September 16 will form a new cabinet. However, the most important outcome of the elections in Japan - end of period, a half-century dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party, whose positions were long considered the enduring and which was a monopoly in the country's political Olympus (almost like the Communist Party in China and the USSR). Its defeat gives a chance for political and social reforms in Japan, the birth of a new politsistemy. However, it is not clear whether the winners are able to implement its ambitious plans and do not be afraid if they go so far as promised today. Skeptics, however, believe that the political weight of the past, the Japanese tradition and continuity, the tendency to compromise with Democrats quickly shot down the victorious fervor, and in the Land of the rising sun all back to square one.
In postwar Japan's political system, based on the dominance of two parties, was something new. After all, it replaced a system composed of many factions, secret societies and influential clans. During the war there was only one party - Political Association of Great Japan. United States, performing the Potsdam agreement, were to assist in the occupied territories, the establishment of democratic freedoms. And it was one of the first and, I must say, in something of successful experiments on the transfer of U.S. democracy in a foreign country, in which, by and large, there were no democratic tradition. Japan was a certain complexity, given the presence of the emperor and the powerful elite, accustomed to the Japanese political culture of reverence for the leader - the emperor, who in many ways the embodiment of the state, lack of political struggle in the Western sense. The most important element here was and is the traditional idea of the rule of the role of public authorities, for which the people - an object that obeys all the requirements above.
Accordingly, the history of the current Japanese politsistemy was not straightforward, but walked along the path of accumulation of practice. For example, the Japanese Constitution of 1947 formally proclaimed parliament the supreme organ of state power. But in fact, members of the government and personally the Prime Minister as leader of the largest party control MPs and decide to dissolve the lower house of parliament (as happened this time). That the head of government, which says the Japanese Emperor, the country has the most power.
Democracy, established here, was largely specific, although the methods of political influence was universal - the United States spent billions of dollars to support their henchmen, the same did all that sauce, the further democratization of the country to preserve most of the political heritage, which was in old Japan. With a number of reservations one might even say that democracy in Japan, creating those conservative bureaucrats and politicians, against whom, by and large, were sent to the democratic transformation of the time. Major corporations in Japan with hunting subsidize the leading roles, not too much delving into the specifics of their programs. But knowing that they will receive their jackpot with any authority.
Liberal Party, appeared in 1945, quickly attracted the attention of Americans. The first election in 1949 the Liberals won the majority. However, the countdown era of liberal-democratic government agreed to since 1955, when the Liberal and Democratic parties formed LDPYA. One of the initiators of this merger was the Democratic leader Ichiro Hatoyama (grandfather of the current leader of the Japanese Democratic), who led the new United Party and became prime minister of the country. Immediately, we note that combining the two largest right-wing conservative parties was necessary to confront the Socialists were gaining strength. But what is interesting (and this is also characteristic of Japanese political tradition), the struggle is often reduced to the search for compromise between apparently irreconcilable enemies. Decades later LDPYA as the ruling party have shifted with the political values of pre-war and anti-socialism to stimulate economic development in the country, which became the basis of the Japanese economic miracle. Political rivalry remains as such, but a place of political struggle between the conservatives was not the national political scene, and inner-sphere, where the main role began to play the factions and groups, originally formed on the basis of the parties who built LDPYA. This is the Achilles' heel of liberal Democrats (and, incidentally, all major Japanese political parties, which have a similar internal structure, consisting of groups). 15 years ago, when the party weakened, LDPYA lost the elections, but the board left opposition lasted less than a year. Since LDPYA not shared power with anyone, but in the last three years, its rating fell. The success of the liberals, their dominance has always been a series of internal cohesion, which ensured the presence of a strong leader. In recent years, with people like the party was lucky, but as they say, the current Prime Minister Taro Aso too far. He was too rigid and illegible. He also failed to persuade the Japanese in their ability to cope with the crisis and deal with social problems of a rapidly aging society.
The first attack was defeated in July at the municipal elections in Tokyo. Within the ruling party began to grow discontent with the Prime Minister, he changed his ministers, but it also does not raise his popularity. Eventually he decided on an extreme measure - July 21, dissolved Parliament. Many supporters, sensing something was amiss, said: Prime acted in defiance of the party, based on personal motives, put personal pride above party interests. LDPYA rolled to a catastrophe.
Liberals do not believe when they announced plans to increase the annual income of Japanese family for 10 thousand dollars, and pre-school education free of charge. They promised to increase child benefit to $ 275 a month and waive tolls on highways. All this had to find 179 billion dollars most amazing thing is that the democratic opposition has promised roughly the same - $ 300 for each child, the abolition of road pricing and expansion of subsidies for farmers. Package Democrats - $ 180 billion as principal discrepancy is that the Democrats have offered in the current crisis does not lend to corporations and to encourage citizens directly, eliminate bureaucracy and to conduct an audit of budget. However, neither the one nor the other program is not feasible in terms of growth of subsidies, given that Japan's national debt is twice its GDP.
What then attracted to the Democrats? The victory went to their leader Yukio Hatoyama. In 1993, he left the ranks LDPYA to a few years later to create a democratic party. In 2003, she swallowed the liberal party, Ichiro Ozawa (to be confused with LDPYA), becoming the main opposition force in the country. Walking in the footsteps of his illustrious grandfather, 62-year-old Hatoyama this time did everything that the ruling party - LDPYA - lost the elections and was removed from power. Interesting that a significant proportion of the DPJ, as well as their leader, coming from LDPYA, many several times changed his political affiliation. That is the paradox of Japanese politics - ideology plays a lesser role (as opposed to LDPYA, DPJ calls himself a social liberal party) than the quality and ability of the party leader. Today Hatoyama offers the country a new course - and equal relations with the United States to normalize relations with China, "correction" of relations with Russia (though the issue of the Kuril Islands Tokyo policy will not change), to which the Liberal Democrats did not venture past half century. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and various agencies are already talking about coming purges, when they hear Hatoyama said about future changes. Politician in the fourth generation, the grandson of Prime Minister and the son of a millionaire and heir to the empire tires Bridgestone, now has the popularity in Japan, comparable to the popularity of Barack Obama and John Kennedy. Some of these comparisons indicate the level of expectations that Japanese society places on him as a future prime minister. Non-typical for a Japanese politician - with shaggy hair and a very constrained manner of behavior - is truly able to shake the bedrock for the Liberal Democrats political system, and more importantly - there is a chance that the cornerstone policy of the ruling party will first be shipped people and society as a whole, rather than the interests of certain influential groups.
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