More than a month has passed since the Hatoyama administration was inaugurated. People can see that it is trying in earnest to implement policy promises spelled out in the Democratic Party of Japan's election manifesto. The administration, which at its outset enjoyed an approval rating that topped 70 percent, still commands strong public support.
In line with the principle of having politicians play a leading role in developing policy measures, Cabinet ministers and senior vice ministers have been seen to be devising new policy measures and trying to speak in their own words, without relying on memos written by bureaucrats.
The administration has already decided to go ahead with child-rearing allowances and income compensation for rice farmers in fiscal 2010. It also decided to scrap the Yanba dam project in Gunma Prefecture, seen as a symbol of wasteful and unnecessary public works. Separately, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has announced a 25 percent reduction in Japan's greenhouse-gas emissions (from 1990 levels) by 2020.