Japanese Bureaucrats Uneasy Ahead of Changes

Tokyo, Sept. 1 (Jiji Press)--Japanese bureaucrats are uneasily
awaiting the major changes the Democratic Party of Japan promised in its
general election campaign, now that the DPJ has begun talks on forming a new
government after a landslide election victory.

On defense, DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama opposes extending a
Maritime Self-Defense Force mission providing fuel to U.S. and other
warships in the Indian Ocean in support of the antiterror war in
Afghanistan.
The Social Democratic Party, set to start talks soon to join a
DPJ-led ruling coalition, even wants an immediate end to the mission,
currently scheduled to expire in January 2010.
"We don't see much consistency in policy in general or possible
common ground to be found" between the DPJ and the SDP, a Defense Ministry
executive said.
"All we can do is resign ourselves to just waiting," the official
added.
"We will follow any political decisions, of course," a senior SDF
official said. "The real headache is getting the rank and file to
understand."
On social security, the DPJ intends to reform the basic structure
of the country's public pension program. Welfare ministry officials are
particularly uneasy because the organization has been fiercely attacked by
DPJ lawmakers.
Attracting the most attention is DPJ House of Representatives
lawmaker Akira Nagatsuma, who has revealed numerous pension-related scandals
at parliament meetings.
Nagatsuma "deserves a far more important task" than being stuck
with pension affairs, a welfare ministry executive said. "He seems fit to be
an administrative reform minister."
Ministry officials are also concerned about confusion that may
result during the handover of power, especially as the new school term that
has just begun threatens to exacerbate the spread of the H1N1 strain of flu.
Some officials say they will miss outgoing minister Yoichi Masuzoe
of the Liberal Democratic Party, praising his responsiveness to emergencies.
But some officials are pinning their hopes on the DPJ, pointing to
individuals from the medical world and promising young experts in the party.