After Japan election reflects popular will, it's time to seek politics that shares hope

The Mainichi

21-07-2025

Diverse popular opinion at times offers a certain direction through the lens of an election. In the latest House of Councillors poll, where the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito lost a significant number of seats, an end to a political system premised on the "LDP hegemony" is brought to mind.
One of the key issues in the race was high prices. There were no signs of people's slide into poorer circumstances abating. The question was what prescriptions were on offer.
Opposition parties called for a consumption tax reduction. This does not seem an efficacious remedy for the Japanese economy, though it could alleviate frustrations. Furthermore, it raises concerns over side effects such as increases in deficit-covering government bonds and cuts in social security spending.
The LDP, on the other hand, promised cash handouts to all residents. This also raises fiscal resource questions. Yet the LDP has the Ministry of Finance on its side. The selling point was that the handouts could get to people quickly.
If the race was to be a pork-barreling contest, it was considered that the ruling bloc would have an edge, but the opposition camp was declared the victor.
Behind this apparently lie strong frustrations toward the LDP as a political group that transcend the pros and cons of its policies. After campaigning for the upper house election officially got underway, the LDP was increasingly put on the backfoot. This made me feel the party's waning presence as a voting target.
The LDP stayed in power by meticulously accommodating the requests of interest groups and local communities. Post-Cold War, the party, facing significant demands from abroad, could no longer retain its single-party rule. Yet it has since mostly maintained its hegemony by shifting its coalition partners at times.
The LDP was a party whose mission lay in keeping its ruling party status. After the party stabilized its organization, institutionalization progressed and futile internal conflicts decreased. This gave rise to the party's system to distribute key positions to figures in mainstream internal factions. On the other hand, the party grew increasingly rigid.
This became evident in the LDP slush fund scandal involving faction fundraising parties. While being aware of public sentiment over politicians engaging in extremely unfair activities, the party prioritized maintaining internal order, turning its back on efforts to get to the bottom of the problem. The LDP also postponed a review of corporate and organizational donations to political parties.
Organizations cannot survive unless they transform themselves. The reason why Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's administration could remain in power despite low approval ratings was because, as some pointed out, "there were no alternatives." It appears the party is experiencing an organizational apoptosis.
The other side of the coin from the LDP's loss of hegemonic ability was the seat growth of opposition party Sanseito. Japanese politics, clad in a robe of instability, is ushering in a new era. What is required in pursuing the form of politics are visions for the future.
The power to create the future does not lie in populism inciting anxiety. Now is the time to seek politics that shares hope.
(Japanese original by Hirotomo Maeda, Executive Editor)