In its manifesto for the Aug. 30 Lower House election, the Liberal Democratic Party has obviously tried to distinguish itself from the Democratic Party of Japan in some areas. But the party's priorities remain vague.
Unlike the DPJ, which clearly states what matters it will focus on in the coming four years if it takes power, the LDP is placing emphasis on longer term goals. For example, the party says it will make the nation's per capita income the highest level in the world in 10 years' time by raising each household's disposable annual income by ¥1 million, but it fails to concretely state how it will achieve this lofty goal.
Apparently trying to strike a contrast with the DPJ, whose manifesto fails to mention the possibility of raising the consumption tax to pay for growing social welfare costs, the LDP hints that it will increase the tax "without delay" once economic conditions improve. But it neither cites a specific time-table for doing nor specifies how high it will raise the tax.
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