Not all political parties campaigning for the Nov. 9 general election describe their campaign promises in the form of a "manifesto." But they all have a common objective: explaining their beliefs and policies to the electorate in clear language. Yet many descriptions are equivocal and even confusing when it comes to divisive issues. A case in point is reform of postal services.
Postal reform is a key subject of debate between the Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been pushing for privatization since taking office in April 2001. The LDP manifesto states, without going into detail, that postal services (savings, insurance and mail) will be privatized in April 2007.
The DPJ manifesto calls for "reforms that help improve national services and invigorate regional economies," but it avoids, intentionally or not, the word "mineika" (privatization). The Japan Communist Party is explicitly opposed to privatization, saying that the current publicly managed system should be maintained to "protect ordinary people's savings."