政客、政治家、政治屋
中文無「政治屋」說法，所以大部份的人採用「政客 vs政治家」、的對比（注重贏得下次選舉的 vs 為下代著想的）。
日本語言情況為「（政客＝政治家） vs （政治屋）」（後者注重贏得下次選舉的）。
There is a distinction between a seijika (statesman) and a seijiya (a derogatory term for someone who enters politics purely with self-interest in mind). The seijika（政治家） thinks of the next generation, while the seijiya（政治屋） thinks only of the next election.
Voters disillusioned by Abe's lack of concern
--The Asahi Shimbun, July 30(IHT/Asahi:
【政客】解釋
以政治活動為專業，缺乏政治理想，但求個人利益，不擇手段的政治人物。
積極從事政治活動，以從政為專業的人。為英語politician的義譯。
（教育部國語辭典）
せいかく 0 【政客】
政治に携わる人。政治家。
せいじ-か ―ぢ― 0 【政治家】
(1)政治をつかさどる人。政治を担当する人。
(2)政治的手腕をもつ人。事を巧みに処理する力をもつ人。駆け引きや根回しのうまい人。
せいじ-や ―ぢ― 0 【政治屋】
私利私欲のためにその立場を利用し、公的な責任感に欠けた政治家を軽蔑していう語。
三省堂提供「大辞林 第二版」より凡例はこちら
Voters disillusioned by Abe's lack of concern
07/31/2007
In ancient times, the Greek philosopher Thales was also an avid astronomer. One night, he was said to be so engrossed in stargazing that he did not watch his step and fell into a well. His servant teased him, "You are so interested in what is above your head that you pay no attention to what's under your feet."
The crushing defeat that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party suffered in Sunday's Upper House election reminded me of this story.
Ever since Abe became prime minister last September, he has given the impression that his head was in the clouds, obsessed with dreams of turning Japan into a "beautiful nation," "rewriting the Constitution" and "breaking away from the postwar regime." For Abe, I imagine these grand illusions were like bright constellations glittering in the fantastic night sky.
And he seemed indifferent to the issues that truly concerned voters. He showed little interest in the growing disparity in incomes that is affecting many people's lives. He was tripped up by political money scandals and tumbled headlong into the deep well of the pension debacle.
And so, at this critical juncture, he has decided not to pursue his own ideals but is attempting to salvage the damage.
There is a distinction between a seijika (statesman) and a seijiya (a derogatory term for someone who enters politics purely with self-interest in mind). The seijika thinks of the next generation, while the seijiya thinks only of the next election.
When he became prime minister, Abe might have been a seijika. But since falling into the "well," he has behaved unmistakably like a seijiya who is very unsure of his position. Even many of his LDP supporters were disillusioned by Abe's lack of backbone under pressure.
Thales posited the cosmological theory that the origin of all matter is water, and that all matter eventually returns to being water.
And according to the Chinese philosopher Xunzi, who lived in the 3rd century B.C., people are like water and the ruler is like a boat. "Water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it," he is reputed to have said.
Voters can support a political regime, but once they become dissatisfied with it, they will overturn it. That is the power of democracy.
Abe's boat has capsized. But he is determined to keep swimming, even though the rough waves of the people's anger are swamping his efforts.
--The Asahi Shimbun, July 30(IHT/Asahi: July 31,2007)
Survey: 47% of voters want Abe to step down
08/02/2007
Nearly half of voters want Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to resign despite his determination to stay on following his party's crushing election defeat on Sunday, an Asahi Shimbun opinion poll found.
According to the telephone survey conducted on Monday and Tuesday, 47 percent of the 1,094 respondents said Abe should leave office, compared with about 40 percent who say he should remain prime minister.
The support rate for Abe's Cabinet plunged to 26 percent, the worst since the administration was formed in September, while the nonsupport rate reached 60 percent for the first time.
In the previous survey taken on July 21 and 22, the support rate was 30 percent and the nonsupport rate was 56 percent. The support rate last September was as high as 63 percent.
Reflecting the results of Sunday's Upper House election, 34 percent of respondents said they supported opposition Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan), dwarfing the 21 percent who backed Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Minshuto became the largest force in the 242-seat chamber with 109 seats, including those not contested on Sunday. The LDP holds 83.
As many as 68 percent of voters--including nearly 40 percent of LDP supporters--regarded the election results as "good," while 18 percent of all respondents did not think so, according to the survey.
Thirty-four percent of the respondents said Abe was to blame for the LDP's huge defeat in the election, while 59 percent said he was not.
Asked to pick one of three issues on why LDP lost so many of its Upper House seats in the election, 44 percent of the voters chose the pension mess, 38 percent picked scandals of Cabinet ministers, and 12 percent pointed to widening income gaps.
The survey also showed that many voters were not on the same wavelength as Abe, who said after the election that he felt his "basic policy line had been understood by many of the nation's people."
As many as 62 percent of the respondents said they did not agree with what he said, far more than the 26 percent who did.
Only 36 percent of respondents said they supported the government's reform policy centered on economic growth, while 43 percent said they were against that policy.
In fact, the rising criticism against the LDP seemed to have much more to do with Minshuto's gains in the Upper House than what the opposition party stands for.
Eighty-one percent of the respondents said Minshuto was able to increase its seats in the Upper House because "there were problems within the LDP."
Just 9 percent said they were counting on Minshuto's policies while a mere 4 percent were relying on Minshuto leader Ichiro Ozawa.
When voters were asked what they expected from Minshuto, changing the ruling coalition's policies topped the list, with 37 percent choosing that answer. Twenty-five percent said they were hoping for a change of government, while 33 percent said they were not expecting anything.
A majority of the respondents, or 54 percent, said a dissolution of the Lower House leading to a snap election does not have to be rushed, but 39 percent said it should be done as soon as possible.
The support rates for other parties were: 5 percent for New Komeito, the LDP's junior coalition partner; 3 percent for the Japanese Communist Party; 2 percent for the Social Democratic Party; and 1 percent for Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party).(IHT/Asahi: August 2,2007)
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