A key matter for Prime Minister Mori was the hosting of the summit, and for this he simply did the rounds of the G8 countries. Now the summit countries place tremendous importance on democracy. Doesn't Mori understand that "divine country" is inconsistent with democracy (and, at the very least, that it will be the focus of strong criticism)?
The Democratic Party should hammer out a new style not available to the Liberal Democratic Party
The Liberal Democratic Party thus made a big mistake in choosing its leader. However, if the electorate becomes disaffected and fails to go to the polls, it is possible that the turnout in the next election will be extremely low and the Liberal Democratic/Komeito/Conservative government may remain in power. It is also possible that if there is an appropriate change of leadership within the government and a change of atmosphere, the Liberal Democratic/Komeito/Conservative government can stay in power for another four years. Yet it is certainly not to desirable for a government that has clearly lost the confidence of its citizens to linger on in power.
The opposition, particularly the Democratic Party which is the leading opposition party, must stress that voters go to the polls in large number. At present, they cannot immediately put forward a new and very different set of policies in the area of diplomacy, security and finance. So what should they do?
I think that the Democratic Party should hammer out a new style not available to the Liberal Democrats. For example, they could pledge to make half the members of the Cabinet age 50 or under, or make one-third of the Cabinet women. Or they could make the acceptance of bribes for services by politicians a more serious crime than it now is. The regulations on ethics for government employees were tightened (I think they went much too far, but that is not a matter for discussion here), but politicians are allowed to do as they please.
