POLITICS-JAPAN: Politician’s Fate a Test of Reforms

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Jul 4 2002 (IPS) - The fate of a popular Japanese politician in a crucial no-confidence vote Friday will test calls for the reform of traditional, pork-barrel politics in the country.

Yasuo Tanaka, governor of Nagano prefecture in northern Japan, faces the ire of the members of its assembly after his controversial decision last week to stop the construction of two dams in the area.

Local media says the odds are that Tanaka would be ousted by the 60-member assembly, 48 of whose members support the no-confidence motion. A two-thirds vote of the assembly would result in the passage of the motion.

At the same time, Tanaka, who has two more years in his term, continues to command 52.5 percent approval ratings in the prefecture.

He also has popular appeal across Japan for speaking his mind against practices he defines as the root of the country’s economic and social breakdown.

Activists say that whatever the outcome, they are heartened by the reformist moves of Tanaka, who has challenged the traditional political culture that critics have often blamed for a lack of real reform and the slow progress of citizens’ clout in Japan.

Takashi Igarashi, an author and professor, says the implications of the reforms Tanaka has pushed go beyond the country itself.

“Not only does the move to oust Tanaka affect Japan but also other countries that depend on overseas development assistance,” he adds, because he proposes a change in the usual brand of development that Japan follows – pouring huge amounts of tax money into massive public works projects like the two dams proposed for Nagano.

This is the same approach Tokyo often follows in its aid programmes overseas, and which activists have long criticised. They say that Japan, the world’s biggest donor in terms of volume in terms of aid, does not support enough grassroots projects and instead goes for big infrastructure projects.

For Nagano, Tanaka has suggested programmes like improving riverbanks and developing forests instead of building dams.

He says the irrigation dams are not necessary because as local groups argue, they are not under threat of floods. Endo’s group explains that floods that were supposed to have been the reason for building the dams could occur only once in a century.

But the Nagano assembly members say Tanaka did not propose viable alternatives to the cancellation of these dams.

“If the vote passes, it will be a blow to our movement. We will certainly put up a bitter fight to support Tanaka,” says Yasuo Endo of the non-government National Water Resources Development Network, which opposes expensive public works on the grounds that they benefit construction firms and politicians rather than local residents.

In Japan, public works projects are encouraged by politicians in rural areas – at times regardless of the real need for them – and used as a vote-gathering tool. Politicians also give lucrative contracts to construction firms.

Endo adds that the Tanaka case bears close watching because the country faces the crucial challenge of political reforms. “Given that background, if Tanaka goes, so do reforms,” he explains.

Tanaka, a novelist and head of a citizen’s group, was elected in October 2000 with the support of non-aligned voters who backed his campaign pledge to reassess all public works in the prefecture.

His election made history in Japan because rural voters, who need jobs, have traditionally supported conservative candidates of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in exchange for government subsidies for building roads and dams, many of whom critics have faulted for damaging the environment.

Japan has the largest public works budget among the Group of Eight countries. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, elected on a reformist platform, cut public works spending by 10 percent to some 9 trillion yen (74.8 billion dollars) in 2000.

Previous leaders have also poured trillions of yen into public works to boost the Japanese economy, but growth rates have hovered at close to zero for almost a decade.

Tanaka’s formal decision to halt dam construction, announced before the Nagano assembly Thursday last week, follows his February 2001 decision to launch a declaration of “No More Dams”.

There, he called for alternatives to dams because they “cost dozens of billions of yen and cause such a huge burden on our global environment, it cannot be ignored”.

Last week’s decision to stop the two dam projects stems from this declaration, which Tanaka touted as a “Nagano model” that promotes environmental protection over expensive dam construction.

Both dams, part of a total of nine scheduled for Nagano, cost between 180 million to 360 million dollars each.

Thus far, only five Nagano assembly members belonging to the Communist Party have expressed their support for Tanaka.

But Igarashi and activists insist the outcome could be quite different. “I doubt Tanaka would have to leave his governorship. Even the powerful assembly cannot challenge the huge support Tanaka has from the people,” he insists.

Ikuko Matsumoto, head of Friends of the Earth Japan, says, “Tanaka is a figure head for activists. This is a telling example of what we are up against.”