New Japanese cabinet

Japan's ex-Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata, supported by an eight- month-old coalition, failed to save his cabinet from falling and now the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have set up a new coalition to fill the void. They are supported by Sakigake (Harbingers), a small party which distanced itself from the Hata coalition before his government was formed. SDP's members started out as members of the old coalition before they left, following a dispute with the conservatives over tax reform and how Japan should approach North Korea's nuclear adventurism.

Tomiichi Murayama's cabinet, announced in Tokyo yesterday, enjoys at least 295 supporters in the 511-member Lower House. But the problem now is determining what kind of government Japan will actually end up with. Will it be able to initiate political stability, a legacy the LDP left behind with a long history of scandals?

On paper, the new cabinet looks to become a strong government since it enjoys a majority support in the Lower House. However, the threat of internal squabbles has already reared its ugly head. Prime Minister Murayama, the SDP leader, saw no alternative in setting up his government than including his party's former political enemies from the LDP.

Judging by the recent temperamental attitudes among many Japanese politicians, old standing grudges will probably grow into sharp antagonism. The SDP might avoid the crisis if it introduces reform, a good first move for a socialist party that has been on the sidelines, politically, for so long. The concept is very much relevant as the prime minister will face the national issues left behind by the short-lived, Hata cabinet.

Murayama will soon have to regulate Japan's economy which is still hog-tied by red tape. A regulation seems to be a must at the moment to create a healthy economy. The new prime minister will also tackle the problem of tax reform. His near difficulties also include next week's summit meeting of the Group of Seven, the strong Yen, the U.S.-Japan trade crisis, and the Kim Il-sung factor in Pyongyang.

So, the first question of the new prime minister is still the one asked by Hata: Will we able to avoid a break-up?

Many observers have already predicted that the SDP-LDP coalition will push many politicians to defect from the two parties. If history repeats itself, this time the LDP's loss will amount to more than the Hata coalition's gains; the phenomenon has the potential to grow into a more serious political realignment. Finally, it will mean that Murayama's cabinet will tread the same path as Hata's government. The difference will be, perhaps, that Murayama will govern longer.

With the herculean tasks that Japan now faces, another cabinet crisis will be too expensive for the country -- even though many Japanese might have already become pessimistic that Murayama's cabinet will be able to perform as more than just a transitional government before the strong one Japan needs comes into being.