when it comes to implementing a moratorium plan. He also insisted that the plan is not simply his own, but rather that it is based on the governing parties’ tripartite agreement concluded before the formation of the Hatoyama cabinet. Hatoyama denied that the DPJ, SDPJ, and PNP included this proposal in this agreement, but he did not deny that his government will grapple with the problem of financing for small- and medium-sized enterprises and may mandate a law that, unlike Kamei’s plan, would impose a moratorium on repaying principal, instead of interest and principal. Ikeda Nobuo links to a video on Youtube of Hatoyama’s voicing his support for a proposal along these lines made by Kawauchi Hiroshi, DPJ representative from Kagaoshima’s first district. (Jiji reports on Hatoyama’s campaign trail comments too.)

But at the same time Hatoyama said the matter ought to be debated ‘robustly.’ In other words, the problem isn’t that Hatoyama is on Kamei’s side and is pushing hard for a moratorium. The problem is that Hatoyama is not leading at all. The Prime Minister appears to be working hard to stay above the fray.

Perhaps this is what a government led by a Prime Minister who is first among equals looks like. Rather than issue marching orders to his ministers, Hatoyama is letting them hammer out a policy themselves. For now the moratorium is in the hands of Ootsuka Kohei, the Vice Minister of financial services, who is leading a council to investigate countermeasures to overcome reluctance to lend and the withdrawal of credit by financial institutions. Ootsuka, a former Bank of Japan official, wants to make it easier for SMEs to delay payments but does not want to obligate banks to accept a blanket moratorium. An outline of the council’s bill will be ready by 9 October. Kamei was not pleased to hear Ootsuka’s position — indeed, Kamei insisted that as a Vice Minister Ootsuka does not have the power to say what he said about a possible moratorium.

Kamei’s remarks sound rather defensive, as if he just got completely outmaneuvered. He will undoubtedly continue to talk, but with Ootsuka’s team working on a draft bill, Kamei will not get all the attention on the issue. The government appears to be fighting back against Kamei procedurally, as I suspected.

We may yet see why it is crucial that the government has empowered parliamentary vice ministers — and why it is crucial that Ootsuka and Furukawa Motohisa were placed at the center of the government as Vice Ministers for the cabinet office, where they will be in a position to coordinate the work of other ministries. Having economics and finance experts at the working level will strengthen the government immeasurably.

Kamei will continue to fight, and sooner or later Hatoyama will have to make his position known, but for now the Hatoyama government appears to have taken the first step to reclaiming its agenda from Kamei.