Abe campaigns on 'stability' ticket as Brexit rocks markets

Absolutely. Okada needs to get more aggressive, but people will not vote for a party that pledges to bump up the consumption tax. If he ditches that component, and focusses on Abe's record over the past few years (secrecy law, article 9 etc) he should win. Won't hold my breath though. Even if the Democratic Party won, they'd still have the same situation before - a LDP majority in the diet. Meaning all of their legislation gets blocked until people get fed up and bring the LDP back.

Agree 100%

@kurumazaka :you are right about Abe. He lived in Long Beach with American family

..Why are a bunch of gaijins meddling in the domestic affairs of japan?... Howls of laughter. Catch my breath. Perhaps you wish they would all just shut up and Jexit.

Absolutely. Okada needs to get more aggressive, but people will not vote for a party that pledges to bump up the consumption tax. If he ditches that component, and focusses on Abe's record over the past few years (secrecy law, article 9 etc) he should win. Won't hold my breath though. Even if the Democratic Party won, they'd still have the same situation before - a LDP majority in the diet. Meaning all of their legislation gets blocked until people get fed up and bring the LDP back.

Abe also studied in the US. UCLA. As we have seen, that doesn't mean much in the greater scheme of things

Fair enough. But you would agree that Okada is better than Abe, right Glen?

@ Reckless I am too scared to short and put. But if with the higher yen, the Brexit excuse, and the "reloaded" nudge from the IMF, Abe/Kuroda print more then I am sure that stocks will rise again temporarily. Some say, http://www.mag2.com/p/money/11066 however that the USA appears to have put pressure on Kuroda not to print, because the US is sick of the weak yen. So I have not purchased anything. I think that Abe may want the 2/3 majority so much that he will print in advance of July however. But then as I have commented elsewhere, I think that printing is evil so perhaps I should not attempt to make money out of it.

Take Katsuya Okada who is a seasoned politician, speaks fluent english, has studied in the US,

Abe also studied in the US. UCLA. As we have seen, that doesn't mean much in the greater scheme of things.

Is Abe going to print money again to ensure his win? I am wondering whether to purchase, say, a TOPIX Core 30 EFT which is down about 50% in the past year and 10% in the past Brexit week.

Why are a bunch of ̶g̶a̶i̶j̶i̶n̶s̶ ̶ Japanese global companies meddling in the domestic politics of Britain?

Fixed it for you, sunbeam.

And tough border controls...... Sound familiar?

Nope, it doesn't. Brits want fair border controls, not tough, and they certainly don't want no controls at all.

diuneahma,

Yes, better to shut up, gaijin; we Japanese can screw this up all by ourselves, thank you very much. Now, bugger off. Besides, like you, typing an opinion on a second-rate news site is hardly meddling.

Dictatorship implies absolute power. One person who takes control of a political situation,. In government, a dictatorship leaves no room for input from anyone who is not the top guy. The noun comes from the late 14th century Latin word, dictare, which means to "repeat or say often." In a dictatorship, one person keeps repeating the same command: "My way or the highway."

Exactly Gary. You hit the nail on the head.

I think that pretty much describes post-1952 Japan, except for a couple of years, don't you think so?

agreed. And if you need more proof, the state secrets act cements it all.

The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (自由民主党) and Komeito (公明党) have passed the state secrets laws .The penalty for divulging state secrets will be a 10-year sentence for public officials, and five years for journalists. Critics claim the government is trying to muzzle the media and cover up official misdeeds.

Sounds ALOT like the number of dicatorships I've lived under.

Anyone in their right mind is going to boot him out of office next month.

Exactly! The idea that there is no other choice but Abe is BS, and anyone who says that doesn't know much about Japanese politics. Take Katsuya Okada who is a seasoned politician, speaks fluent english, has studied in the US, has a personal relationship with Hillary Clinton, is presentable and articulate, and is not a crazy nationalist trying to send japan over the abyss. Why wouldn't Okada be a better choice than Abe?

Why are a bunch of gaijins meddling in the domestic affairs of japan?

Because we live here, pay taxes here, and since our spouses AND children are japanese, it affects us and our families

And tough border controls...... Sound familiar?

@diune: JT is for anyone who can communicate in English. Gaijins are not meddling. They just write their opinions that they feel.

Many of them live in Japan. Xenophobia Japanese people can't stand mavbe but enjoy their discussions.

Why are a bunch of gaijins meddling in the domestic affairs of japan?

Abe should plan to organize Asia Union. There are more countries in Asia than Europe. Beside that, Asian countries are growing with better trade practice.

Prime Minister Abe is afraid to debate the opposition leaders because he will have a tough time defending the following 3 topics. The debate questions can be :

(1) The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (自由民主党) and Komeito (公明党) have passed the security laws which allow Japan to join in fighting wars started by the USA. What are your opinions on the security laws ?

(2) The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (自由民主党) and Komeito (公明党) have passed the state secrets laws .The penalty for divulging state secrets will be a 10-year sentence for public officials, and five years for journalists. Critics claim the government is trying to muzzle the media and cover up official misdeeds. What are your opinions on the state secrets laws ?

(3)The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (自由民主党) and Komeito (公明党) want to revise the Constitution to allow Japan to fight in foreign wars. Do you the revision is needed ?

Prime Minister Abe definitely does not want the 3 issues to get a lot of publicity because of widespread protests and opposition. The opposition parties can get a lot by just publicizing they want to get rid of the laws.

Abe has proven time and time again that his main concern is revising the constitution and doesn't mind Japanese families descending into poverty.. Abenomics has now become synonymous with boondoggle, and it's blatantly obvious that unless the elites tell him to jump, he won't make a move.

Brexit is NOT "rocking" markets.

"Shall have an increase in consumption tax?"

"Yes, er no, er yes, er no, um no, er, yes um." (S. Abe)

Stability?

Must be some new and unusual definition of the word that I'm not familiar with.

Google Trends revealed the second most asked question about the EU from the UK following the referendum was "What is the EU?" So, how many people voted In or Out without knowing what the EU is! Lots it seems. Scary.

But the Brexit vote was condemnation of stability as performed by the established "leadrers."

The value of the yen had been stable at around 80 to the dollar for several years before Abe came in and did everything in his power to reduce its value.

Yeah, stable if you just looked at a few year chart. It had been in the 110 +/- 4 are for what... 20 years before that? Which one of those seems stable?

Watch Osbornes (British Cancellor of Exchequer/Finance minister) statement today. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36637732 He clearly states that the G7 among others have been planning a "what if" scenario for months. Abe and Aso are showboating big time.

u_s__reamer -

I get the joke, but Japan does do Christmas. It's just usually the commercialized trees and santa like much of US, not the baby jesus and stuff.

Japan doesn't do Christmas, but if they did, these LDP turkeys would still vote for it.

ThonTaddeo - "If the Japanese voters truly wanted stability, they would boot Abe right out of office and go back to the new-PM-every-year system of ~2010."

This would be fine by me. Those that say govt change every year would bring instability should understand the role of civil servants who actually run the country behind the scenes.

Gary Raynor - Dictator was actually derived from ancient Rome. In cases of extreme unrest, the consul in power (dual co-equal executive that alternated chief role every month) would have senate declare him dictator for a year. He would have ultimate power, but could not attack the Senate (obviously Sulla and Caesar destroyed that system).

Anyone in their right mind is going to boot him out of office next month.

To follow-up Farmboy's comment - who are they going to select instead? The options are pretty lacking.

I think we all have to accept that Abe is going to remain in charge, because the opposition has not managed to put together a realistic alternative candidate - or even party for that matter.

Abe is playing the Fear Factor on the Japanese people. He basically want to run Japan like China (really!) with laws restricting Free Speech. Notice the priority he place for stability which means keep LDP in power forever. This is not how democracy works. Democracy produce uncertain outcome. Japanese people should vote what is best for them, not for 'stability' which essentially make Abe PM for life. Dare to vote for change!

Very lame. After all, he has only forced up the consumption tax, introduced the secrets law, illegally tampered with the constitution, and permitted censorship of the media. Anyone in their right mind is going to boot him out of office next month.

I am dumbfounded that anyone would use "dictatorship" in this context. Using that terminology for Japan devalues the term "dictatorship" and is a gross insult to the millions who died under the likes of Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, etc.

I'm no fan of Abe, but I agree.

So lame. When is Japan gonna give that guy the boot?

bullfighterJun. 27, 2016 - 07:29PM JST

I am dumbfounded that anyone would use "dictatorship" in this context. Using that terminology for Japan devalues the term "dictatorship" and is a gross insult to the millions who died under the likes of Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, etc.

I am dumbfounded that you with a supposed PhD in history doesn't know the definition of a dictatorship. Let a humble ex-Masters (mine is real) help you.

Dictatorship implies absolute power. One person who takes control of a political situation,. In government, a dictatorship leaves no room for input from anyone who is not the top guy. The noun comes from the late 14th century Latin word, dictare, which means to "repeat or say often." In a dictatorship, one person keeps repeating the same command: "My way or the highway."

I think that pretty much describes post-1952 Japan, except for a couple of years, don't you think so?

"Vote for me, my mediocrity and incompetence can be more reliably counted on than that of the opposition!"

A dictatorship where people have no choices is not 'stability' any more than peace being achieved through the extinction of the human race. On the contrary, one party having a majority and doing whatever it wants from then on regardless of what the people want will only cause HUGE problems. It is dumbfounding that the people will still vote for this clown and his party knowing full well they will go against their wishes and revise the constitution once they win.

I am dumbfounded that anyone would use "dictatorship" in this context. Using that terminology for Japan devalues the term "dictatorship" and is a gross insult to the millions who died under the likes of Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao, etc.

Dictatorships don't have contested elections. Dictatorships don't worry about getting a majority in parliament. Dictators don't spend months getting a toned down version of their pet project through parliament.

Anyone who thinks Japan has a dictatorship should spend a few years in North Korea or even communist China.

One thing all rightist politicians have in common: fearmongering.

Centrists and leftists use it as well.

It will take years for Britain to successfully get out of the EU. What's with the hype.It certainly won't happen overnight.

Twats -sorry that would be unfair to Twats.

Oh gawd. "You all better vote for me, because at least I haven't screwed it up too badly like the DPJ might."

One thing all rightist politicians have in common: fearmongering.

Sub text?..... Daren't trust democracy? can't trust the people? Better the devil you know! Vote ME.

Japan needs to get rid of Abe but really there is no one else they all have no idea.

This man is the most change-oriented Japanese politician in more than a decade -- with all of those changes good for him and his elites and bad for the public, mind you -- and he touts "stability"?

The value of the yen had been stable at around 80 to the dollar for several years before Abe came in and did everything in his power to reduce its value. Each time it threatened to claw back any losses, he and his henchman Kuroda printed up more money to make sure that the rich stayed ahead and the masses kept losing. They're doing it again right now.

Consumer prices had been stable for nearly two decades before Abe tried to hoodwink the public into thinking rising prices would somehow lead to prosperity. He has been proven wrong, of course, and the public is stuck paying more for daily goods.

Most importantly of all: the nation had been stable in its commitment to pacifism and to its pacifist constitution until this fool started agitating to re-militarize the country and presumably make his dead grandfather happy.

If the Japanese voters truly wanted stability, they would boot Abe right out of office and go back to the new-PM-every-year system of ~2010. Back then, the public did reasonably well going to work, saving money, and getting ahead while not really paying much attention to the ineffectual clowns in politics. Unfortunately the ineffectual clowns have been replaced by evil, malevolent clowns. Clowns that are really good at taking your money, slowly impoverishing you, and making you less safe. All while pretending it's for your own good.

“What is needed now is political stability,”

A dictatorship where people have no choices is not 'stability' any more than peace being achieved through the extinction of the human race. On the contrary, one party having a majority and doing whatever it wants from then on regardless of what the people want will only cause HUGE problems.

It is dumbfounding that the people will still vote for this clown and his party knowing full well they will go against their wishes and revise the constitution once they win.