politics

Abe faces battle on reforms despite big election win

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By ELAINE KURTENBACH

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22 Comments
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Abenomics is a joke. The only reforms we've seen from his administration are the interpretation of the constitution and the secrecy laws. With the record low turnout, i don't see this election as a fresh mandate but rather a waste of hLf a billion dollars for self perseveration. He a bot-chan. He's not interested in biting the hand that feeds him.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

“I believe the results show that we have received a public mandate for the Abe administration’s achievement over the past two years,”

Sorry, but only 24% of the public is not at all a mandate on anything other than the fact that there were simply ZERO good choices. And that 24% who voted in the LDP again are the same people who will ensure the economy does NOT make any progress and that Abenomics continues to be a failure.

4 ( +11 / -7 )

Abe faces battle on reforms despite big election win? What battle? Abe had a majority before yet the economy is still a mess. Now he has a larger majority and can crush any resistance in the upper house as well as any public outcry. Restrictions on freedoms of speech and expression, if they are deemed to harm public interest. I'm sure that certain facts and details about the handling of the economy will qualify under that broad statement.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed Monday to prevail over resistance to his plans for economic and political change

Ever heard of democracy or will of the people, Abe? Clearly public sentiment is against you, and is unlikely to change. Your rhetoric is that of a dictator

1 ( +4 / -3 )

So there was no real choice, and the anointed was given free reign to rule! He looks so happy to have gotten his birth right, the rest of us, well if we can't afford rice then we should just eat cake. Made with non butter products! Yep all is on track in the "3rd" largest dictator/ sorry democracy in the world.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Who are the one's behind Abe? Which banks and major corporations? Those are the ones who dont' want the economy to improve but rather have more whips across the Japanese workers backs.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

60 billion yen wasted on this election. Abenomics will fail and Abe will be gone in less than two years.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

From what reports I've read or heard, Abe-san will probably be with us until at least the Olympics in 2020. So, like it or not, guess we've gotta get used to him.

Too bad the two lady cheats, Obuchi & Matsushima won ... and big, too. All day TV programs highlighted their victories ... making them look like charming politiians. And too bad so many other LDP dingbats won ... but that's the way it is ... and will be until the next election, whenever that will be.

There were some good things that did happen, however. For example, quite a few of the old, noisy men in the Party for Future Generations lost. Now that Kaieda appears to be on his way out as head of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, hopefully one of the party's bright young members will take over and give the party a fresh image. An interesting factor will be whether the successful Japan Communist Party can make enough noise to push across some of its anti-Abe ideas.

And another good thing is ... Abe won BIG. Really BIG. If anything screws up in this country, he will be at the helm. And being at the helm, he is in charge. Therefore, if there are horrid things that happen, those three arrows Abe is always promoting should be pointed directly at him. After all ... he is really in charge now ...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

“I believe the results show that we have received a public mandate for the Abe administration’s achievement over the past two years,” Abe said in a live television interview with Tokyo Broadcasting System.

Public mandate? Right, more like we dont really have a choice so it's better to stick with the devil you know than the one you don't.

Abe failed miserably in Okinawa:

In the bigger picture it means nothing. What's the point in having an election when EVERYONE who stood for it wins.

If he failed so miserably then pray tell why did the LDP candidates get elected? Okinawa and Osaka are the only two locations that the LDP did poorly, so your assumption of ....

Now it gets interesting.

...is just blowing smoke.

The proportional representation system was set up by the LDP to protect their interests and here in Okinawa it worked.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

LDP/KOMEITO before Sunday's vote:326 seats

LDP/KOMEITO after Sunday's vote:326 seats

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Yes, John, exactly as you state.

LDP/KOMEITO before Sunday's vote:326 seats

LDP/KOMEITO after Sunday's vote:326 seats

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

And it cost 60 billion yen of taxpayers money to achieve exactly nothing!

Why is this idiot at the helm?

LDP - neither liberal, nor democratic.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

And it cost 60 billion yen of taxpayers money to achieve exactly nothing!

While I agree that the election was poorly timed it achieved something that ABE wanted....he has 4 more years to do what HE wants.

That to him was an achievement of major proportions, you should take your head out of the sand some day and think before you post.

Agreeing with Abe is one thing, being ignorant of why he did what he did NOW is something totally different, and your comments reek of ignorance.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Screw you Abe and your "steal all the money" you can polcies

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Sometimes I wonder why people think economy willbgrow when you have a quarter million less people each year. Its ok for Japan to be on 0% growth. In fact its great

1 ( +1 / -0 )

3rd arrow, structural reform to employment, government institutions, agreement to have independent binding arbitration to speed up fair and achievable reforms in agriculture, dairy, and fishing. Family friendly policy which includes tax breaks for first time buyers so young couples can purchase there own homes and start to repopulate Japan. Set out open government if tax increases are necessary structure them across the income scale, full transparency is crucial. Call out the vested interests to justify there unwillingness for change.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A non-enfranchised foreigner does not have any right to complain about election results anywhere in the world.

All disillusioned foreigners can do is leave and go improve their own countries with all the brilliant suggestions they have for Japan.

Japan did not ask to be adopted as a home by anyone outsider!

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Christopher GlenDec. 15, 2014 - 05:26PM JST Ever heard of democracy or will of the people, Abe? Clearly public sentiment is against you, and is unlikely to change. Your rhetoric is that of a dictator

Abe is not changing anything. Historically after the WWII, the right to free speech is indeed protected by the constitution. The “right to solidarity” might sound strange to those who grew up in other countries, since it seems to imply a right to a feeling. In Japan, however, right to solidarity is inviolable and trumps even free speech.

Example: In the U.S., the right to free speech, protected by the First Amendment of Constitution, trumps both union and business rights. U.S. businesses openly hire anti-union consultants to bad-mouth unions to their hearts’ content, as long as they don’t engage in threats or promises tied to union membership.

In Japan, the situation is the reverse. The union and business rights both trump freedom of speech. This means that certain things management might say about a union at the workplace are illegal because they might discourage workers from joining or encourage them to leave the union, discourage them from striking or encourage them to scab, etc. The laws in each country reflect their different histories, structure, ideology and social norms.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Be careful for what you ask because you might get it. A no way out of economic malaise, unprofitable olympics, rampant national disasters, corruption, lawlessness, deteriorating infrastructure,negative economic growth.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Abe is not changing anything. Historically after the WWII, the right to free speech is indeed protected by the constitution Oh really? If that was the case, films like "Unbroken" and "The Cove" before it - should be shown without hindrance in Japan. http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/angelina-jolie-boycott-brewing-in-japan-over-war-movie-unbroken-1.2870973 The fact of the matter is - "freedom of speech" exists for the right-wingers alone. Anyone who doesn't toe their line isn't entitled to it, it seems

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

So much for the predictions of the yen going to 150 or 200 after the election so far the yen has strengthened 3 or 4 yen, never mind one day it may reach your 200 mark.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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