In his second policy speech before the Diet, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda made clear that his administration has abandoned the basic policy line of his predecessor, Mr. Shinzo Abe, who called for a "departure from the postwar regime" and constitutional revisions. Symbolically, Mr. Fukuda did not use the word "reform," a catch word used by Mr. Abe and his predecessor, Mr. Junichiro Koizumi. Instead, his speech used the word "people" 48 times and the word "environment" 23 times.

Mr. Fukuda's speech shows that he accurately grasps the people's political sentiment. He listed strengthening of the economy, maintenance of the social security system and measures to deal with the low birth rate, the increase in the number of irregularly employed workers and flagging local economies as important issues. But it is questionable whether he can display the strong leadership and political skills needed to implement concrete measures that can solve these problems at a time when the Upper House is controlled by the opposition forces, and whether he can distinguish his policy line from that of the Democratic Party of Japan, the leading opposition party, whose slogan is "People' Lives Come First."

Presenting an antithesis to the market principle-oriented policy line pushed by Mr. Koizumi and Mr. Abe, Mr. Fukuda asserted that first a system to neutralize public anxiety about the future should be established, and then on this basis an economic system must be constructed that allows everyone to enjoy its fruits.