Photo/Illutration Members of the Liberal Democratic Party’s new body to discuss political reform attends the first meeting on Jan. 11 as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who heads the body, speaks. (Takeshi Iwashita)

O. Henry’s “A Retrieved Reformation” is a masterpiece that depicts the process of how a former prisoner turns over a new leaf.

The protagonist, Jimmy Valentine, renounces his life as a safecracker for the woman he loves, even changing his name to Ralph Spencer.

However, one day, a young girl who is the woman’s niece gets trapped in a safe by accident. Knowing its mechanisms from experience, Jimmy realizes he is the only one around who can save the child.

With a readiness to face the consequences, he opens the safe and then approaches a police detective who had known Jimmy Valentine well as a skilled safecracker.

Expecting to be arrested by the detective, Jimmy says, “Got around at last, have you? Well, let’s go. I don’t know that it makes much difference now.”

Surprisingly, the detective replies, “Guess you’re mistaken, Mr. Spencer” and “Don’t believe I recognize you.” The detective believes in his reformation and leaves.

The story leads me to ask one question: Should we believe in the Liberal Democratic Party’s ability and will to reform? This question concerns the recent formation of the ruling party’s “political reform headquarters,” a newly created task force that met for the first time on Jan. 11.

Is it by any chance that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida thought that members of a faction once led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the LDP would be in a good position to contribute to the party’s house cleaning because their group is the most widely plagued by the problem that must be addressed?

The new special unit has 10 members of the Abe faction. Surprisingly, this faction, which is at the center of the political funding scandal that has engulfed the party, has the most representation in the new team to address the deep-rooted problems behind the scandal.

Moreover, nine of these 10 Abe faction members are suspected of converting a portion of the income from fund-raising parties into slush funds.

If the party intends to reform itself, it should start with the reform task force. Yet, Kishida suggests that “the exclusive approach is inappropriate” and shows no intention of replacing these scandal-tainted members.

This could be due to a shortage of alternatives after a series of resignations and dismissals.

One must wonder if there is any point in convening a group that seems to only align with the internal party hierarchy. Is this also an issue that can be addressed in a mere two weeks, the period in which the task force is expected to compile an interim report?

It is also odd to see as many as 11 titles such as “supreme adviser” and “secretary-general.”

At the beginning of the year, Kishida pledged to regain public trust and stabilize politics, which sounded like a commitment to ensuring the party would break with the past.

However, the party’s new reform task force seems to be a strong argument against expecting that to happen.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 14

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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