Poet Bunmei Tsuchiya (1890-1990) penned a work that reads:
Because of this mother and father,
I exist here, but this isn’t
something to be said presumptuously
In a House of Representatives election called 3-1/2 years ago by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner New Komeito gained more than two-thirds of the lower house’s 480 seats, winning a public mandate for Koizumi’s pet policy project of reforming the postal service.
The current Aso administration came into existence thanks to the enormous number of seats obtained in that election. In other words, the combined will of the people in favor of the postal service privatization can be seen as the “father and mother” of Prime Minister Taro Aso.
Aso has touched on the possibility of reexamining the management structure of the four privatized postal companies. The law on postal service privatization has a review provision that allows for a reassessment of the reform’s fundamental direction. But if Aso seeks to alter the way the four privatized postal firms are run, he should consult his “father and mother” first.
When Aso was asked why, despite being one of the ministers of the Koizumi Cabinet, he had indicated the possibility of reviewing the management setup of the four postal companies privatized in October 2007, he responded angrily, saying: “I was against it [the postal service privatization]. I won’t find it amusing if I’m held responsible for it.” I wonder how different he is from a petulant child who complains to his or her parents, “I didn’t ask to be born!”
If Aso wants to redraw the blueprint of the postal service privatization, he had better seek the opinion of his “father and mother” by dissolving the lower house for a general election.
The Yomiuri Shimbun. Musings.The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun.
歌人の土屋文明は一首に詠んでいる。〈この母あり父ありて吾(われ)ぞありたりし亢(たか)ぶり思ふべきことにもあらじ〉。母がいて、父がいて、お陰でいまの自分がある。胸を高ぶらせて語ることでもないが、と
３年半前、小泉政権下の「郵政選挙」で自民、公明の与党両党は衆議院の３分の２を超す大量の議席を得た。麻生政権もその獲得議席から生まれている。民営化を支持した民意が麻生首相のいわば父であり、母である
民営化で発足した日本郵政グループ、４分社化体制の見直しに首相が言及した。改革の進み具合を検証する「見直し規定」が法律にあるものの、民営化路線の根幹をなす経営形態を改めるのならば、まずは父母に相談すべきだろう
小泉政権の閣僚だったあなたがなぜ、緒に就いたばかりの分割民営化を見直すのか――と問われて首相は、「自分は反対だった。濡(ぬ)れ衣(ぎぬ)をかぶせられると、おれは面白くない」と答弁で気色ばんだ。「産んでくれと頼んだ覚えはないぞ」と親に悪態をつく子供とどこが違うだろう
民営化の絵図面を描き直したいのであれば、解散・総選挙で父母の意思を問えばいい。
