by Qi Wei
TOKYO, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The appointment of Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan to a second post as finance minister after the resignation of Hirohisa Fujii will present the Democratic Party ofJapan (DPJ) with a number of challenges in the coming months as it attempts to get a budget for fiscal 2010 passed in parliament.
Kan takes over a ministry that in December drew up a budget for fiscal 2010 worth 92.3 trillion yen (1 trillion dollars) -- the biggest in Japan's history. On this point, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Thursday told media that he has faith in Kan.
 |
|
Japan's new Finance Minister Naoto Kan attends a meeting at the Finance Ministry in Tokyo January 7, 2010. Kan was named on Wednesday to replace 77-year-old Hirohisa Fujii, who stepped down for health reasons. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
"Kan was already involved in formulating the budget, so he will not face too many stumbling blocks," the prime minister said.
While this may be true, and the budget is likely to get passed with the huge majority the DPJ enjoys in the lower house, Kan is likely to face stern questioning from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which he will need to handle well with an upper house election scheduled to take place in July.
As a former leader of the DPJ and a long-time popular politician though, Kan is likely to be able to handle pressure from the opposition, but challenges may arise from the bureaucrats within the finance ministry.
Kan made his name in the 1990s when as health minister he fought bureaucrats and made public his ministry's role in a scandal involving the spread of tainted blood. His tensions with bureaucrats have continued to this day.
On Thursday, Kan said, "If there is any hidden chest (within the ministry), I want to open it," referring to his desire to see the bureaucracy conduct their affairs in a more transparent manner. He also referred to the finance ministry as being a symbol of the way that politics was done under the leadership of the LDP "in both a good and bad sense."
As Tobias Harris points out on the blog Observing Japan, "Kan has not made many friends in Kasumigaseki." Managing to bring the bureaucracy on side will present a huge challenge for Kan, one of their most vocal opponents.
Over the long term, Kan will also be asked with fulfilling a pledge to reform the way that budgets are made in Japan. "True regime change is politicians who have received the trust of the people restoring the right to formulate budgets to the people," Kan said in August.
Kan now finds himself central to this project, and will need to work with the ministry bureaucrats to reform the way budgets are written, if he is to fulfill his party's promise to the electorate.
The appointment of Kan also points to a lack of leaders within the DPJ, which is still a young party. In an election in August, the DPJ gained 193 seats, meaning many of its politicians are inexperienced in the mechanisms and workings of Kasumigaseki.
"The DPJ does have a shortage of people with leadership experience, not surprisingly, but given the importance of the finance ministry post, Hatoyama had to pick someone of Kan's stature," Tobias Harris, the writer of the blog Observing Japan, told Xinhua. "The shortage of talent would be more of an issue for less senior cabinet positions."
This seems to be the case with Kan's former job, as minister in charge of national strategy. This job has been taken by Yoshito Sengoku, but the importance of the post is likely to diminish now that Kan has moved to the finance ministry.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Wednesday accepted Fujii's resignation as finance minister and made Kan the successor.
The 77-year-old Fujii, who was admitted to hospital for high blood pressure last week, said he was exhausted and insisted on resignation.
In an editorial, however, the Daily Yomiuri said there could be other factors that led him to quit. "Other factors also could have contributed to Fujii's resignation, including the dual governance of Hatoyama and (DPJ Secretary General Ichiro) Ozawa, lack of leadership experience along with a myriad of scandals."
Ozawa is considered to be a powerful politician behind the scenes, and many commentators believe that despite Hatoyama's status as prime minister, Ozawa may hold the authority within the DPJ.
Hatoyama, however, dismissed on Thursday claims that these factors played a role in Fujii's resignation. "There is no need to worry about such speculation," he said.
Fujii also claimed that the only reason he had resigned was illness, saying "doctors have said that I cannot stand any more mental strain and must rest for the immediate future."
