Tentative Translation
March 30, 2016
Agreement on Basic Policies
The Democratic Party
1. Realistic diplomacy and security● We will contribute to peace and prosperity in the international community by deepening theJapan-U.S. Alliance and achieving mutual coexistence with the Asia-Pacific region. We will
pursue a realistic security policy, based on the premises of constitutionalism and an exclusively
defense-oriented policy.
● We will enact new legislation that will nullify all problematic sections of the security legislation
passed in 2015, including unconstitutional sections; and that will be able to cope with the severe
environment surrounding Japan.
● We will make proactive contributions internationally in non-military sectors, including nuclear
weapons abolition, the acceptance of refugees and humanitarian assistance.
2. Establishing constitutionalism● We will establish true constitutionalism through broad public participation.
● In order to realize the fundamental spirit of the Constitution of Japan, which is “the sovereigntyof the people, respect for basic human rights, and pacifism,” we will aim to revise its provisions,such as those relating to regional autonomy, as necessary in response to the changing times.
3. Stimulating economic metabolism to create growth● By reforming regulations that deny new business entries, we will stimulate Japan’s economic
metabolism with the goal of doubling business startups, and creating sustainable and substantive
economic growth.
● We will promote free trade through economic partnership agreements (EPAs). However, we will
rigorously review the specific content of individual EPAs from the perspective of the national
interest, and determine their merits and demerits.
● We will enhance assistance for non-material resources in areas such as research anddevelopment, human resources, IT and design, in order to increase productivity at small- andmedium-sized enterprises, which support the regions.
● After strengthening vocational training and safety nets, we will increase the mobility of humanresources to growth sectors. We will move ahead with nurturing and gathering together a pool ofcreative talents, including scientists, artists and entrepreneurs. We will accept the entry ofnecessary human resources from overseas in a strategic manner.
● We will create a society in which working is worthwhile by implementing equal pay for equal
work and regulations on long work hours.

14. A society built on mutual coexistence in which everyone has a place and a role to play
● We are the party of ordinary people, taxpayers, consumers and workers, and aim for a tolerantsociety with few inequalities, where people respect diversity, the core of society’s dynamism. We
will uphold the basic concept that politics serves the socially disadvantaged.
● We will support children and young people and promote gender equality. We will aim for asociety in which the population is maintained, and where people can work as regular employees
and marry and have children if they wish to.
● We will realize a sustainable social security system through prioritization and efficiency, while
paying heed to intergenerational fairness.
● We will diversify public service actors, including local governments, schools, NPOs, companies
and local communities, and create a society in which those actors work in full cooperation with
one another.
● We will pursue personnel management for civil servants based on skills and performance, whilerestoring their fundamental labor rights and building a framework for determining working
conditions through negotiation. Until civil servants’ fundamental labor rights are restored, wewill respect the system of National Personnel Authority Recommendations as a compensatory
measure.
5. Zero nuclear power plants in the 2030s● In order to have no nuclear power plants operating in the 2030s, we will commit to energy
conservation, and will also promote a shift to small-scale dispersed power sources and renewableenergies.
● We will make clarification of the government’s responsibilities, formulation of responsible
evacuation plans, and commencement of the process to select final disposal sites for nuclear
waste the preconditions for restarting nuclear power plants.
6. Self-sacrificing political reforms● We will reject vested interests, and will switch from “bureaucracy-centered politics” to“citizen-centered politics.”● We will press ahead with reducing the number of Diet members, as we have promised thepeople.
● We will work to formulate legislation that prohibits political donations by companies andorganizations (including prohibiting them from purchasing tickets to fundraising parties) andpromotes donations by individuals. Additionally, from the standpoint of enhanced transparency,
we will work to formulate legislation for disclosing how Diet members’ mail, communications(telephone, fax, and telegraph), transport, and lodging expense allowances are used, as well aslegislation mandating the collation of the income and expenditure statements of politicalorganizations affiliated with Diet members and their publication on the Internet.
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● Based on the Bill for the Promotion of Fiscal Consolidation, we will commit to reducing
wasteful public works projects, implementing administrative reform and other initiatives toensure that a primary balance surplus is achieved by FY2020.
● We will aim to cut the total personnel expenses for national civil servants by 20%, on thepremise that we will consult with and obtain the agreement of staff organizations and othergroups.
● We will make the advancement of self–sacrificing reforms and the enhancement of social
security preconditions for raising consumption tax to 10%.
7. Regional sovereignty reforms● We will do away with the overconcentration of power, financing and people in Tokyo, andrealize autonomous regional communities that can become self-reliant through their ingenuity
and originality.
● We will aim to shift to the doshu system (reorganizing Japan into a number of ‘super-prefectures’
under regional governments) while strengthening municipalities. In doing so, we will respect thechoices made by each region.
● We will carry out a comprehensive overhaul of regional offices belonging to government
agencies, and promote the transfer of personnel to the regions.
● We will revise the local government finance system, including the transfer of tax resources andmoving to allocation of state subsidies as lump-sum grants, and a review of the regional tax
allocation system.

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