Noda's party unity hopes dim / Ozawa group unlikely to abandon opposition to sales tax hike

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's efforts to maintain the unity of the Democratic Party of Japan with the Cabinet reshuffle Friday left most members of the intraparty group supporting former party President Ichiro Ozawa unimpressed.

As DPJ legislators backing Ozawa have been dead set against raising the consumption tax rate, Noda will almost certainly have difficulty in getting all members of the party to toe the line, according to analysts.

Of the five newly appointed members of the Cabinet, Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka is from the Ozawa group and Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Hirofumi Hirano is close to former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who opposes a consumption tax hike.

During a press conference Friday night, Noda was asked what he thought about the adverse reactions from lawmakers belonging to the Ozawa group to the appointment of former DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada to the post of deputy prime minister.

"Is it really true such a lot [of Ozawa group members are opposed to Okada's becoming deputy prime minister]? So many?" Noda asked instead of answering the reporter's question.

"A politician shouldn't be so narrow-minded as to refuse extending cooperation simply because a certain person assumes a certain post," he said.

At another press conference on the same day, Shinji Tarutoko, acting secretary general of the DPJ, stressed there was no "disturbance within our party" because of the Cabinet reshuffle. Instead, the revamped Cabinet should be deemed as the "best possible lineup," he said.

However, the Ozawa group has long held antagonistic feelings toward Okada, who took the initiative in the DPJ's decision last year to suspend Ozawa's party membership following his indictment over a political funds report scandal, the analysts said.

A younger-generation member of the Ozawa group said Friday, "More lawmakers may bolt from the party, depending on the way the consumption tax rate issue is handled."

Defense chief Tanaka is the only Cabinet member from the Ozawa group. A number of DPJ lawmakers said his appointment did not necessarily result from Noda's efforts to appease Ozawa and his followers.

Tanaka is the chairman of Mokuyo-kai, a group of DPJ House of Councillors members supporting Ozawa. However, he has not joined a new policy study group that was inaugurated toward the end of last year with Ozawa as its chairman.

Although Tanaka calls himself a "quasi-member" of the Ozawa group, he prefers to be known as "a member of our party's upper house caucus."

An upper house DPJ member said Tanaka has a stronger allegiance to DPJ Secretary General Azuma Koshiishi.

As a senior member of the Ozawa group put it, "The biggest focus of attention will be the dispute [between the Ozawa group and DPJ legislators supporting a higher consumption tax rate] over the advisability of the government submitting the bills to raise the consumption tax and how to conduct Diet deliberations."

Ozawa is reportedly planning policy study meetings twice a week from Monday with a view to increasing his opposition against raising the consumption tax rate.

Hirano, who served as chief cabinet secretary under the Hatoyama administration, has left the Hatoyama group, although he maintains friendly ties with the former prime minister.

In appointing Hirano as education minister, Noda presumably intended to enhance party unity, but it will do little to unify party members in working toward the goal of integrated reform, a DPJ legislator close to Hatoyama said.