More than three months after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Naoto Kan administration finally appointed Ryu Matsumoto as state minister in charge of post-disaster reconstruction. But Matsumoto resigned on July 5.
More than three months after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Naoto Kan administration finally appointed Ryu Matsumoto as state minister in charge of post-disaster reconstruction. But Matsumoto resigned on July 5.
"Three days from kickoff to the final whistle" was how a self-mocking Matsumoto used a rugby metaphor to sum up his super-short stint. Matsumoto stepped down to take responsibility for his insensitive remarks to the governors of the disaster-stricken prefectures of Miyagi and Iwate.
We were disgusted, angered and sickened by his remarks, all the more so because on the day of his resignation, reports were released that said the average annual income of Diet members exceeded 21 million yen ($260,000).
Kan deserves blame for appointing Matsumoto. He should also accept the undeniable fact that his administration is virtually finished.
Kan had to beg Matsumoto to take the job because nobody else would. And the prime minister drove himself further into a corner within his own party for not only continuing to snub the party executives' pleas to set a date of his resignation, but also for appointing an Upper House member of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party to a key government position.
And when it came time to look for Matsumoto's successor, all promising candidates snubbed the prime minister.
The more Kan struggles, the deeper he sinks into the mire. His administration is imploding. "Poverty dulls the wit," goes an old saying, and Kan has become a walking example.
In the meantime, post-disaster recovery and reconstruction just cannot wait any longer.
The Cabinet on July 5 approved the government's second supplementary budget plan. The Diet will resume debate about two weeks from now.
The Diet has remained stalled since it decided in June to extend the current session. This in itself is already outrageous enough. We definitely do not need the Matsumoto debacle to delay passage of the new supplementary budget or cut into the Diet's calendar for deliberations on other pending issues.
We now expect even louder calls within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan for Kan's early exit. The LDP and other opposition parties will grow more strident in their demand that the ruling party take firm steps to replace Kan.
But there is no time to waste on political skirmishes. The Diet's immediate responsibility now is to write urgent bills into law and get reconstruction going. The only way for the Diet to achieve this is by settling pending issues and bringing the curtain down on the Kan administration.
We have always said such an approach would be more productive. After all, the Diet session has been extended only to the end of August.
Tatsuo Hirano, Matsumoto's successor, must learn from the mistake of his predecessor who called himself a "guest," and treat survivors of the March disaster with genuine empathy. It is his duty to tour the stricken communities every day with governors, mayors and village chiefs and direct the reconstruction work.
To live up to his primary duty, Hirano should be allowed to delegate his regular Diet responsibilities to his deputies. This should be feasible if the ruling and opposition camps agree.
Forging such an agreement is the least the Kan Cabinet could do to atone for the cringe-worthy mess it generated over Matsumoto's resignation.
--The Asahi Shimbun, July 6