From the article of 'Petrel'
No.711 / Junuary 31, 1999

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Now is the Time to Call for the Overthrow of the Obuchi Administration

The Reactionary Nature LDP/LP Coalition Exposed --- Crush the Guideline Bill!


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The Diet was in session and Prime Minister Obuchi gave his policy speech, but the contents were empty and reactionary. Although he talked about "the image of the country in the 21st century," there were no concrete content. He talked about "breaking away from pessimism" as being essentially important for the economy, but is the present recession coming from the heart of the people? The true character of this administration is clear by the fact that he is exerting the most energy in the policy for "the early approval" of the guideline related bills.
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It's fine that the prime minister has a strong desire to "regenerate" the economy.
However, it's nonsense to first announce that the economy can be restored by "breaking away from pessimism".

He blustered that he "believed" "real economic growth" would turn to plus figures, and recover to about 0.5% by the fiscal year 1999. Needless to say, however, this is only his desire, and there were not any specific views. Nobody can talk about the number and expectation of certain "economic growth" in a society where capital rules and which is penetrated by the movement of the anarchic principles of capital.

If this were possible it would not be capitalism, but society where production and distribution are essentially under the conscious control of people, such as socialist society.

Obuchi holds the shallow idea that the economy is fundamentally influenced by the feeling of people.

According to such an idea, the economy can enter an increasingly bad cycle through pessimism, so an extremely powerful-if not the most powerful-means of overcoming the worsening economic situation is to be optimistic.

Needless to say, if the recession could indeed be overcome by emotional attitudes, this would be the best approach. However, even they will eventually realize through real bitter experience, that the cause of the recession is not subjective, but objectively lies in the contradiction that is immanent in the form of capitalism production.

Regardless of Obuchi's daydreams or desires, the contradiction of the present world capitalism is not so easily overcome with optimism.

Actually, there is no guarantee that the accumulated contradictions will not explode in a global panic if the American bubble bursts like it did in 1929. This is the world of real "global" capitalism-by global we mean the world centered on U.S. capitalism in which the U.S. is the reigning leader and forces its "standards" (interests) on the rest of the world and behave as if they own the place-and sweet fantasies that the economy will take a "favorable" turn are not allowed.

Obuchi administration is emphasizing that the coalition with the Liberal Party is necessary for "stability." If the politics for big capital become firm and "stable," the others are secondary and do not matter.

The framework of politics has become clear: in the end the tendency has appeared that the conservatives (newconservatives?) will unite as conservatives and the opposition parties will join together.

Although several years have passed since the Liberal Democratic Party split and Ozawa left the LDP, only now do they present this plausible argument. If this is now so, why didn't they pursue such a direction when Ozawa split from the LDP? What exactly then was the administration opposing the Liberal Democratic Party created at that time which aimed for new politics?

Just taking this one example it is clear that what the Liberal Democratic Party and the Liberal Party are saying to justify their combination is fundamentally irresponsible and nonsense.

They are basically making an alliance to gain power and then beautify and conceal this dirty essence with timeserving.

Needless to say, this alliance does contain some inevitable political content and there is no shortage of slogans and catchwords to justify it-this is necessary for any kind of alliance or combination --and in the case of the Obuchi administration the inclination is certainly towards reaction. The Obuchi coalition government has nothing else to offer.

What the Obuchi administration is aiming for with the guideline bill is a bourgeois state supported by powerful military force, particularly for the nation to work, struggle and "contribute" actively for the "stability" and "order" of the world; namely for the profit of monopolistic capital in cooperation with the United States. (This is the "normal" nation according to Ozawa.)

Naturally, this nation must send its armed forces throughout the world and must even come to bear the role of military policeman of the world along with the United States.

In the postwar period there have been discussions of the problem of the armed forces and military power and their operation within the framework of the concept of "the defense of Japan," and " self-defense" as is seen in the Security Treaty.

However, it is clear that even if one says "the self-defense of Japan," is possible to "expand the interpretation" as witnessed in the prewar policies of Japanese imperialism being justified by the concept of "the self-defense of Japan."

In this case, "the self-defense of Japan" was synonymous with the imperialistic policy of Japan.

We have to conclude that "the self-defense of Japan" is now being explained with the same content once again. This trend appears as the inevitable result of Japan becoming a powerful bourgeois nation, and its steady military buildup which will only be strengthened from now on.

Moreover, the coalition government of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Liberal Party has become a strong opportunity and starting point towards this direction.

If this is so, the battle cry of the class conscious workers from now on must be the overthrow of the reactionary Obuchi administration.

(Translated by Yoshi & Roy)