Is Hashimoto Just a Caretaker?

Ryutaro Hashimoto, the tough, wily leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, appears to be Japan’s parliamentary choice to be the next prime minister. The formal decision is expected Thursday. But the question is whether Hashimoto has already traded away too much in the bargain.

What Japan needs is a political evolution, an immediate call for a new general election based on single-seat candidacies. An election would force major policy discussions out of the back rooms into open forums for discussion among the Japanese people. If Hashimoto cannot turn the deal around, voters are apparently going to get another term of dithering coalition politics.

The coalition of the LDP, the Socialists and the New Party Harbinger is at best a marriage of convenience and power--not principle. As such, the structure yields policy paralysis, not proactive government, at a time when Japan is facing some of its biggest challenges in 50 years.

Has Hashimoto bought into the cynical approach of simply hanging onto office until June 1997, when the new elections are required to be held?

Early elections under the new system could give Japan a quantum leap forward in responsive government. But it appears that LDP politicians, faced with electoral uncertainties, would rather keep the status quo while they consolidate power.

Ichiro Ozawa, who recently was elected to head the main opposition party, supports new elections, but it is Hashimoto who has the power. The two politicians, both in their 50s with reputations as back room dealers having first-class smarts, surely recognize the need to set a new, more aggressive agenda at home with the economy and abroad in foreign policy. Both understand the importance of U.S.-Japan ties and the need to shore up the relationship.

But Hashimoto will apparently head a caretaker government. Is that really leadership?