New Prime Minister Naoto Kan has announced the lineup of the Democratic Party of Japan's party leadership and the Cabinet. The lineup clearly shows his thinking: Give a fresh image to the party and Cabinet and win back people's trust by diluting the influence of former DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa, whose image suffered over allegations that his political funds management body violated the Political Funds Control Law.
Mr. Kan appointed Mr. Yukio Edano to the post of party secretary general. Mr. Edano had played a leading role in the Government Revitalization Unit (GRU), which scrutinizes budget requests and projects of nonprofit public service corporate bodies that receive public money, and has served as administrative reform minister in the Hatoyama Cabinet. Mr. Edano is highly critical of Mr. Ozawa's political style, which aroused suspicions of pork-barrel spending and the revival of vested-interest politics.
A weak point of the DPJ lawmakers criticizing Mr. Ozawa is their lack of experience in organizing nationwide election campaigns as Mr. Ozawa did. It is Mr. Ozawa who helped lead the DPJ to victories in the 2007 Upper House election and in the 2009 Lower House election and has laid the groundwork for the DPJ's campaign in the coming Upper House election. Mr. Edano's appointment will improve the DPJ's image. But he must prove his ability in the promotion of party unity and in the DPJ's fight in the coming election.
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