Changing Japan: Privatization of Japan Post

Post box

Today's vote was a huge failure for Junichiro Koizumi's government. The issue of privatization of Japan Post was rejected by the Upper House of the Parliament. Koizumi has said he considers a rejection of the proposed legislation a no-confidence vote, so he would call a new election.

For consumers in Japan, a lot has already changed. I can pay my bills in convenience stores (much faster than the local post office...) but there is also the much larger issue. Japundit has researched the issue and explains it rather well:

This program will go a long way to resolving long-standing complaints from both inside and outside the country about the government’s direct involvement in the banking and insurance industries, which distorts one of the world’s largest economies. In the process, it also will hobble the Construction Ministry’s source of funding for pork barrel projects, another bone of contention both in Japan and abroad.

According to Mainichi Shimbun, a nationwide election could give the Democratic Party, the largest opposition bloc, a good chance to form a government.

Democratic Party leader Katsuya Okada said Sunday his party was ready for an all-out battle for control of the Lower House: "We would welcome a dissolution of the Lower House ... The Democratic Party would aim to win a majority (even without a coalition partner)," Okada said on an NHK news program.

The election on September 11 could also have huge conseqenses for Japan globally, for example to improve relations with China and South Korea, and to withdraw the country's Self-Defense Force troups from Iraq.