61860    In general, now that they have returned to power, the sense of crisis that hung over the party when it fell to the status of opposition party and the excitement over the rejuvenation of the party have all but evaporated, as if to say all is forgotten once the danger has passed.

61861    What has become more glaring instead is the resurgence of the old LDP with its obsession to keep power, a full come-back of those lobbyist-Diet members who were exposed during the compilation of the budget, wriggling at the faction level in anticipation of the impending expiration of the prime minister's term of office in September, and other concerned issues.

61862    What on earth has the LDP learned from its fall to the status of opposition party?

61863    If what it learned was just the gratefulness of being in power, it is obvious that arrogance and corruption will be cropping up like mushrooms again.

61864    The LDP must strictly recognize the current situation of the party, go back to square one where they pledged for rejuvenation and reform, and make the convention a forum to thoroughly examine these issues.

61865    As the rescue operation goes on, new casualties are being discovered and the actual damage has been turning out to be ever greater.

61866    There have been an incredible number of deaths, injured and missing persons.

61867    With no fire extinguishing measures available due to the disrupted water supply, fire that spread all over the City of Kobe has burned more than one hundred hectares.

61868    Two hundred thousand people are being forced to live in evacuation shelters.

61869    There are people devastated by grief over the death of their families, those who are worrying about relatives who are missing, those standing helplessly before their homes in flames ......

61870    It is impossible to imagine how they must feel.

61871    The Great Hanshin Earthquake has struck the overcrowded city.

61872    Not only those in the disaster area but also everyone in this country must be thinking, "why should such a thing happen?"

61873    Analysis of the actual damage, full investigation into the cause of the damage to this extent and other related issues must be carried out immediately.

61874    However, for the time being, we hope that the government will focus its effort on searching for missing persons and assisting the disaster victims, with saving lives being the top priority.