Japanese Elections 2012 (Feedback)

Thank you for being brave enough to share your opinions on this topic. No matter who wins the election, I hope that a lot of people will think seriously about the issues and decide who they think would be the best person to lead the country. As many people have pointed out, neither of the main parties looks very good, so I suppose it will be a case of choosing the lesser of two evils.

For me, the LDP is the party of “amakudari” and “pork-barrel” politics. That system worked in the past when Japan was a very rich country, but I can’t see how it will help the country now. It will make a lot of individuals (i.e., politicians, bureaucrats, and bosses of construction companies) rich, but the young people of today will end up paying for it with much higher taxes in the future. To an outsider like me, it seems as though the older generation of Japanese people are just stealing from their children and grandchildren.

By the way, did you see the news about the NHK announcer? He has been suspended for 3 months for sexually assaulting a young girl on a train. In any other country he would lose his job and be thrown in prison. I guess the “I was drunk so I don’t remember anything” excuse still works in Japan. How would you feel if the girl was your daughter? Would you think a three-month suspension would be sufficient punishment for this man? I know I wouldn’t.

I noticed also that the situation with the Senkaku Islands is getting more and more dangerous. China has started flying planes over them now. I hope that some kind of solution can be worked out in the near future.

Anyway, here is some feedback on your comments on this week’s topic.

I think he didn’t have enough time or chance to really run the country.
I don’t think he had enough time or opportunity to really run the country. (A-Z: negative sentence word order)

>I can’t help thinking that the last thing Japan needs is to go back to the old way of doing things.
私は日本が昔の（物事の）やり方に逆戻りすることだけはやってほしくない、と思わずにはいられません。
That sounds right to me. Thanks for doing the translation again. It must take you ages!

I tried talking about the coming poll when we gathered, and no further conversation.
Do you know the expression “and the conversation just died”?

> I don’t think Mr. Noda was a bad leader.
I think so, too.
I don’t think so either. (A-Z: me too)

Although I’m not pro-nuclear, I think he is not altogether wrong.
No matter how bad the consequences, I think that Japan needs to abolish nuclear power. It is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, and the power companies and the government have shown clearly that they cannot be trusted to regulate it properly. I hope the Japanese people do not fall for their lies.

To tell the truth, I can’t find any specific plans how they’re going to abandon nuclear power in any of the parties.
If anyone is interested, here is my plan:
1. Invite a panel of experts from other countries to assess how dangerous each nuclear power plant is depending on its age and location. Stop the system of “amakudari” between the power companies and the regulators.
2. Close down all the old and/or dangerous ones. Japan might need nuclear power, but we have seen in the last year that it doesn’t need so many power stations.
3. Set up an independent committee of experts (including people from other countries) to establish and monitor safety systems. Let them have the power to close down stations that do not meet the standards.
4. Stop building any new power stations, and start investing in alternative power sources.
5. Set a time limit for Japan to become nuclear free.
6. Hope and pray that there is not another major natural disaster during that time.

I don’t think opening the country is a bad idea, but we should remember that it can produce a big loss and victims, too.
This is true, but Japan seems to want other countries to open up so that it can sell its products overseas. That strikes a lot of people as unfair.

because it might mean that his students will have to go to war in the future.
Can you imagine the current generation of young Japanese men going to war?! They would have to take their hairdryers and eyebrow scissors!

Mr. Abe should go to war the first and fight for his “beautiful Japan”.
Right-wing politicians tend to be very keen on sending other people’s children to war. Of course, they make sure they find a way of keeping their own children out of danger (e.g., George W. Bush!).

David said “the LDP seem to be in favor of” in his entry, but I found “If the LDP wins power” in Japantoday. I’m not sure, but perhaps both are okay.
That is correct. Both are possible.

I’ve been supported for DPJ for many years.
I’ve been a supporter of the DPJ for many years.

Also, it’s very difficult to figure out who belongs to which party.
Nice sentence, and very true!

I don’t have any political parties or politicians that I can believe in or who I would trust to lead Japan.
There are no political parties or politicians who I would trust to lead Japan.

Sorry but I am tied up with work.
I hope you get it all sorted out before the holidays.

There’re only some long-standing parties, but the others are all quite new.
To me, the whole thing looks like a game of musical chairs!

Japanese companies will have to make their products cheeper and cheeper if cheep foreign products are imported.
You mean just like companies in other countries had to do when they started importing Japanese products?! That was why Japan became so unpopular in the U.S. in the 1980s. (By the way, the correct spelling is “cheaper.”)

I think it can also be said as “fear of being the odd one”.
“fear of being the odd one out.”

His disease is ulcerative colitis(潰瘍性大腸炎)and it is designated as an intractable disease(特定疾患) and many people are suffering from this disease now .
If his disease is so serious, how was he able to become PM in the first place? And is he really the best choice now?

Just after Mr. Abe mentioned inflation targeting policy, the yen became weak(that’s good for exporting companies) and the stock market reacted strongly and the shares are on the rise.
Remember that markets tend to think only in the short term. Mr. Abe’s plans might do some good for Japan in the next year or two, but they will create massive problems for future generations.

This easy monetary policy will help to improve the present bad economy.
I’m afraid it is not as simple as that. It depends how the money is put into the system. Britain has been doing something similar for the last two years, and it has had very little effect on the economy. There is also a real danger of losing control of inflation once it has started.

If you watch this, you will understand how terrifying China is.　
I agree that China is a scary country, but the way that right-wing politicians in Japan react plays right into their hands. If Japanese politicians were to apologise properly for the wartime atrocities, pay compensation to the comfort women, and stop visiting Yasukuni Shrine, they would take away all the Chinese government’s ammunition and make them much weaker.

I wonder a person who has health problems like him should become our leader.
I wonder whether a person…
Actually, I guess it doesn’t matter, because the leader will probably change again in a few months!

I think, in Japan many people will be careful “not” to make their blemishes (is this an appropriate word?) stand out.
I don’t think “blemishes” is the right word. Maybe just “not to stand out”? (Mind you, Japan has some of the quirkiest fashions in the world!)

People around me might be a bit different… I always talk about politics or other issues with my husband and my friends. It’s not a quarrel but a discussion!
That’s good to hear!

That’s it for today. Thanks for taking part in the discussion, and I hope that whoever is chosen on Sunday can put Japan on a path to a more positive future. To be honest, though, my hopes are not high.

Have a great weekend.