1. In order to change the policy course of the Abe Administration, which has focused on “market-based principles and politics for the strong,” RENGO will support the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and work to reverse the positions of the ruling and opposition parties in the 45th House of Representative election.

2. RENGO will strive to firmly root manifesto-based election campaigns in Japan (meaning elections based on policy choices) in order to further develop policy-oriented party politics and enable voters to choose a proper government. RENGO will ask the DPJ to conduct a full exchange of views with RENGO before preparing its manifesto.

3. RENGO will fight for the priority issues during the election campaign. To help endorsed Diet members better understand RENGO policies, RENGO will hold dialogues and learning sessions at its headquarters and Local RENGO Political Centers.

4. In the 21st Upper House election, held in July 2007, the DPJ won 60 seats and became the largest party in the Upper House. As a result, the opposition parties took over the majority in that house. RENGO will continue to work to boost the name recognition of endorsed candidates to ensure that they can win the top spots in the proportional representation sections of the 22nd Upper House election scheduled for July 2010. RENGO will also consider how to support proportional representation candidates, whose election campaigns all affiliates are involved in.

5. In order to generate a synergistic effect between the constituency districts of the Upper House election and the proportional representation election, RENGO will stand poised to mobilize all local affiliates to work toward the election of all endorsed candidates.

6. RENGO will be involved in local elections to realize RENGO policies at the prefectural level as well as in cities, towns and villages. Under the basic policy of being involved in local elections in partnership with the DPJ, local affiliates will proactively find and endorse their own candidates, while RENGO will make efforts to have these candidates endorsed by the DPJ. After their election, RENGO will encourage them to form a joint assembly group.

7. RENGO will encourage manifesto-based campaigning in local elections. In elections for the heads of local governments in particular, RENGO will, with the aim to improve the governance capacity of local governments and further facilitate decentralization reform, ask all candidates to draw up manifestos and make decisions according to the contents therein.

8. To strengthen the political activities of trade unions, RENGO will also strive to strengthen the functions of the Political Center. RENGO will continue to hold education sessions on the Public Offices Election Law to seek strict compliance with rules about election campaigns.

9. RENGO will promote political education as a part of efforts to strengthen the functions of the Political Center. For this purpose, RENGO will draw up a 2008 political education program and act based on it.

10. With a view toward establishing a “political forum” (provisional title), RENGO will conduct research on appropriate political activities for trade unions, based on the 2006 overseas research report “Politics and Trade Unions.”

11. Since the standings of the ruling and opposition parties were reversed in the 21st Upper House election, RENGO has recognized that a “political system enabling a regime change” has truly been born, and will intensify support for the DPJ over the coming two years. In addition to further consultations with the Upper House DPJ group on how to work on bills, RENGO will cooperate in strengthening the DPJ’s organization and activities at the national and local levels.

12. RENGO will seek the establishment of a government that will achieve the stability of working people’s lives and social justice. RENGO will maintain an unbiased attitude toward governments and hold policy consultations with the government on a regular or as-needed basis.

13. RENGO will seek to realize its policy and institutional demands through consultations with political parties. It will hold regular consultations with the DPJ to ensure that RENGO’s policies are reflected in national politics. RENGO will also have policy consultations as necessary with other political parties, both ruling and in opposition.

14. RENGO will strive to collect information on Diet management and deliberations, and work with the DPJ’s Diet Affairs Committee to deal with Diet affairs. It will also carry out activities both inside and outside the Diet to galvanize public opinion.

15. RENGO, in cooperation with political parties and the Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Reform toward the 21st Century, will work to revise the Public Offices Election Law with a view to revitalizing politics in Japan and increasing voter turnout. This revision will include a review of various regulations about election campaigns and the utilization of the Internet.

16. In the 166th ordinary Diet session, it became obligatory for political funds management organizations to submit receipts for any affair costing \50,000 or more. But this revision is not adequate. RENGO will seek to revise the Political Funds Control Law so that all political organizations of Diet members are required to further disclose income and expenditure reports on political funds.

17. RENGO will strengthen the activities of the Diet Members’ Council of RENGO. RENGO will also make efforts to further strengthen cooperation with endorsed Diet members for the realization of RENGO’s policies through closer ties with the forum of RENGO-endorsed Diet members.

18. Local RENGOs will strengthen cooperation with RENGO-endorsed Diet members and local assembly members by establishing a Caucus of Diet Members Endorsed by RENGO or a similar forum, thereby helping the realization of RENGO policies and expand the base of favorable political forces. Local RENGOs will seek to broaden their social influence through regular consultations with local government heads.