After Japan's house of Councilors voted down a government bill for the privatization of the postal services last Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi invoked Article 7 of the Constitution, dissolving the House of Representatives and calling for snap elections. The decision has polarized opinion in the political arena.
Many political commentators and politicians have criticized Koizumi's decision for being "unnecessary" and "stubborn," and believe that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is not going to come out well in an early election set for Sept. 11. Even former prime minister Yoshiro Mori, a long-time supporter of Koizumi, criticized his move, describing Koizumi as "an eccentric among eccentrics." He believes that the move will divide the LDP and prevent the party from gaining a parliamentary majority in the upcoming elections. In short, he believes that Koizumi's decision is political suicide.
However, opinion polls by a number of Japanese media outlets indicate that over half of the general public support Koizumi's decision, which they see as honoring his pledges to the public. By risking his political life, Koizumi may see his political fortunes revived from the ashes. But he is taking an enormous risk.
Since the enactment of Japan's post-World War II constitution, the lower house has been dissolved on 21 occasions, including this most recent instance. Former prime minister Shigeru Yoshida dissolved the lower house in 1954 when threatened by a vote of no confidence. In 1990, then prime minster Toshiki Kaifu dissolved the lower house over the issue of a consumption tax. In 1969, then prime minister Sato Eisaku dissolved the lower house after the legitimacy of the Cabinet was challenged. To boost his popularity, former Primer Minister Yoshiro Mori also dissolved parliament. In short, the right to dissolve parliament has long been viewed as an "heirloom" of successive Japanese prime ministers as a method of last resort to solve political issues or stalemates.
Even since President Chen Shui-bian (
In this situation, the Executive Yuan and the president are reacting to pressure from the legislature; they do not have the right to initiate the legislature's dissolution. While lawmakers can obstruct bills over their three-year term, as long as they do not propose a vote of no confidence they can sit out their term, and there is no other means available for the legislature to be dissolved and a new election to be called.
The perpetuation of political stalemates, whether over policies proposed by the government or calls for reform from the public, serve to wear down political ideals.
If the legislature needs to be dissolved, then dissolved it should be. The government should be bold and put the issue to the public rather than allow a political stalemate to continue unresolved. This is the lesson we should learn from Koizumi's actions. In future amendments of the Constitution, we should also give serious consideration to granting the government the right to initiate the dissolution of the legislature.
Yeh Hung-ling is a student of the graduate school of Political Science at National Taiwan University.
Translated by Daniel Cheng
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