A historic political change took place in the Asian neighbourhood, when Japan’s main opposition party Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) overthrew the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the recent general election, after an almost unbroken rule by LDP for half a century.
For quite some time the Japanese voters had been highly displeased with the ruling party for the strong economic crisis that Japan has been going through for around 20 years, witnessing high level of unemployment and other unpleasant factors that accompany a struggling economy. Moreover, there was no sign of any improvement in the near future, which could encourage the common people to retain faith on LDP. Therefore there is nothing surprising that the Japanese voters got LDP ousted. Rather what may be surprising is how they could tolerate LDP for such a long time.
However, DPJ has no time to cherish the elusive victory that they have at last managed to grab. They are now responsible for bringing back the country’s failing economy back on its feet. They must realize that actually it was not their victory, but the loss of LDP. The actual objective of common people was not to bring DPJ to power, but to get LDP out of power. So, instead of patting their own back for the electoral results, they should swing into action immediately. At the same time they must remember that there should not be any over-enthusiasm, no desperation to bring a sudden improvement in the economy. Any hasty act can result in further worsening of the situation. Rather, they should first make a proper, all-round study of the scenario, identify the loopholes and draw backs, and chalk out a roadmap, and then proceed.
We all know about the resilience of our Japanese friends. The way they bounced back after being demolished by US atom bombs is almost like folklore. And we all believe that the Sun of economic prosperity will again rise in this “Land of the Rising Sun”.
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