As Lower House elections near, each political party needs to accelerate the work of writing its "manifesto" or detailed election platform. As the coming election will be one in which voters choose a government, stuffing a manifesto with money-splashing projects is not likely to win people's hearts. It will be important for each party, though, to present a limited number of pillar policies that indicate to people the kind of society it wants to create.

In the coming election, the voters will pass verdict on the policy line that the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito have pursued since the days of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The LDP should make clear its stance on the retrenchment policy line of Mr. Koizumi.

After voters handed an overwhelming victory to the LDP in the September 2005 Lower House election, the nation's social security system, including pensions and medical services, developed serious problems, and poverty has become a social issue.

The LDP should present its own detailed examination of the Koizumi legacy and make clear whether it plans to take over Mr. Koizumi's policy line while making necessary adjustments, or to make a complete turn from it.

Although the opposition Democratic Party of Japan is enjoying a higher support rate, it should realize that this support tends to reflect people's disappointment with the ruling coalition and does not necessarily mean that people have developed a deep trust in the DPJ's ability to govern.

The DPJ places emphasis on wrenching politics from the hands of bureaucrats, yet a modern state cannot function without bureaucracy. The party needs to clarify the kind of decision-making process it will establish vis-a-vis bureaucrats so that they will work for the benefit of people.

DPJ proposals such as children's allowances, income compensation for farmers and no-toll expressways will require funding sources. The DPJ needs to show not only where it intends to get these funds but also which current projects it will abolish or reduce. This will give true meaning to "policy priorities."