they perceive real world needs dictate. The question remains: what “change” _will_ they actually implement? Apparently nothing that business is afraid of given that the [markets](http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japanese-election-could-trigger-stock-gains-weaker-yen-2009-08-30) are expected to react positively. Seems odd to me since they have promised less free market and more regulation. But I know not the ways of Japan. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/10 "2009-08-31T03:08:20Z")
> [@Sepiachoice](#): > > On the plus side, he views Japan-Asian relations as a high priority and plans to make official apologies for Japan’s wars in Korea and China for the first time. This was really exciting to me because I have been continuously horrified to learn that these wars are not even taught in public schools, while at the same time they study the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in great detail and proceed to take class trips to these countries with absolutely no historical framework. I mean many of my Japanese friends don’t even know who Hitler was. Good post, but this part isn’t accurate. Official apologies have been made, most notably by Prime Minister Murayama in [his famous 50th anniversary speech](http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/pm/murayama/9508.html). And while the wars may not be taught well, they are part of the curriculum and are taught (in the 2nd year of junior high school, IIRC). ---
**Author:** ![Sepiachoice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Sepiachoice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sepiachoice)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/11 "2009-08-31T04:08:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Building from our deep remorse on this occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, Japan must eliminate self-righteous nationalism, promote international coordination as a responsible member of the international community and, thereby, advance the principles of peace and democracy. Well that is refreshing to hear indeed. I didn’t know about that speech in 1995. That being said, Japan has not followed up in the 14 years following to prioritize fostering any real relationships with China and Korea, and regardless of whether they have a unit on it in Jr. High School, my high academic senior HS students, as well as most of my adult friends, seem to know very little about this history, and definitely don’t care to discuss it. The students took a class trip to China and came back saying that the Chinese were somewhat cold to them and couldn’t understand why. ---
**Author:** ![Sepiachoice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Sepiachoice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sepiachoice)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/12 "2009-08-31T04:17:38Z")
Sorry for above unrelated banter. It’s hard to say if the DPJ majority will affect real changes, and if they do, whether or not they will be advantageous. What has been stated is… -More market regulation -Mention of a free trade deal with the US, but protecting agriculture -Mention of a unified currency in Asia, modeled after the EU. -Kicking out (presumed) corrupt local bureaucrats and giving more power to politicians -Less funding for education. Hard to believe it could get worse D: ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/13 "2009-08-31T08:53:26Z")
One should not look at Japanese politics through the same reference of view that one views other countries, especially mature democracies such as the US or the UK. Certain change could be the much more likely outcome of a landslide election in many other countries, but it would be extremely difficult to guess what will happen here. First, and foremost, it must be remembered that the basis of the DJP goes back to 1992 and the disgust of the public of the corruption within the LDP. One of the events that year was the discovery of $100 million in cash and gold in the safe of Kaneko, a predominant party leader. In the resultant mess, a number of short-lived parties came and went as many Diet members defected from the LDP, forming various new parties, which were combined with others. Among the defectors was Ozawa, a kingmaker and one of the two heirs-apparent (is this a real word?) to the Takeshita faction when it’s leader Kaneko was arrested. Ozawa, as a leader in one of the more corrupt factions of the LDP (more because of better opportunity as a champions of road and dam construction, with greater potential for kickbacks than any fewer scruples than other factions which had the misfortune of relatively fewer sources of as much cash) is nothing but a shrew politician. Waving the banner of reform and along with co-leader Hata, he bolted from the LDP taking a 40 plus change of lawmakers to form the Shinsei-to. During at period, it seemed that parties were being formed daily. None, of which were really distinguishable ideologically from each other. Those fun days. There were the Japan New Party, with its new candidates and Sakigake another group of LDP renegades, among others, and the spectacular collapse of the Socialist Party, the traditional ineffective and permanent oppositional party. It’s been said that that it would make more sense to realign lawmakers from the various parties into ideological differences instead of the hodgepodge of essentially independent versions of the traditional factions of the LDP, but that’s not going to happen. There really isn’t a competition of ideas and ideologies in Japanese politics. You don’t see a debate over more or less government or alternative solutions to the declining economy. You have to remember that there isn’t a history or tradition here of real democracy, and I’ve never gotten a sense of any sort of political awareness during the 20 plus years I’ve leaved here. I’d be interested to see if they can really pull off any fundamental changes, but I’m not holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/14 "2009-08-31T09:22:28Z")
Ditto what **TokyoPlayer** says. I think the Japanese media needs to change before the government does, otherwise it’s still a system entirely independent of the oversight of the general populace. If the government can do anything to change the future of Japan for the better, giving the media all the access that the US has to the government and governmental organizations (like the police) would be the biggest thing they could do towards real democracy. I highly doubt that any such thing is in the making. ---
**Author:** ![Sepiachoice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Sepiachoice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sepiachoice)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/15 "2009-09-02T00:15:21Z")
I gave my English conversation group the assignment of coming up with a few ideological differences between the LDP, DPJ, Happiness Realization Party, and a few others. It’ll be interesting to see if they can uncover anything. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/16 "2009-09-02T04:46:15Z")
[Democracy Now! interviews Steven Clemons](http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/1/japanese_voters_oust_conservative_party_pm) of [The New America Foundation:](http://www.newamerica.net/) > [@](#): > > STEVEN CLEMONS: This may be unkind of me to say: I think Yukio Hatoyama is going to have essentially the same problem that Barack Obama has had. He said certain things during the campaign that seemed strident and defining an important contrast with the governing party, and then when he’s come into office, he can say, behind the prime minister’s desk, you’ve got to weigh a lot of different concerns and maybe hedge your bets a little bit, a lot like Barack Obama has, in my view. > > But I think that what Hatoyama is going to do, because it’s not just Yukio Hatoyama, it’s another—other people around him in the Democratic Party, perhaps most importantly Ichiro Ozawa. Ozawa is not well known to many Americans, but he was the one in 1993 who broke away from the Liberal Democratic Party, fractured that party, brought a number of these people apart, wrote a book called A Normal Nation, essentially Futsu no Kuni, to argue that Japan needed to move towards a viable, real, two-party system. And Ozawa, who is a—you know, not the cleanest guy in Japanese politics and part of that old, I would even say corrupt, power politics of backroom deal making in Japan, is one of the power bases of the Hatoyama government. And it has been Ozawa who’s been committed to sort of regaining Japanese sovereignty over its own interests and its own issues and has been not trying to say the US relationship is not important or that Japan shouldn’t be allied with the United States, but the notion that Japan would just do what United States wanted and be a puppet of American interest in all places, Ozawa has been rejecting for a long time. > > So I suspect that what Hatoyama is going to do is incrementally move Japan away from the kind of manic neoliberalism that he’s talked about, but honestly, that’s more traditional for Japan anyway. Japan is a champion of essentially managed trade, egalitarian distribution. It’s going back to its roots, if anything, for the last several decades. So that’s not a big issue. What I do think are the big issues are the foreign policy and national security issues, where I think there’s going to be greater distance with the United States. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japan-djp-takes-power-will-this-result-in-real-change/508261/17 "2009-09-04T14:22:44Z")
[An interesting take](http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/09/tide-of-change-in-japan-quick-electoral.html) at [538.com](http://538.com). > [@](#): > > … it turns out that the DPJ has performed well at the national level for some time, even winning a plurality of the proportionally distributed seats in 2003. > > However, it was not until 2009 that the DPJ was able to pick off a significant number of LDP-held single-constituency seats and take the overall majority, while at the same time expanding their strength in the proportional “electoral blocs” … > > … Moving forward, we should expect to see a focus on more “democratic socialist” style policies in Japan, while maintaining relatively low taxes and OECD-type foreign policy goals. The key question for observers is whether this is the beginning of a path of reform and change in Japanese political culture, or if perhaps this election simply confirms a change that began in the mid-1990s and early 2000s and was not brought to fruition until this year. > > Given the history of rewarding political stability and steady progress – we saw that the DPJ victory was portended by strong national showings beginning in 2000 and 2003 – it seems more likely to be the second. Rather than a flash in the pan, like the brief 1993 overthrow of the LDP, we are more likely to see another 5-10 years of slow but important political and societal adjustment and change in Japan, this time with the very conservative LDP on the sidelines.