The friction between competing political parties no longer fortifies the effectiveness of lawmaking. If anything it confounds the process. The opposition Liberal Democratic Party has openly vowed to be legislatively uncooperative until the ruling Democratic Party of Japan calls an election, so in order to give the appearance of actually doing something, the DPJ passes any bill it can regardless of its value.

On Aug. 29 the Diet unanimously approved a revision to the Animal Welfare Law. The revision, which went into effect last Monday, mandates that puppies and kittens sold to pet stores cannot be less than 56 days old. This stipulation is said to be in line with animal welfare regulations in other developed countries and is meant to reflect the finding that animals taken from their mothers before they are weaned tend to have health and "behavioral" problems later on. The revision was adopted as a DPJ policy and is supported by the Japan Veterinary Medical Association.

However, the law will not change anything. Yorihisa Matsuno, a former DPJ lawmaker who worked on it, told the weekly magazine Aera that the revision as it was passed "has no backbone." The new amendment to the Animal Welfare Law states that breeders cannot sell animals to pet stores until the 56th day after their birth, but the amendment also has two added provisions. One says that during the first three years the revision is in effect, animals can be sold if they are at least 45 days old; and the second states that if the law isn't reconfirmed after this three-year probation ends the mandated cutoff period becomes 49 days rather than 56 days.