DPJ presidential candidates avow future cohesion, slam ineffectual "Abenomics"

The three contenders competing to lead the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in its presidential election Sunday, stressed Thursday the fractured party needs to reunify to mount a successful campaign against Prime Minster Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), while taking aim at the leader's skewed "Abenomics" policy mix.

Former deputy prime minister and acting DPJ chief Katsuya Okada, former DPJ secretary general Goshi Hosono and Akira Nagatsuma, who previously served as the party's health minister, told a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan that the party could garner more public support if it demonstrated more intra-party cohesion.

Following high hopes from the nation as the party ousted the LDP from more than half a century of unbroken rule in 2009, the DPJ saw three prime ministers take the helm in many years and suffered a calamitous defeat in the 2012 general election that saw the LDP regain power and the public's faith in a demoralized DPJ diminished.

Adding to the party's woes, former leader Banri Kaieda was forced to resign following the loss of his seat in last month's snap election, as Abe's ruling coalition secured more than a two- thirds majority, giving the LDP command over both upper and lower chambers of parliament.

But in a bid to chip away at Abe's support base, the three contenders blasted the prime minister's aggressive blend of economic policy initiatives dubbed "Abenomics" -- a mainstay of which saw a controversial sales tax hike in April plunge the nation into recession, as corporate investment and capital spending slumped, industrial production dropped and consumer spending tumbled.

Okada, a Harvard educated policy expert, for his part, opined that the effects of "Abenomics" while being somewhat muted thus far have and will not have an even benefit across the nation, with the major advantageous primarily being enjoyed by big businesses.

He said that the richer echelons of society should be taxed more and those on the opposite side of the wealth divide, especially families with young children, should be provided with financial safeguards, including subsidies and tax breaks.

"How about raising the income tax and inheritance tax rates to correct the widening wealth gap? We could also increase our budget on child care, or come up with a policy to increase the number of regular employees so that they can work without worries," the acting DPJ chief was quoted as saying.

Hosono noted that the Government Pension Investment Fund's allocation of increased investments into domestic stocks had served to raise market prices, but had compromised the future security of the nation's public pension program, an indisposition that ironically plagued the LDP when it was in power.

Nagatsuma, who made a name for himself in politics when he reported missing records of public pension plans, maintained that "Abenomics" had yet to see an uptick in consumer spending, which accounts for around 60 percent of Japan's GDP.

"Money is going to companies, but actual wages are falling. A lack of investment in individual development is serious. It's important to correct the wealth gap," Nagatsuma said.

The three candidates also traversed the issues of further empowering women in society, as the prime minister's "Womenomics" notion of raising the status of women in society and ensuring more women hold positions of power in business has yet to come to any kind of fruition, and deliberated about the long talked about realignment of the opposition camp.

All three concluded that the priority for the party, however, in the immediate future was to rebuild itself, work toward defragmentation, increased cohesion and addressing its "ill discipline." Endi