With the passage of the 2005 government budget Wednesday, the Diet effectively ended the first half of its 150-day regular session. The biggest issue in the second half is the proposed privatization of postal services -- the main pillar of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform initiative. To succeed, he must adhere to his professed principles of privatization.
Other contentious issues include an overhaul of the public pension system. The ruling and opposition parties are expected to begin full-dress talks after the Lower House by-elections in late April. The exchanges so far have been lackluster. People are looking for hard-hitting debates during the rest of the session. Legislators should respond as best they can.
Postal reform would entail drastic changes. First, 270,000 employees of Japan Post, a public corporation, would become private workers. As a result, the number of national civil servants would drop 30 percent.