LDP maintains status quo

Ryutaro Hashimoto will be busy in coming months if he retains leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) which had a better-than-expected performance in Sunday's election.

The first priority for the 59-year-old LDP leader will be to form a coalition government given the party's failure to win a majority in the 500-seat Diet, or lower house.

The LDP still has clout in Japanese politics if one looks across the board at the election outcome. The most notable aspect is that members of the old, pre-split, LDP, have won the vast majority of seats in the new proportional representation system.

In other words, not only has the LDP emerged as the major conservative force, but the Shinshinto (New Frontier Party), a breakaway faction of the LDP, has become a significant opposition party after decimating the Social Democrats, the former opposition leader's party.

The results, however, do not indicate that Japanese are now yearning for conservatism. In fact, it's far from that.

Lack of interest in the election last Sunday was obvious. There was a record low voter turnout of 59 percent, down from 67 percent in the previous election. Lack of interest among young Japanese was particularly notable.

In fact, the election campaign was muted before it begun. Significant issues, like Japan's role in the world, the World Trade Organization, and domestic reforms necessary for the decentralization of power were, unfortunately, of little appeal to the electorate. And they cannot be blamed for that.

Most Japanese believe that bureaucrats run the country, and they view elections as a kind of ceremony held every few years in order for the people to play voters. To put it bluntly, they believe the real business of running the country is conducted elsewhere, and there will be little change to that.

There will be deals in the next few days, but the most likely occurrence is that Hashimoto will come back as prime minister, and it will be business as usual.

-- The Nation, Bangkok