New opposition Democratic Party for the People formed

Pipe dream!

This is why there is never any significant political change in Japan. No matter how many squalid little scandals the LDP gets nut-deep into, no matter how many lies and brown-envelope revelations, no matter how many citizens are opposed to nuclear power and the LDP is the ONLY party committed to bringing all the reactors back online, there is one constant, conscience-salving balm for the electorate.

"But who else can lead us?"

And this kind of toadying, lickspittle article writing doesn't help, either.

Just what Japan needs! A new party full of young men and women, brimming with fresh ideas and a zest for change. Oh, wait, this is Japan....

constantly changing party values and party names is not how to win in politics.

The Communist Party actually have beneficial policies for Joe average they just have to change their monicommon, it's not so hard. Stop ex LDP members switching parties, a viable opposition is knee capped by including these self effacing puss excreting family in tilted old men, Jesus the "Top" are 70 years old on average. Retire for gods sake.

A new party full of young men and women, brimming with fresh ideas and a zest for change. Oh, wait, this is Japan....

And we saw lately a parade of new parties, full of young men and women, in US, UK, Germany. Oh, wait....

And this kind of toadying, lickspittle article writing doesn't help, either.

The use of "desparate" in the first sentence means that there isn't even a pretence of writing objectively in this article.

Tsk... so, in effect, it all boils down to putting lipstick on a pig and hoping for the best.

You can't build a believable party to form government overnight. This isn't Italy. Most democracies have two dominant parties that swap roles on a regular basis, but in Japan, nobody other than the LDP can play the long game and lets face it, if you were looking for a successful career in Japanese politics, you would be far more likely to approach the LDP. I mean, if you actually want to serve AND have a say in policy and implementation.

Japan Communist Party is the only opposition party that could survive changes of time. Why?

"There's nowhere to run, I have no place to go. Surrender my heart, body, and soul

How can it be. You're asking me, to feel the things you never show

You are missing in my heart...Tell me why I can't be there where you are.

Show me the meaning of being lonely... " There is the song I feel in Japan's politicians lost where to be and go.

Abolish government. Let the people decide on a co-operative level without recourse to force.

It's time to move beyond leaders and followers.

Thanks zichi, I agree - everything is possible, despite the naysayers.

The people are always being shafted, here, in the UK and elsewhere. Who says they have to put up with the system forever?

The system is in place to keep us down, to make sure we understand where our place is. More and more people are realising this.

Abolish government. Let the people decide on a co-operative level without recourse to force.

It's time to move beyond leaders and followers.

Abolish government.

All, yes!

Let the people decide on a co-operative level without recourse to force.

Yes system of worker's co-ops and instance recall when failing to represent the people.

It's time to move beyond leaders and followers.

Everything is possible and capitalism is only about 200 years old.

Abolish the monarchies too!

Yeah lets abolish everything because we don't like the LDP. And we have no idea what to replace it with, although its likely to be a form of communism that kills millions, but lets just do it shall we! No, let's not.

Let's evolve our politics of years and decades so we have some hope of making it work, with small, incremental changes, rather than going back to the middle ages, the USSR or WW2.

And we have no idea what to replace it with, although its likely to be a form of communism that kills millions, but lets just do it shall we!

Anarcho-syndicalism and other anarchist variants are not communism. Ask most adherents to the idea and they will tell you that the USSR was state capitalism, at the very most.

IMHO, dismissing ideologies without bothering to do the slightest bit of reading up on them does not advance the argument.

Personally, I'd much rather see something along those lines than anything the USSR had to offer.

I don't see it happening in Japan anytime soon but it's not beyond the realms of possibilty if people take the time to contemplate that there's more than one way to exist.

Why not just switch to a variant form of swiss-style govt? Keep the emperor as he does nothing govt-related anyway, make a 7-member co-equal cabinet that is proportional to party representation, and have much more referenda.

Sidenote: why is the national govt parliamentary (without a functioning head of state to prevent abuse of prime minister), but the prefectures are presidential (governor is both head of prefecture state and govt, elected separate from the assembly without confidence votes)?

That was for the last few people and anyone else who wants to join in.

Toasted heretic: I believe anarcho-syndacalism was tried in parts of Spain, but had the pants beaten off them in the dictatorship due to their level of organization (the anarcho part). Good idea in theory, but practically impossible as long as there are people who crave more power and have supporters (ie humans).

"The new party is co-headed by Yuichiro Tamaki, who took the helm of the Party of Hope, and Kohei Otsuka, who led the Democratic Party."

So, the same leaders of the parties that failed, which were formed after the failure of of the main opposition party and other parties, have co-chaired a "new" party named basically the same thing as the original opposition party? And people unhappy with it are leaving to, I presume, form "new" parties, which will likely for a coalition with the new party, until they lose, disband, and form new parties? And how many names for the once proud "Minshuto" in less than two years? I think it's three names now. They do know that product recognition counts, right? Most people I talked to around Abe's last snap election didn't know what the "Yellow poster group" was because of the name from Minshuto to Shiniminto to whatever that "No name" name was.

These guys make is seriously easy for Abe and Co to get away with murder and get re-elected. Japanese political ineptitude is second only to the US Republican party. I know that's like saying English (or Spanish, depending on sources) is the second most spoken language world-wide after Mandarin, but still, second only to that.

ls anyone else reminded of the scene in The Life of Brian when the anti Roman movement sat around trying to decide on a name.

The Social Democratic Party of Japan

Democratic Party of Japan.

The New Democratic Party.

The Japanese Democratic Party.

The New Japanese Democratic Party

The Democratic Party of the People.

What have the Romans ever done for us?

Yeah lets abolish everything because we don't like the LDP. And we have no idea what to replace it with, although its likely to be a form of communism that kills millions

Why?

I believe anarcho-syndacalism was tried in parts of Spain, but had the pants beaten off them in the dictatorship due to their level of organization (the anarcho part). Good idea in theory, but practically impossible as long as there are people who crave more power and have supporters (ie humans).

Not just the Franco side but the various partisans which included communists.

But there have been other examples - the Diggers in 17th century are one of the earlier ones that springs to mind.

I'm an optimist and believe that the craving for power can be staunched in such a system.

Japan has moved beyond the feudal system, for example. There's always room for change.

cucashopboyToday  05:10 pm JST

The use of "desparate" in the first sentence means that there isn't even a pretence of writing objectively in this article.

As it's Japanese opposition parties we're talking about here, I'd say "desperate" is depressingly close to the mark.

Matt HartwellToday  07:26 pm JST

...if you were looking for a successful career in Japanese politics, you would be far more likely to approach the LDP. I mean, if you actually want to serve AND have a say in policy and implementation.

Serve who? I get the idea the LDP's main aim is to serve themselves.

smithinjapanToday  08:47 pm JST

These guys make is seriously easy for Abe and Co to get away with murder and get re-elected. 

As if it weren't already easy enough with elections basically rigged in the LDP's favour.

Oh what a farce. Only the LDP has members and leaders fit to rule, especially right now in this most dangerous time to be in Japan.

PM Abe will certainly not be worried about this “new” party. He will see them off in a couple if years, just as he will see off all the critics and haters.Stay on your Course, PM.

What Japan really needs is a Libertarian Party.

Tamaki told a party inaugural meeting, "It is the role of opposition parties to monitor the current administration and shed light on its problems," 

Well that's important but it would help greatly, if the opposition parties would also coalesce around coherent policy platforms, so as to offer voters alternatives to the tax-and-spend-bigger policies of the LDP.

Instead they keep coalescing around career politicians, who don't demonstrate having the slightest clue or original idea about how to advance Japanese society beyond where it got to in the 1980's.

It leaves one with the impression that the best hope of real change would be an upstart from within the ranks of the LDP (Taro Kono?) taking control of the LDP. It's doubtful too that the LDP regime will allow for that to happen, but at least the odds appear higher than of policy-based democractic politics coming to Japan.

I expect that as polls numbers fail to improve ahead of the next election, the career politicians will again abandon ship for the strongest opposition party.

Yuriko Koike was dead right when she talked about ejecting the old Minshuto crowd from her Party of Hope. Yet the voters hated this, and the useless opposition politicians were able to remain. 

Until the voters make better democratic decisions they can't expect to see any improvement.