ID :
75052
Thu, 08/13/2009 - 10:15
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/75052
The shortlink copeid
Aso, Hatoyama rap each other over policies on finances in debate+
TOKYO, Aug. 12 Kyodo - With a couple of weeks to go before the general election, opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama accused Prime Minister Taro Aso in their debate Wednesday of wasting taxpayers' money without drastic administrative reform and plunging Japan deeply into debt.
Liberal Democratic Party President Aso, for his part, blamed Hatoyama for the
Democratic Party of Japan's vagueness on how to secure funding to implement
what Aso called ''pork-barrel policies,'' pointing to some of the DPJ's
campaign promises such as monthly allowances for children and scrap expressway
tolls.
Aso questioned the DPJ's ability to take control of government.
The DPJ looks set to win the Aug. 30 House of Representatives election and
wrest power from the LDP that has ruled Japan since 1955 except for around 10
months in the early 1990s, and a DPJ victory would make Hatoyama Japan's next
prime minister.
During their 90-minute exchange, Hatoyama said the DPJ will not change all
foreign and security policies immediately after taking power, reversing the
party's previous stance of opposing most policies laid out by the LDP-led
government.
''I'm not planning to change everything after taking power,'' he said.
''Continuity is also important (for foreign policy) and I would like to work on
it pragmatically.''
The opposition leader has been under fire for repeatedly changing his position
on the controversial refueling mission by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in
the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations.
Aso blasted Hatoyama for suddenly becoming unclear on national security just
because the DPJ's chances of winning the election have risen and the party
needs to consider building relations with Tokyo's closest ally, the United
States.
During their debate at a Tokyo hotel in the run-up to the election, Hatoyama
told Aso that his LDP-led government ''has wasted money, made Japan debt-laden
and is now planning to raise the consumption tax. Such politics can be done by
anyone.''
Hatoyama stressed that the DPJ will definitely secure funding for its policies
by modifying fiscal expenditures and cutting back on waste and that there will
be no need to raise the consumption tax at least for the first four-year term
after the DPJ comes to power.
Aso reiterated that the LDP will focus on efforts to revitalize the sluggish
economy to create a climate in which it can raise the sales tax, adding he
would consider the climate appropriate if the nominal growth rate reached 2
percent per annum.
Hatoyama also suggested that the party would consider establishing a coalition
government with two minor opposition allies -- the Social Democratic Party and
the People's New Party -- however many seats it obtains in the lower chamber.
The debate, which was organized by a private organization, was the first
between the two party leaders outside of parliament and the first conducted
since the July 21 dissolution of the lower house.
==Kyodo
Liberal Democratic Party President Aso, for his part, blamed Hatoyama for the
Democratic Party of Japan's vagueness on how to secure funding to implement
what Aso called ''pork-barrel policies,'' pointing to some of the DPJ's
campaign promises such as monthly allowances for children and scrap expressway
tolls.
Aso questioned the DPJ's ability to take control of government.
The DPJ looks set to win the Aug. 30 House of Representatives election and
wrest power from the LDP that has ruled Japan since 1955 except for around 10
months in the early 1990s, and a DPJ victory would make Hatoyama Japan's next
prime minister.
During their 90-minute exchange, Hatoyama said the DPJ will not change all
foreign and security policies immediately after taking power, reversing the
party's previous stance of opposing most policies laid out by the LDP-led
government.
''I'm not planning to change everything after taking power,'' he said.
''Continuity is also important (for foreign policy) and I would like to work on
it pragmatically.''
The opposition leader has been under fire for repeatedly changing his position
on the controversial refueling mission by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in
the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations.
Aso blasted Hatoyama for suddenly becoming unclear on national security just
because the DPJ's chances of winning the election have risen and the party
needs to consider building relations with Tokyo's closest ally, the United
States.
During their debate at a Tokyo hotel in the run-up to the election, Hatoyama
told Aso that his LDP-led government ''has wasted money, made Japan debt-laden
and is now planning to raise the consumption tax. Such politics can be done by
anyone.''
Hatoyama stressed that the DPJ will definitely secure funding for its policies
by modifying fiscal expenditures and cutting back on waste and that there will
be no need to raise the consumption tax at least for the first four-year term
after the DPJ comes to power.
Aso reiterated that the LDP will focus on efforts to revitalize the sluggish
economy to create a climate in which it can raise the sales tax, adding he
would consider the climate appropriate if the nominal growth rate reached 2
percent per annum.
Hatoyama also suggested that the party would consider establishing a coalition
government with two minor opposition allies -- the Social Democratic Party and
the People's New Party -- however many seats it obtains in the lower chamber.
The debate, which was organized by a private organization, was the first
between the two party leaders outside of parliament and the first conducted
since the July 21 dissolution of the lower house.
==Kyodo
