Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda maintained his humble tone Wednesday in his first one-on-one debate with Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa.
During the nearly 50-minute "question time," in which the prime minister and the leader of the largest opposition party met face to face to wrangle over political issues, Ozawa spent more than 30 minutes pressing the pension fiasco and the rest of the time on the antiterrorism bill that would allow the Maritime Self-Defense Force to resume the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
"There is a feeling of discontent and anxiety among the Japanese public, and one of the largest issues triggering this is the pension issue, because it concerns people lives very closely," Ozawa said in his opening volley during a Lower House panel session.