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Aso says no election until 2009 budget passed; Homeless fill Hibiya Park

Prime Minister Taro Aso is sticking to his guns, and holding that he will not call an election until the fiscal 2009 budget and related bills are passed by the Diet. Bloomberg has a very straightforward writeup, with only one quote from Aso on the election situation: “It’s clear that what we must do is move swiftly with economic measures. The important thing is to pass a budget and related bills quickly.”

A Reuters article on the same topic puts Aso in a decidedly more negative light, opening by calling the Prime Minister “unpopular” (which he is) and later calling him an “outspoken nationalist and a fan of manga comic books.” I’m surprised that the media is repeating this trope about Aso’s supposed love for manga, when it seems to have already been dismissed as a mere PR strategy meant to make Aso seem like more of a “normal” person. Since Aso’s been elected, the ruling party has twice sent him to bookstores to show the media that the man does indeed have more mature tastes in reading (open to interpretation).

At any rate, Reuters quotes Aso as saying, “It is clear that we need to be quick on economic steps. It is important to enact the budget and relevant bills quickly and until then, I am not thinking about calling an election.”

And after that:

I am strongly resolved to face this difficult situation and respond to the people’s expectations,” Aso said after a display of calligraphy, writing the slogans “peace of mind” and “vigour”.

“I want to protect the people’s livelihoods,” he said. “The budget is the most important economic policy.

Reuters does quote opposition DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa as saying, “The people’s criticism of the LDP-New Komeito government and calls to seek the will of voters will overwhelm Aso’s intention to simply stay in power.”

Meanwhile, the foreign media has also picked up on the story concerning the tents of homeless people that have formed in Hibiya Park since the New Year’s holidays. The Sydney Morning Herald points out that the park is located “near the Imperial Palace, government offices and luxury hotels.”

This is looking like very bad PR for the prime minister and his party. The Associated Press points out that Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii visited the park, and said, “It is unforgivable that Japan’s major companies have thrown so many workers out on the streets at the end of the year.”

The Nikkei reports that Tsuyoshi Takagi, president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, has also made a visit to the park, and told reporters, “I want to tackle the problem of the temp workers, sharing the feeling that a Japan in this condition is unacceptable.”

Takagi is certainly getting more towards the heart of the problem for these individuals, as reforms to labor laws have allowed firms to hire more and more workers on fixed-term and temporary contracts, which offer far less in the way of job security. Although some firms (most notably Uniqlo) announced plans last year to convert temporary workers to full-time status, the ratio of the workforce employed under such condition continues to increase, and is now just above 35% of the overall workforce.

After reading Aso’s quotes and his New Year’s address to the nation, in which he promised to lead Japan out of recession before any other nation, I had been wondering if the Prime Minister himself had made a trip down to Hibiya Park. Thus far I can find no mention of him doing so.

In terms of PR, this is not going to help Aso at all. In fact, it was the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare that offered building space for people staying at the park to be temporarily moved into. Aso must have at least a few spare rooms over at the Prime Minister’s residence…

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