Japan's business leaders have expressed hope that Shigeru Ishiba, the newly elected president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, will accelerate the country's economic growth amid signs of recovery, including rising wages and prices.
Ishiba, who is set to replace Fumio Kishida as prime minister, is expected to come up with a stimulus package immediately after taking office.
Masakazu Tokura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, the country's biggest business lobby, described Ishiba as "a leader who is ready to propel innovations."
"Our country is facing a turning point to see if we can move out of deflation completely," Tokura said in a statement, stressing that political stability is imperative in implementing necessary policies in a timely manner to realize growth.
Ken Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, sees Ishiba as "well-versed in policy" and a "man who takes the bull by the horns."
"The Japanese economy has made the first step toward economic growth. We hope he will accelerate this momentum," Kobayashi told reporters, referring to the biggest pay increase in over 30 years in this year's spring wage negotiations.
The Japan Association of Corporate Executives requested that Ishiba's government work to reduce the economic burden on working generations by evaluating the cost-effectiveness of government spending in health care, child-rearing, and national defense.
"The Japanese economy is at a turning point," said Takeshi Niinami, chair of the association, in a statement. "We hope he pushes forward on critical issues both domestically and internationally," such as revitalizing regional economies and improving the country's growth rate.
Ryuichi Isaka, president of Japanese retail giant Seven & i Holdings Co, said Ishiba's administration should increase collaboration with the private sector "to realize a virtuous cycle of economic growth and increased consumption."
© KYODO
5 Comments
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Jonathan Prin
M. Ishiba has no particular skills not have specific intuition. Does he have new ideas in any way ?
It just seems the next PM that he was lining up and waiting foe his time like before.
Japan should change hugely work law and family assistance. Still waiting.
sakurasuki
Just keep on hoping.
WeiWei
This is not economic growth, it’s artificially inflating the values without anything actually growing.
Don’t be fooled.
JeffLee
That's up to the business leaders. They've had the world's lowest borrowing costs and record-high profits for many years now. So where's the "sustained economic growth"?
The answer is, Japanese businesses have squandered it thru their wage suppression policies. Most of Japan's GDP comes from consumer spending. But the businesses are keeping that down.
Agent_Neo
Japan does not have a dismal literacy rate like America, and it is thanks to its unique culture that it is the most developed democratic nation in Asia.
The only way to improve the economy is to raise people's incomes or lower taxes. Companies cannot be forced to raise employee salaries, so if Ishiba wants to improve the economy he should cut taxes or provide subsidies, but I don't think he can do that.
Having always struck his allies in the back, he cannot be trusted or relied upon, and I expect he will be even worse than Kishida.
I also don't like his attitude of pandering to China.
He will not be able to conduct proper diplomacy.
factchecker
Japan businesses hope for sustained economic growth under next PM
That was so funny I forgot to laugh. Changing to top muppet changes nothing. The country needs structural change which won't ever happen.