Groups give DPJ slightly higher marks than LDP on campaign platform

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TOKYO, Aug. 9 Kyodo -
The campaign platform of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan for the
Aug. 30 general election earned slightly higher marks Sunday than that of the
ruling Liberal Democratic Party in ratings by various groups.
But the DPJ was criticized for not showing how some of its big-budget
proposals, including monthly child allowances, can be financed in a sustainable
way, while the LDP received poor evaluations for compiling a platform that is
difficult to realize during the four-year term of the House of Representatives
members.
The campaign platform of each major party was rated by nine groups, such as the
Japan Association of Corporate Executives, the Japanese Trade Union
Confederation, the National Governors' Association and think tanks, and their
results were released in Tokyo by a panel led by academics and business
circles.
The DPJ's campaign platform earned an average of 53 points, out of a possible
top score of 100, while that of the LDP received 47 on average. Scores for the
DPJ ranged from 31 to 70, while those for the LDP spanned from 35 to 61.
The Japan Association of Corporate Executives, one of three key Japanese
business lobbies, gave a score of 45 to the platforms of both parties, saying
both failed to pass its test.
While the DPJ has made the schedule on its policy implementation easy to
understand, it appears to have just listed policies that sound good to the
people without addressing how to restore the nation's fiscal health and achieve
economic growth, the business lobby said.
The group lauded the LDP for compiling policies that it says are ''realistic
and responsible'' in such areas as economic growth, fiscal rehabilitation and
national security, but said its platform is short on how the party intends to
implement or finance its policies.
The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, known as Rengo, initially gave a score
of 66 to the DPJ's platform for its emphasis on consumers, but rounded it up to
70 because the group supports the opposition, a representative said.
In giving a 45 to the LDP platform, the labor group said the ruling party lacks
reflection on the roles it has played in creating the current problems facing
the country, even though the party is vowing in its platform to turn things
around.
The National Governors' Association, which represents the governors in the
nation's 47 prefectures, put the LDP slightly ahead of the DPJ 60.6-58.3 on
evaluating their platforms.
While both parties have shown willingness to advance the decentralization of
power to local governments as the association has advocated, the DPJ platform
appears rather murky on how to finance its proposals, the association said.
The association announced the results on Saturday and reported them at the
panel meeting.
In Sunday's meeting, panelists representing these groups said that even though
the two parties have spelled out their own agendas in their platforms, it
remains unclear how their pledges can be implemented if they form a coalition
government with other parties.
Some panelists also voiced concern that an increasing emphasis on campaign
platforms during recent elections has made the platforms more numerical
target-oriented, turning them into a list of dole-out policies.
==Kyodo
2009-08-09 20:57:38