Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama made his first keynote address to the Diet on Monday. He should be commended for summing up his "politics of fraternity" in his own words — thus dumping the practice of pasting together sentences written by bureaucrats from various ministries.

In elucidating his political philosophy, he made it clear that his politics of fraternity will set out to create a nation of "popular sovereignty" in which the aim of politics is to treasure human life and protect people's standard of daily life. His main theme was strengthening human bonds. He said he will dedicate all his strength to bringing about a Japanese society whose members offer support to each other — recognizing that all people are invaluable — and where each person can discover a "place he or she belongs" and a "role to play."

Mr. Hatoyama gave his 52-minute speech a personal touch by mentioning his encounter during the election campaign with an old woman whose son killed himself after he couldn't find a job. It is commendable that he mentioned the sad fact that more than 30,000 people take their lives out of despair every year in Japan. He also mentioned his visit to a leading dustless-chalk factory where disabled people work.

He proposed a shift to an "economy for the people" that puts greater emphasis on the quality of people's lives — including providing adequate safety nets for employment and human resources development — and adopts a consumer's perspective with regard to the economy, instead of placing so much weight on economic rationalism and growth rates.

Indicating a different orientation from the days of the Liberal Democratic Party's rule, his speech leaves the impression that change is imminent in Japanese politics. But though strong on the philosophical side, the speech offered few specific examples of the role politics can play in achieving such a society.

He repeated many election promises, including monthly child-rearing allowances, income compensation for farmers, virtually tuition-free high schools and the abolition of expressway tolls. But he failed to present a concrete road map for realizing these goals based on a broad vision of a future Japan. He also failed to mention tax burdens people will have to shoulder. Given the financial difficulties ahead, he should seriously consider prioritizing policies.

Mr. Hatoyama pointed to the failure of politics to live up to people's expectations as well as people's apprehension over pensions, medical services and their future standard of living. To regain the public's trust in politics, he said his Cabinet ministers, senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries — all elected politicians — are now taking the lead in developing policy. He also called for an "exhaustive cleanup of the postwar government" through the elimination of wasteful spending and projects, strategic compilation of budgets, and more devolution of central authority to local governments.

Some 40 days after its inauguration, however, the Hatoyama administration still appears weak around its foundations. For example, its Government Revitalization Unit to eliminate wasteful spending and projects is yet to get into gear. And its National Strategy Bureau to work out budget outlines has not yet been given the legislative authority to act.

Mr. Hatoyama, nevertheless, pledged to proactively implement public disclosure of administrative information, which will play a significant role in making bureaucracy transparent. The administration should faithfully adhere to this policy. He also said that child rearing and education are not issues that individual citizens should have to take on alone. He called for viewing them as investments in the nation's future, whose cost should be borne by all members of society in a mutually supportive manner. This is reasonable. But efforts beyond merely doling out money will be necessary.

On the diplomatic front, he pledged to have Japan play a leading role in international negotiations to combat global warming and to contribute significantly to international efforts to deliver to children of the future a "world without nuclear weapons."

He said the seas surrounding Japan must never again become scenes of conflict and that the foundation for achieving this is a close and equal Japan-U.S. alliance. He explained that "equal" ties with the United States means that Japan must actively make proposals and be cooperative in order to help the bilateral alliance's efforts toward global peace and security. This is easier said than done. The government must keep in mind that this will require ingenuity, adequate preparation and compliance with the principles of the war-renouncing Constitution.

Mr. Hatoyama said toward the end of his speech that by attaining citizens' active participation in politics and government, he will devote his utmost efforts to changing history in the truest sense and leading Japan in a dramatic rise, with the help of its people. With the Diet now in session, his words' worth will face their greatest scrutiny yet.