The Democratic Party of Japan unveiled on Tuesday its policy platform for the Dec. 16 Lower House election, vowing to end use of nuclear power by the 2030s and promote participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade accord.
Suffering a low public support rate, the DPJ is facing a tough battle against the Liberal Democratic Party in the election. But Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his DPJ are not giving up without a fight, aiming to point out to voters that a return to power by the LDP would spell the return of "old-style politics."
Noda acknowledged that the DPJ failed to implement many of its policies during its leadership and apologized to the public. The prime minister stressed that the 2012 platform was compiled after reflecting on previous pledges.