LDP show verging on theater of the absurd

It is said that in ancient China there was a law that banned people from glorifying the past and criticizing the present. Authorities punished violators by executing their entire families. It seems romanticizing the past and complaining about the present--in particular the lack of capable politicians nowadays--is a habit that has not changed throughout the millennia.

Even so, I'd like to consider, for a moment, the names of successive presidents of the Liberal Democratic Party from long ago. The first president was Ichiro Hatoyama (1883-1959). The second was Tanzan Ishibashi (1884-1973) and the third Nobusuke Kishi (1896-1987). They were followed by Hayato Ikeda (1899-1965), Eisaku Sato (1901-1975) and Kakuei Tanaka (1918-1993) ... . Regardless of what you think of them, they were all political heavyweights. Back then, even someone as relentless as Miyazaki Governor Hideo Higashikokubaru would have had trouble pressing the LDP to consider him for party president.

In response to a request by the party to run in the upcoming Lower House election, Higashikokubaru said he would only do so if the LDP considered giving him the "presidential seat." The demand has caused wide repercussions and triggered a great deal of political maneuvering. It has also given many voters the impression that the LDP has gone a long way downhill since the grand days of old.

I am reminded of the seasonal word natsu-shibai (summer play) used in haiku poems. In old times, theatrical companies would attempt to draw crowds during the summer--when theatergoers were few--by staging performances of ghost stories and bizarre acts in which performers would transform suddenly into other characters. Since star actors took their holidays in summer, it was also a time when new faces would debut.

As the leader of the "LDP troupe," Makoto Koga, the chairman of the LDP's Election Strategy Council, is worried about the approaching summer play because he has a dearth of star players. Koga hoped to cash in on Higashikokubaru's popularity by getting him to run in the election on the LDP ticket, but was stumped by a request for an unexpectedly expensive appearance fee. Other actors in the troupe are angry that the governor has slighted them.

An amusing haiku by Minoru Ozawa goes: "A summer play/ As soon as he steps on stage/ Kenmotsu so-and-so gets killed." It depicts a scene from a play in which a samurai called Kenmotsu so-and-so, apparently played by an actor with a bit part, is slashed as soon as he appears.

Can Higashikokubaru play the leading role in the upcoming election or will he be given a bit part? Will he appear on stage at all? The play could turn out to be a farce, but it is a gamble that the lightweight LDP is going to take.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 25(IHT/Asahi: June 26,2009)