School extends influence as DPJ takes power

Expectations of a fundamental change in the way Japan is governed are running high now that the Democratic Party of Japan is in power.

And the ferocity with which ministers like Seiji Maehara have shaken up the system by vowing to slash projects deemed wasteful, seems to give promise that a new breed of leadership has finally emerged in this country.

Three decades after he set out to create an academy that would groom leaders capable of breaking the traditional mold, Konosuke Matsushita's dream may have finally come true.

The Matsushita Institute of Government and Management in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, has produced many lawmakers since it was formed in 1979.

Currently, eight ministers and deputies in the administration led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama hail from the academy, known as Matsushita Seikeijuku in Japanese.

"As Japan increasingly finds itself caught in confusion, it is necessary to create a system to develop leaders capable of managing the state in a new way," Matsushita, founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., present day Panasonic Corp., said the year the institute was founded. Matsushita invested 7 billion yen of his own money to set up the institute.

Every year, around 200 people, from new university graduates and bureaucrats to Self-Defense Forces members, apply to attend the three-year, live-in course.

While their goals and motivations for applying vary from political ambitions to self-improvement, only about five new students, or "associates," are accepted each year.

Once accepted, the associates undergo a strict regimen designed not only to increase knowledge, but to develop character as well.

Early one recent morning, 13 men and women in their 20s and 30s, armed with brooms and dustpans, took part in the daily ritual of cleaning the roughly 20,000-square-meter institute grounds.

The 13, participating in a trial event held to give people an idea of what life is like at the institute, were all up at 6 a.m. Following chores, the associates and novices jogged about 3 kilometers along a nearby beach. After breakfast, the associates lined up and recited the institute's pledge to "contribute to the peace, happiness and prosperity of all humankind by searching for guiding principles of government and management," along with "five vows."

The vows include promising to "have a spirit of independence and self-reliance" and to "be on the cutting edge of creative innovation."

"I realized that I was unable to articulate to others in detail my aspirations," said Hiroto Igawa, a 26-year-old university official who participated in a full-course experience program which included Zen meditation, listening to lectures by graduates and a debate session.

The curriculum includes two-hour classes in which associates study the teachings of founder Matsushita, classic literature, and practice kendo, tea and calligraphy. Every year, first-year associates participate in a 24-hour, 100-kilometer round-trip hike to the Miura Peninsula.

In the Aug. 30 Lower House election, eight former associates won seats, bringing the number of institute graduates in the chamber to 31.

Two state ministers, six deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries in the Hatoyama administration are former institute associates, some of whom appear to be going places.

"When I was studying at the institute, Konosuke (Matsushita) talked about the notion of creating a tourism-oriented nation. We must realize his vision and review the current airport and port facilities and systems," said Maehara, the minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, upon taking office Sept. 17.

Of the 31 Lower House members hailing from the institute, 25 are DPJ members, while six are from the Liberal Democratic Party.

Lawmakers like first-term DPJ Lower House member Koichiro Katsumata, a graduate of the institute, pointed out that until recently, in order to run on the LDP ticket--long considered the surefire way to get elected--one had to be a former bureaucrat, or a candidate who inherited funds and a voting base from a relative.

Those without money, credentials or a voting base, had little chance to attract LDP endorsement.

"That the institute created a new path to become a politician, in the end, was significant," said DPJ Lower House member Koichiro Ichimura, another institute graduate.

Many politicians who got their start at the institute, regardless of party affiliation, agree that it afforded them an indispensable experience.

"After watching many others run for office, the fear of the election process subsides. There aren't too many places where you can get that kind of experience," said LDP Lower House member Hirokazu Matsuno.

Some say the biggest asset is the personal links created. "There is a sense of camaraderie," the DPJ's Katsumata said.

But when it comes to political networking, the sense of camaraderie does not cross party lines.

According to some institute graduates, rumors that graduates of the institute were trying to create a new political party were to blame.

"While we hope to continue political discussions, there are no common ideals or principles shared by all the members, whose stances range from conservative to liberal," said one graduate. Another likened the relationship to "a varsity sport old boy's network."

Meanwhile, some watchers say the fact that a large number of politicians have risen from the institute's alumni is not necessarily a cause for rejoicing.

Yasuhiro Idei, a journalist and author of "Matsushita Seikeijuku towa Nanika" (The reality of Matsushita Seikeijuku), said founder Matsushita's goal "was not to create a large number of politicians, but even just one real politician capable of working for the betterment of Japan."

Idei called it "interesting" that alumni such as Maehara and internal affairs minister Kazuhiro Haraguchi are in a position to shake up the status quo by breaking away from wasteful public works projects and pushing for decentralization, respectively.

At the same time, he said the fact that a large number of ordinary people were making inroads into national politics, as exemplified by the large number of rookie candidates fielded by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in the 2005 Lower House election, and more recently, by the DPJ in the August election, "the rationale for the institute's existence in the public eye may have weakened."(IHT/Asahi: November 7,2009)