With a month to go before the Aug. 30 election, the Democratic Party of Japan unveiled its campaign platform Monday, featuring five main principles centering on a government led by politicians rather than bureaucrats.
The platform includes five main promises, including a complete review of the budget, a ban on the "amakudari" custom of giving retired senior bureaucrats jobs in industries they previously oversaw, and creating a monthly allowance for families of ¥26,000 per child starting in 2011, a year earlier than originally planned.
"We are at a historical turning point," DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama said in announcing the manifesto.