With an eye to the expected general election next month, the Democratic Party of Japan has drafted a compact platform calling for various reforms, including elimination of highway tolls.
To be released Sunday, the platform, which the DPJ is calling a manifesto, covers seven major policy areas. It features a pledge to abolish the government-proposed 18 trillion yen in subsidies to local governments, because the money comes with "strings attached."
Instead, the DPJ wants the money to be used freely by local governments.