“My Political Philosophy” (Chap2) Yukio Hatoyama Monthly journal “Voice” September Issue Aug 10th, 2009

Chap2 The End of LDP One-Party Rule and the Announcement of the Democratic Party of Japan

In the Post-War Period, the LDP confronted socialist forces inside and outside Japan and dedicated itself to Japan's reconstruction and the achievement of high economic growth. These were noteworthy achievements which deserve their place in history. However, even after the end of the Cold War, the LDP fell into the trap of "the politics of inertia", and continued to act as if economic growth in itself was Japan's national goal. The party continually failed to adapt to the changing contemporary environment and shift towards policies designed to qualitatively improve people's lives. At the same time, unhealthy ties between politicians, bureaucrats and corporations continually led to political corruption, a long-standing illness of the LDP. When the Cold War came to an end, I strongly felt that the historical role the LDP had played in supporting Japan's rapid economic growth had come to an end, and that the time had come for a new seat of political responsibility.

Therefore, I left the LDP, which had been founded by my grandfather, and after participating in the establishment of the New Party Sakigake, I eventually became the founding leader of the Democratic Party of Japan. The (former) DPJ was founded on September 11, 1996. The following phrases were included in the statement released to mark the founding of the party. "From today onwards, we wish to place the spirit of fraternity at the heart of our society. Freedom can often result in an unrestrained environment where the strong prey upon the weak. Equality can easily result in a malevolent form of equality where all differences are criticized. Fraternity is the power that can prevent such extremes of freedom and equality yet over the past 100 or so years the power of fraternity has been marginalized. Modern nations up until the 20th century rushed to mobilized their people and in doing so tended to assess their worth as a single mass [rather than as individuals]. …… We believe that each individual human being has a boundless, diverse individuality and that each human life is irreplaceable. That is why we believe in the principle of ‘self independence’ through which each individual has the right to decide upon their own destiny and the obligation to take responsibility for the results of their choices. At the same time, we also stress the importance of the principle of ‘coexistence with others’ under which people respect each other's mutual independence and differences while also working to understand each other and seek common ground for cooperative action. We believe that we must steadfastly adhere to these principles of independence and coexistence not only in the context of personal relationships within Japanese society but also in the context of the relationships between Japan and other nations and the relationship between humankind and the environment."

Author Saneatsu Mushanokoji wrote the famous words "I am me, you are you, yet we are good friends". I think these words truly express the spirit of fraternity. Just as the ideals of freedom and equality evolve with the contemporary environment, in terms of both their expression and their content, the idea of ‘fraternity’, which calls on us to respect individuals, also evolves with the times. When I saw the collapse of the totalitarian regimes that both Coudenhove-Kalergi and my grandfather Ichiro Hatoyama had opposed, I redefined my understanding of fraternity as ‘the principle of independence and coexistence’".

13 years have now passed since we formed of the former Democratic Party of Japan. During the time since then, post-cold war Japan has been continually buffeted by the winds of market fundamentalism in a US-led movement which is more usually called globalization. Freedom is supposed to be the highest of all values but in the fundamentalist pursuit of capitalism, which can be described as ‘freedom formalized in economic terms’, has resulted in people being treated not as an end but as a means. Consequently human dignity has been lost. The recent financial crisis and its aftermath have once again forced us to take note of this reality. How can we put an end to unrestrained market fundamentalism and financial capitalism that are void of morals or moderation in order to protect the finances and livelihoods of our citizens? That is the issue we are now facing. In these times, I realized that we must once again remember the role for fraternity identified by Coudenhove-Kalergi as a force for the moderating the danger inherent within freedom. I came to a decision that we must once again raise the banner of fraternity. On May 16, 2009, in the run-up to the DPJ leadership election, I made the following statement: "I will take the lead in coming together with our friends and colleagues to overcome this difficult situation and ensure that we achieve a change of government in order to bring about a fraternal society based on coexistence." What does fraternity mean to me? It is the compass that determines our political direction, a yardstick for deciding our policies. I believe it is also the spirit that supports our attempts to achieve ‘an era of independence and coexistence’.