<figure id="attachment_240510" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2100px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-240510"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6ed623f3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/04/5c004aa97cb2f6022ba7086e3d6c34f3.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-240510" class="wp-caption-text">Last November, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) held a representative election. The public had high expectations for the new executive. As the No. 1 opposition party, I want to see the DPJ strongly realize a solid political system with its feet on the ground. I would like to see them respond desperately to this wish. Photo: Yoshio Tsunoda/Afro</figcaption></figure>
<h2>The &#8220;word&#8221; doesn&#8217;t resonate.</h2>
The presence of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is only waning. In the run-up to the Upper House election, Kenta Izumi, the DPJ&#8217;s leader, said during a campaign stop in Hokkaido: &#8220;The yen&#8217;s depreciation and high fuel prices have made it difficult for the people to vote.
 The people&#8217;s lives have been considerably exhausted by the weak yen and high fuel prices. If a budget for large-scale economic measures is not prepared during the current session of the Diet, this administration does not deserve our confidence.
The Fumio Kishida Cabinet is &#8220;inept&#8221; in the face of the people who are suffering from soaring prices. He has taken a hard-line stance, saying he is prepared to submit a motion of no-confidence in the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, on the security issue made tense by Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine, Junya Ogawa, chairman of the policy research committee, nailed the LDP at a press conference, saying.
 The increase in defense spending to 2% of GDP and the discussion of an enemy base attack capability are provocative and ill-advised arguments.&#8221;
The party&#8217;s two top leaders all strongly criticized the administration. Dissatisfaction with the LDP administration, with its economic crisis and its aggressive stance on military expansion, must be growing. The two leaders of the two major political parties are hoping to create a tailwind for the Rikken, the leading opposition party, but even if they use such strong words as &#8220;no-confidence motion in the Cabinet&#8221; and &#8220;military buildup,&#8221; it is difficult for the public to &#8220;hear&#8221; their message. What does this mean? And how is the opposition party coalition faring in the run-up to the election?
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<h2>Not ready for the Upper House election</h2>
 The Ishin and the KDP have deepened their relationship through mutual endorsements in the Shizuoka and Kyoto electoral districts. On the other hand, the Rikken, while coordinating candidates with the Communist Party for single-member House of Councillors wards, is hoping to take at most two to four electoral wards nationwide. &#8230; The campaign is expected to be extremely tough.
For example, in the Ibaraki electoral district of the House of Councillors, the party has decided not to field a candidate.
There are about 10 labor unions, large and small, that support the Rikken, but none except for the Jichiro and JP labor unions have decided on their stance. Internal circumstances within the RENGO Ibaraki organization played a major role. It is unbelievable that they could not put up a candidate even though the prefectural federation publicly solicited candidates. We have lost the trust of the people of the prefecture, and we have lost a valuable seat in the assembly,&#8221; said a source involved with the local assembly Rikken.
Outside of Ibaraki, Rikken&#8217;s prefectural federations are also overwhelmed by the high level of support for the Kishida administration and the momentum of the Restoration Party.
 In Kyoto (quorum 2), Rikken&#8217;s former secretary general &#8211; Tetsuro Fukuyama&#8217;s seat is in jeopardy because of the Ishin&#8217;s earlier victory in the Kyoto prefectural assembly by-election.
 In Chiba (fixed number 3), Konishi Hiroyuki is a well-known policy wonk. If a candidate from the Restoration Party stands, it will be a fierce battleground and a race to the bottom,&#8221; said a Rikken representative.
<h2>LDP&#8217;s High Laugh</h2>
Kishida&#8217;s LDP is showing a relaxed attitude, as if to say, &#8220;Rikken is not our enemy. This is partly because Deputy LDP President Taro Aso is strengthening his relationship with RENGO President Tomoko Yoshino.
 Yoshino attends meetings at the LDP headquarters and behaves as if she were a friend of the LDP. Vice President Aso said, &#8216;I have established a relationship with Chairman Yoshino with whom I can have a drink. Since raising salaried workers&#8217; salaries is a policy of the LDP, it would be more pragmatic for RENGO to associate with the LDP,&#8221; he said with a broad smile. It is believed that the RENGO will split again, weakened by the split between the former Sohyo and the former Alliance. This is a very bad situation for Rikken.
RENGO Chairman Yoshino, who attended the meeting held at the LDP headquarters, said, &#8220;We have to be careful to realize our policies.
 We have asked the LDP to help us realize our policies. The LDP wants to solve our problems.&#8221;
Deputy Prime Minister Aso&#8217;s initiative to strengthen relations with the RENGO. However, the LDP has been actively approaching the RENGO since the time of the Abe administration.
Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has been close to the former Rengo chairman since his days as chief cabinet secretary, and still maintains a strong connection with him. In many cases, the votes of labor unions flow to the LDP.
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<h2>When the Rikken shows its &#8220;desperation to the death</h2>
 Nothing will change with the LDP. Frankly speaking, there is no sign that the economy or anything else is going in the right direction. But that doesn&#8217;t mean we can leave it to the Communist Party. We can&#8217;t expect the LDP to rely on the labor unions. On the other hand, the KDP, which has been siding with the powers that be, is out of the question. In this situation, the votes that have nowhere else to go will end up going to the Restoration Party, which has been consolidating its local organization while maintaining a delicate distance from the LDP. However, the Restoration Party is a small, newly emerging party and has yet to develop its policymaking capabilities. In the Upper House election, the LDP will probably win alone.
The DPJ, which has vowed to &#8220;work desperately to revitalize the party&#8221; for the sake of the people, and which is now led by Izumi, Osaka Seiji, and Ogawa, is in a state of great decline. With the growing voices of &#8220;the Liberal Democratic Party is winning alone&#8221; and &#8220;Kishida&#8217;s long-term administration is neither good nor bad,&#8221; how will the first opposition party make its presence felt? With the gap between the rich and the poor widening and the economic crisis just around the corner, the Upper House election will be an important choice that will determine the future of the country.

 Takashi Hashimoto

 The presence of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is fading. In the run-up to the Upper House election, Kenta Izumi, the representative of the DPJ, said during a campaign in Hokkaido: "The people's lives have become quite tired due to the weak yen and high fuel prices. The people's lives have been considerably exhausted by the weak yen and high fuel prices. The budget for large-scale economic measures will be compiled during the current session of the Diet.

Too much to be done and too little to exist “The Bad Future of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan

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