Kishida to become PM; hold general election Oct 31

Shuffles in the Japanese cabinet are like personnel changes in idol groups. Some of the faces change, but it's ultimately just a superficial charade that serves the interests of rich men.

He’s special.

I wonder if they are going to ask companies to kindly raise wages again. Please desu, wink.

He is definitely not comfortable.

Ooooh, a landline. I wonder if he even knows the number for it.

everything is a carefully orchestrated pantomine before the election. Does no one get tired of this?

will he raise taxes then fly to Europe? Abe loved doing that

Don’t just copy abenomics. Japan needs leadership that actually helps those that need it, not just make salarymen wealthier..

Like companies minimizing workers wages

That’s not a neoliberal policy.

Maximize profits/minimize wages.

In a free market system workers switch jobs to get better conditions.

Since when did that ever become a thing in Japan, with its ideal of lifelong employment?

Japan has really done nothing much over the past 20 years comparable with western “neoliberal” reforms.

Links on single cuffs befitting an intern for a deputy assistant junior minister.

To reverse the neoliberal trend:corporate deregulation,

Deregulation makes for a freer market; regulations serve to act as a barrier to entry, which protects corporates from free market competition.

regressive taxation

Such as sales tax? The reality is that such tax provides as stable source of revenues, so that spending for the needy as always funded come rain or shine, rather than having to fall back to borrow and spend disasters

and subsidies and tax breaks for corporations,

Those are both examples of special privilege for special interest groups; abolishing such practice is a feature of “neoliberal” reforms, not putting such privilege in place

degradation of public services

comes from protecting “public service” from free market competition.

kamisama help us…

The old guys club just keeps rolling along , nothing will change , japan really is not about change at all ,its not the land of the free

@fxgai

Huh? Like what?

Like companies minimizing workers wages so they have more money for share buybacks, dividends to shareholders and higher amounts of retained earnings. Maximize profits/minimize wages. For workers, that means no raises, fewer benefits and higher job insecurity from short-term contracts, as a greater share of national income flows to the rich and away from the lower-income workers.

That in turn depresses GDP growth, because around 60% of GDP comes from private consumption.

Print money and spend it is not part of my neoliberal playbook.

Those actions are responses to, rather part of, neoliberal policies.

A moderate hailing from a political family in Hiroshima

A moderate? He’s part of the Nippon Kaigi which is by any definition a far right association.

The J-propaganda is good at picture another of these ultra conservative as moderate.

And to no mention that he’s another prince of these Japanese “royal” dynasties that keep alternating at the helm of the country.

So little for being moderate and democratic.

He must be a big reader of old books.

The post of finance minister is set to change hands for the first time in eight years and 10 months, with former Environment Minister Shunichi Suzuki to replace his brother-in-law and LDP heavyweight Taro Aso.

All in the family. Not an encouraging sign when you announce you will bring in a system of economic fairness and better working conditions and then have as your head of finance the brother in law of Taro Aso. More Quantitative easing and basic income for bankers!

Give they guy a chance. He hasn't even had a day. At least hold off the criticism for a week and THEN rip into him. Just to be fair about it.

This man will solve all the problems.

minister in charge of declining birthrate

What's he going to do?

Go around an impregnate all the single women?

Sounds like the best job

Kishida government is mere puppet regime, and 3rd form of Abe regime.

Print money and spend it is not part of my neoliberal playbook.

However you are not defining what neo-liberalism is and are not writing the playbook.

In this case Kishida and his enablers are.

Signaling a break from the "neoliberal policies" the government has pursued over the past two decades,

Huh? Like what?

Print money and spend it is not part of my neoliberal playbook.

Kishida has promised to increase middle-class incomes and reduce wealth disparity.

How?

An economic package worth "tens of trillions of yen" is in the works

Yeah… a “break” from policy of the past two decades?

come on it’s the exact same play.

Enjoy the Kishida Kapitalism…

Three females, I believe, in the Cabinet and all have soft/minor posts, like birthrate decline. The key posts: foreign, finance, economy, justice, etc. all go to men. Appearance over substance, Japan style.

Signaling a break from the "neoliberal policies" ....

That's good. If we continue on with free market policies, Japan will become a nation of serfs and barons.

Signaling a break from the "neoliberal policies" the government has pursued over the past two decades, Kishida has promised to increase middle-class incomes and reduce wealth disparity.

I will believe it when I see it. Abe also promised to reform the exploitative contract labor schemes where contract workers do the same jobs as "seishaiin" for far less pay and benefits and are easily terminated; which never happened.

Kishida has identified the problem, but about the solutions those always seem to be yet forthcoming.

To reverse the neoliberal trend:corporate deregulation, regressive taxation and subsidies and tax breaks for corporations, degradation of public services concrete steps need to be taken.

Progressive taxation, negative income tax or a universal basic income, employees getting returned a greater share of the fruits of their productive labor.

To start, he could follow what Denmark has done: during the pandemic corporate coffers got fat from subsidies while many working people's savings have been drained. For any corporation receiving subsidies mandate that they must not engage in capital flight, stock buyback and tax evasion schemes, must maintain employee salaries and jobs during lockdown/slowdowns and employee wages must be raised commensurate with inflation, productivity gains, costs of living.

That said, I will be floored if Kishida makes even the slightest effort towards his stated goals.

Signaling a break from the "neoliberal policies" the government has pursued over the past two decades, Kishida has promised to increase middle-class incomes and reduce wealth disparity.

The US: HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! No.

Keidanren: I agree, boss.

Enjoy your year.

not really a working office, looks more like a theme park set