Aides try to temper Abe's security agenda as popularity declines

I've just wasted several minutes poring through this interminable article.

With all this verbiage, it says more or less nothing.

If Abe can't see the difference between "economy" and "security," it's no wonder the economy is in a mess.

His economic "reforms" and tax hike mean that prices are high in comparison with income and so people are spending less. And his attempts at "security" are only serving to really piss off the neighbours and create a potentially very dangerous situation. And his handling of the Fukushima crisis was and still is abysmal.

I think it's time for a change. Not just of PM, but of the ultra right wing so called "Liberal Democratic Party."

It's neither Liberal nor Democratic and the only ones who are having a party are those rich enough to afford one!

Security and a good economy are related . . .The problem is Abe's fighting on 2 fronts trying to boost the decades old flailing economy at the same time redefining Japan's need to establish itself as a sovereign nation with some teeth (not dependent on US alone) . . . ................... It's a formidable task. . . . . Abe is probably one of the hardest working P.M. in decades . . . ............And he's smart, diplomatic, genuinely committed to peace , humanitarian and equity issues . . .............Its a long shot, but I will bet on him.

If Abe puts his focus on economy and be pragmatic with its neighbors, he may have a good chance to have two terms. BTW, he is not good at anything in particular, however, since there are no visionary candidates in Japan’s political theater right now, a mediocre politician takes advantage of situation.

For the records, Abe’s diplomatic skills are really, how should we say, stink. Here is the proof, after 23 trips and 47 countries about 310,000 miles later, not many world leaders actually even like him or his messages.

Abe also invokes Japan’s ancient traditions as a rationale for his economic policies - using a fuzzy concept known as “Mizuho no Kuni Capitalism”.

The phrase, which translates as “Capitalism in a Land of Abundant Rice”, harks back to Japan’s traditional rice farming culture. It seeks to differentiate that cooperative approach from what is viewed as Western profit-grabbing greed.

"Fuzzy" is an understatement. Abe is a flake who showed before what he'll do when the going gets tough -- run for the hills.

And a scary flake at that:

It also fulfilled a cherished goal for Abe, who inherited much of his conservative agenda from his grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, a prewar cabinet minister who was jailed but never tried as a war-crimes suspect.

Clearly, a commentary written by left-wingers.

To be blunt, if it comes down to it, I prefer Abe to spend his "battery" on security issues rather than economic ones. Statistically speaking, his successor (he must come someday) will also be concerned about economic issues - the only question will be whether the strategy he chooses works. He would not be interested in security ones.

Apparently another reason for Abe resigning the first time around, not stated in the above article, was the alleged failure to pay 300 million yen in inheritance taxes after the death of his father.

It takes guts to go against the tide and I belive history will prove his actions. The change in constitution is merely facing the reality. Thumbs up for him. Just like his predecesor, the time is so kitsui. Not only with natural ones but with people around with agenda of their own. He has the guts and I believe he is setting aside some of his personal views for peace.

Abe is the best PM this country has seen in the three decades I have lived here. Koizumi being a close second. Mostly everyone else has been a joke - with the best example being an idiot like Hatoyama. People expecting the country's problems to be wrapped up in a mere two years are living in a fantasy world. Abe will definitely win a second term, and his reforms will continue to make Japan a better place to live. And tears will continue to flow from the socialists at JT.

after 23 trips and 47 countries about 310,000 miles later, not many world leaders actually even like him or his messages

Speaking for the leaders of 47 countries are we now ethan? What galling hubris.

Abe will definitely win a second term, and his reforms will continue to make Japan a better place to live.

hidingout -- Really? OK, please educate us skeptics on EXACTLY how Japan is "a better place to live" because of Abe. The economy had at best a short-term bump from all his spending, but is still uncertain at best. Relations with neighbors SK, China, and Russia are all strained to say the least. And Fukushima is still an embarrassment, -- and a dangerous one at that -- both in terms of the recovery for the victims as well as the TEPCO-managed efforts at the reactors themselves. Hardly a glowing resume.

First of all, some clarification of terms is necessary. Substitute "nationalist" for "conservative" and "pacifist" for "liberal". That also would serve to highlight that LDP is in no way actually Liberal. LDP is more akin to National Socialist Party, and Abe's grandpappy reflects that.

Economically, Abe and his cabinet of cronies are fools. The next consumption tax hike is a foregone conclusion with the theatrics of whether to do it just smoke and mirrors. It WILL be raised, and the now-receding economy WILL contract further, more deeply, and more severely for the 80% not connected to the inner-circle. Idiot Abe will siphon off more "stimulus" to public works boondoggles with the typical lie that it will trickle down. No, the fat-cat pols will have their pockets lined while the rest get bird droppings.

Here's a suggestion for the "Rice Paddy Cleptocrats", end the subsidies, drop the rice import tariff, and let the free market breathe. Let's have some truly Free Market Capitalism instead of this charade.

please educate us skeptics on EXACTLY how Japan is "a better place to live" because of Abe. The economy had at best a short-term bump from all his spending, but is still uncertain at best. Relations with neighbors SK, China, and Russia are all strained to say the least. And Fukushima is still an embarrassment, -- and a dangerous one at that -- both in terms of the recovery for the victims as well as the TEPCO-managed efforts at the reactors themselves. Hardly a glowing resume.

lmao. Those are your three reasons why Abe is terrible?

economy is doing quite well. Almost everyone I know is better off now than they were two years ago. You say its "uncertain". Well duh. The world economy is "uncertain". Please point out the countries that are exempt from facing "uncertainty".

relations with ROK and PRC are right where they should be. For once Japan is standing up for themselves. Personally I don't require good relations with those two countries; in fact, the less I have to do with them the better I like it. Relations with other normal thinking countries such as Australia, USA, Canada etc are fine.

right. Lets hold Abe responsible because a once in a lifetime massive earthquake followed by a once in a lifetime massive tsunami wrecked a out-dated nuclear plant that should have been replaced decades ago. Go ahead, hang your hat on that one if you want.

hidingout -- just as I thought. Utter nonsense and personal opinion.

hidingout, It proved again and again, you do seem living in a parallel universe for some reason. Once you even "sweared" that Abe has never expressed his revisionist views on any occasions, but the records shows, otherwise.

hidingout -- just as I thought. Utter nonsense and personal opinion.

Lol. Jerseyboy schooled and all he could come up with is "well, your mama...." type response.

As someone has mentioned, Abe has tackled issues that other PM has avoided for over a decade which domestically involves deflationary spiral and in term of foreign policy, get out of this post war regime "nice guy" attitude which includes completely embarrassing POTUS during his visit and completely disassociating with the two immediate neighbors.

Maybe Abe is finally getting the message that the country bumpkin popular in the farm district that elected him does not play well in the rest of Japan. It was the hope that he would use his nationalism to hit companies over the head to make them raise wages and then accept restructuring. The restructuring part drastically needed has not gotten off the ground. So people don't make children or spend money because they feel insecure.

Speaking for the leaders of 47 countries are we now ethan? What galling hubris.

He knows all of them personally.

This is gobbledygook article. Abe requires only a few words. He is a stupid right wing fanatic. Because of this so called Abenomics is rubbish that will only leave Japan worse off than it was.

He knows all of them personally.

Yes. I know. He's a mighty important man ;)

What's with all the "compromises" mentioned in this article? Abe's done nothing to compromise with th voters or other parties when it comes to his private agenda--he rammed through th revision of article 9 by changing the way he can do it after failing to get the popular vote on it. And "the economy and security are the same thing"? this guy is a lunatic.

@johngait, if my memory serves me right, the 10% consumption tax hike was supposed to be in 2010 while the 5% was 2005 or so. Indeed the govt weighed a lot of considerations before raising it up hence the implementation was late.Nobody wants to pay higher taxes but we are here and ought to pay our share as there's no other way. Or else if we do not want the way the Japanese are running their own country, we could have just packed and say adieu!

.

It's a formidable task. . . . . Abe is probably one of the hardest working P.M. in decades . . . ............And he's smart, diplomatic, genuinely committed to peace , humanitarian and equity issues . . .............Its a long shot, but I will bet on him.

Who would have thought, a comedian is born with this comment here!

Abe hard-working? Pray tell what EXACTLY does he do that makes you believe this?

Smart?...On opportunistic shaman, oh and having smarts doesn't equate to intelligence.

Diplomatic? Yasukuni, need I say more?

Committed to peace.....With a handle like yours, Semper Fi, I guess it's pretty safe to assume that it's your butt that will be in the line of fire, but changing the constitution, making the JSDF into an actual military, constantly tweaking the noses of his neighbors, and you call that committed to peace? What you been smoking AND could you share some please.

humanitarian and equity? Humanitarian issues he rates at best an F- and if you think otherwise YOU need to move into the houses that the refugees from Fukushima are living in, and get a taste of Abe's humanitarianism.

Equity? talking money here? or did you mean equality, and if it's the latter, dude you REALLY need to share what you are smoking, might it be some of that dapo-herb?

Abe has tackled issues that other PM has avoided for over a decade which domestically involves deflationary spiral

How has he tackled the "deflationary spiral"? By spending more of the people's money on pork projects which profit his friends and family? By turning on the presses and printing out a few trillions more yen? Abe's current easing policies are giving us the wrong type of inflation, which is simply debasing the currency, and stealing the value of our labor and savings, which will only reduce growth. These policies are like trying to put out a fire by pouring gasoline on it.

The reforms he promised have not been implemented, indeed, we don't even know yet what they are. TPP was supposed to liberalise trade, but TPP is dead in the water. Employment regulations were supposed to be addressed, but all that has been done is giving a few speeches saying that women should join the workforce.

The unintended consequences of turning over more of our freedoms, responsibilities, trust, and money to the government are beginning to be felt.

Abe also invokes Japan’s ancient traditions as a rationale for his economic policies - using a fuzzy concept known as “Mizuho no Kuni Capitalism”.

The phrase, which translates as “Capitalism in a Land of Abundant Rice”, harks back to Japan’s traditional rice farming culture. It seeks to differentiate that cooperative approach from what is viewed as Western profit-grabbing greed.

Really? That's great to hear... so when are tariffs on rice and other agriculture products going to be lifted then? Because those insanely high tariffs are looking a little bit like something those Western profit-grabbers would do...

In an article last week, I read that expected growth here in 2014 is around 0.2%, and that this was down to an economic turnaround credited to Mr. Abe. If you took away all the additional stimulus, the economy here is in decline. All you get from the media is fluff about how wonderful Mr. Abe is. Abe was a dreadful PM in 2006 and is a worse one now. His only policies are yen devaluation and so-called stimulus spending. There is no Abenomics, there is just traditional LDP politics, which means gifting money to those who support your party, particularly right-wing construction companies. All we have is the printing press and a compliant media. None of the fundamental problems Japan is facing have even been looked at.

reviving the economy does not need a revolution of some kind. the economy better grows from the bottom up, not from the top down as the current govnt seems to believes in. the government was made in the first place for those who are in need, not for those who already succeed, wealthy enough, those who does not have to depend too much on the government's help. but this is Abenomics, a term created by the rich, and seems to be created to also serve the rich.

It proved again and again, you do seem living in a parallel universe for some reason.

Yes. In my universe things are going along very nicely. The company I work for has seen double digit growth in sales since Mr Abe was elected. We have hired two hundred new staff over the same period. The stock market is flirting with records highs. Summer bonuses were among the highest I've ever seen since coming to Japan. Check out the unemployment stats - anyone who can speak Japanese and has a functioning brain can get a decent job these days.

I seriously don't know anyone who lives in your universe. In fact, the only people I see complaining are those with a socialist agenda (like many of the gaijin here at JT) or people with an obvious axe to grind against Japan (like yourself). I look forward to many more years of Mr Abe's excellent leadership, and I will keep coming here to JT to read the impotent tear stained comments of the socialists and receive my "bad" ratings from folks who obviously wouldn't recognize a solid economic platform if it was succeeding right in front of them.

So how about you stay in your universe and I'll stay in my "parallel" one. Sound good to you?

economy is doing quite well. Almost everyone I know is better off now than they were two years ago.

So how many millions of people do you know in Japan? If you aren't personally acquainted with at least 10% of the population I'm afraid I don't find your argument very convincing.

relations with ROK and PRC are right where they should be.

What, bad and getting worse because none of the idiots in government of any of these countries want to back down or compromise? When there's actually some kind of lasting resolution to the disputes that are going on, I'll agree. Right now it's all just a horrendous mess.

For once Japan is standing up for themselves.

It's all worked out just peachy so far, hasn't it? Abe and his like can only stand up for themselves because they've got the Americans behind them. Otherwise they wouldn't dare.

right. Lets hold Abe responsible because a once in a lifetime massive earthquake followed by a once in a lifetime massive tsunami wrecked a out-dated nuclear plant that should have been replaced decades ago. Go ahead, hang your hat on that one if you want.

Classic strawman argument. Of course no one is holding Abe responsible for what happened in 2011 and it's stupid to suggest that anyone would. What jerseyboy actually said was:

And Fukushima is still an embarrassment, -- and a dangerous one at that -- both in terms of the recovery for the victims as well as the TEPCO-managed efforts at the reactors themselves. Hardly a glowing resume.

Not a word blaming Abe for the disaster itself. It's not so easy to ridicule the suggestion that Abe has overseen continued mismanagement of the recovery efforts though, is it?

How has he tackled the "deflationary spiral"? By spending more of the people's money on pork projects which profit his friends and family? By turning on the presses and printing out a few trillions more yen? Abe's current easing policies are giving us the wrong type of inflation, which is simply debasing the currency, and stealing the value of our labor and savings, which will only reduce growth. These policies are like trying to put out a fire by pouring gasoline on it.

Nearly 100 companies achieved a capitalization over one trillion yen, 90% of the large corporations increased wages, and 64.5% of the mid-small firms increased wages as well. It's the ONLY way to tackle the 'deflationary' spiral so your above point of "wrong type of inflation" is simply just your opinion.

So how many millions of people do you know in Japan? If you aren't personally acquainted with at least 10% of the population I'm afraid I don't find your argument very convincing.

Its not an argument, its an anecdote. If you focus real hard I'm sure you can see the difference.

What, bad and getting worse because none of the idiots in government of any of these countries want to back down or compromise? When there's actually some kind of lasting resolution to the disputes that are going on, I'll agree. Right now it's all just a horrendous mess.

Lasting resolution? Good one. As long as PRC remains a land grubbing, communist nightmare, and ROK remains a faithful lapdog, there will be no resolution of any kind. Never mind a "lasting" one. I personally am not interested in having any sort of "relationship" with either of these countries. Its my personal opinion. Do you understand?

It's all worked out just peachy so far, hasn't it? Abe and his like can only stand up for themselves because they've got the Americans behind them. Otherwise they wouldn't dare.

Says you. And besides, its not just the Americans "behind" the Japanese, its every single country in the free world. Unlike PRC, and in spite of ethan's protestations to the contrary, Japan has friends among freedom loving nations around the world. When, not if, PRC decides to make their big move, they will find a shocking number of countries lined up against them.

Classic strawman argument. Of course no one is holding Abe responsible for what happened in 2011 and it's stupid to suggest that anyone would.

Don't be so obtuse. I know you can read and understand English. Blaming Mr Abe for not cleaning up the aftermath of the unprecedented disaster as quickly as you would like is unfair, and unhelpful. Experts from around the world have weighed in and no one seems to have the magic bullet solutions you are looking for. Maybe, just maybe, nuclear disasters are not the easy peasy cleanups you seem to think they are?

."POLARIZING" is an understatement and indeed Mr ABE is a rarity to be the only PM since Tojo to threaten peace in the region with extreme Nationalistic views and Mr Abe is pragmatic or practical only in the Interest of Japan taking a superior position over other Nations. Abe's aids are nervous because they know their end is near if ABE continues to carelessly trample on the peace built on trust and respect.

Abe is great for the US, EU and Russia. Because of him exports from these countries to China have never been better whilst Japanese products are going at super discounts. In all my years in China, I have never seen so much Japanese products advertisements. In a way he is good for Chinese consumers too! He is definitely good for the advertising world with so much money spent! So every cloud has a silver lining!

Security and the economy are not matters of a different order, and in reality, it could be said that they are two sides of the same coin.

Yeah, this shows some dangerous lunacy I have to admit. Security and the economy are only linked in the sense that you can't completely trash your economy and do well on security. How's Abe doing on not trashing the economy? My sense is not well.

Nearly 100 companies achieved a capitalization over one trillion yen, 90% of the large corporations increased wages, and 64.5% of the mid-small firms increased wages as well. It's the ONLY way to tackle the 'deflationary' spiral so your above point of "wrong type of inflation" is simply just your opinion.

Market capitalization increased occurred because of the recent boom in stocks, not from any increase in sales or business. The increase in stock prices has been due to western governments "adding liquidity" to the market, and for no other reason. The stock markets around the world have grown greatly over the last five years, with the Nikkei up over 100%, yet economic growth over the last five years has hovered at an annual rate of 1% pr less. This capalization you speak of is ephemereal, and can disappear more quickly than it apeared. Growth in Japan to date has been .6%, and we mustn't forget that increases in government spending count toward that number, net growth is and has been negative. We are in the miidst of a stock bubble, which has been driven by government manipulation of interest rates, "stimulus" spending (borrowing huge sums at interest from the taxpayers), liquidity-adding programs, and manipulation of growth and unemployment figures. What the big banks did during the subprime mortgage mess was no less bad than what our governments and central banks are doing now, and the amounts lost by the private banks are small change compared to the trillions of dollars, yen, and euros being squandered by our governments and central banks.

I would like to know which of these companies have increased wages, and how these "increases" are calculated. Has anyone here seen their wages increase? And for those precious few who have, has their raise been more than the collective increase in the consumption tax?

Sangetsu, HEAR! HEAR!

I'd like to know which companies as well.

The actual changes in salaries are given here: http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/database/db-l/monthly-labour.html For the latest month, only salaries for those working in real estate are more than 3% higher compared to last year; everyone else is worse off after the tax rise.

Bonuses have risen by more than 3% in many industries, but they also fell by a large amount in recent years and will likely fall again. Also, many part time workers do not get bonuses.

If Abenomics is so successful it's difficult to understand why Toyota will reduce production in Japan next year, whilst increasing it overseas. The shift to overseas manufacturing continues, as does the shift to temporary work contracts. This helps the profits of Japanese companies, hence the rise in their stock prices, but Japanese workers do not benefit at all.

@Scrote

Thanks for the information.

I can sump up Abe and for that matter all politicians with a quote from of the 20th Century's top philosophers:

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Don't get fooled again.

The behind the scenes bureaucrats who really run the show are getting rich. The vastly shrinking middle class is paying most of the taxes. The workers are getting crumbs. Just April the news reports focused on the worst hiring season since the early 70s. Just last month it was reported that actual GDP shrank 6.8%. The population is aging to a point to where 25% are now 65 and over. With the population shortage who is going to pick up the slack? Solutions not anecdotes are needed. Yet I see Abe nor any of his pals offering any, so above quote from Mr. Roger Daltry, as usual the Japanese voters got fooled again.

Its not an argument, its an anecdote. If you focus real hard I'm sure you can see the difference.

If all you can provide to back up your argument is anecdotes, I don't find the argument very convincing. Done with the hair-splitting?

When, not if, PRC decides to make their big move...

Says you. I think the PRC leaders are pretty loathsome as well to be honest, but that just sounds like paranoid rubbish to me.

...they will find a shocking number of countries lined up against them.

That, like Japan, have thus far been more than happy to overlook all their bad points and do business with them. If the issues with Japan suddenly clear themselves up, e.g. if everyone actually abides by what an international court decides on the territorial disputes, the PRC leaders will still be just as brutal and despotic but "freedom loving" (smirk) leaders in the west will be happy to do business with them again.

I know you can read and understand English. Blaming Mr Abe for not cleaning up the aftermath of the unprecedented disaster as quickly as you would like is unfair, and unhelpful.

I wonder if you can read and understand English, because I don't think I ever actually criticised Mr Abe's response to the disaster myself. If I did, quote me. You should have made that comment in response to what jerseyboy said, rather that all that guff about blaming Abe for the disaster itself. You would be better off responding to what people actually say; these attempts to deliberately misinterpret their comments in order to support your own views are pretty transparent.

If all you can provide to back up your argument is anecdotes, I don't find the argument very convincing.

Let me repeat myself since you don't seem to be following along. I don't have an argument. I have an opinion. I responded to jersey's opinion that Abe is a terrible PM because Abenomics is "uncertain", he isn't pals with commies and Fukushima. jersey's post was opinion, so was mine. I had no intention, or particular wish to "convince" you of anything. So what's the problem? So troubled by reading opinions that differ from your own?

Says you. I think the PRC leaders are pretty loathsome as well to be honest, but that just sounds like paranoid rubbish to me.

I guess we'll wait and see.

That, like Japan, have thus far been more than happy to overlook all their bad points and do business with them. If the issues with Japan suddenly clear themselves up, e.g. if everyone actually abides by what an international court decides on the territorial disputes, the PRC leaders will still be just as brutal and despotic but "freedom loving" (smirk) leaders in the west will be happy to do business with them again.

Nice pipe dream on the international court stuff. It will be a cold day in hell before the communists ever abide by any international rulings that go against them. The rest of the paragraph I agree with. Shame on all the western countries, (and Japan too) who have gutted their own manufacturing sectors to outsource everything to PRC. They have no one to blame but themselves for the monster they have created in their greedy search for cheap labor and ways around environmental regulations.

I wonder if you can read and understand English, because I don't think I ever actually criticised Mr Abe's response to the disaster myself. If I did, quote me.

I never said you did. And while there is no doubt that certain things could have been done better, people need to realize that the magnitude of the disaster was unprecedented. Pretty much a worst case scenario. Compare for example to the way the Americans handled Katrina. That was a bungled relief effort/cleanup.

You should have made that comment in response to what jerseyboy said, rather that all that guff about blaming Abe for the disaster itself. You would be better off responding to what people actually say; these attempts to deliberately misinterpret their comments in order to support your own views are pretty transparent.

Oh please, there's been no "misinterpretation" other than your willful attempt to pretend I believe Mr Abe has supernatural powers and can create disasters whenever he wants . Only someone spoiling for an argument would think that I suggested Mr Abe caused the disaster. That kind of logic doesn't even deserve a response. Criticize Japan for not updating their reactors sooner, or for building them in dumb locations, that's valid. Pretending that the handling of the disaster is a reason to call Mr Abe's government a failure is just silly. But then I've been reading here long enough to know that silly is what some posters do best. Carry on.

So what's the problem? So troubled by reading opinions that differ from your own?

You do yourself too much credit. I just wonder how you can be so contemptuous of what others say when you have so little to back up your criticisms with. If I'm paraphrasing correctly, your basic viewpoint seems to be that what Abe is doing is working out very well for you and people you know so he must be an excellent prime minister. If you were working in China and business was booming for you there, as I guess it is for quite a few people, would you also say the communists were doing an excellent job?

Only someone spoiling for an argument would think that I suggested Mr Abe caused the disaster.

I didn't. I think that's what you were accusing other posters of suggesting. Didn't you say this?

Lets hold Abe responsible because a once in a lifetime massive earthquake followed by a once in a lifetime massive tsunami wrecked a out-dated nuclear plant that should have been replaced decades ago. Go ahead, hang your hat on that one if you want.

Nothing there about bungled recovery efforts. Okay then, if Abe is indeed the best prime minister in the last 300 years or whenever, is it your contention that his administration's efforts to help the Fukushima area have in fact been a brilliant success? If so why?

i personally think that abe is the best PM japan has had in a long time. he is doing that which is hard, but can anyone say that it isn't necessary in the long run? Abe is doing for japan what no other PM or politician has had the rocks to do. why shouldnt japan have a standing army that can both attack and defend? i was under the impression that all sovereign nations had the right to have a standing army that could both conquer as well as defend its country. with china pressing its "irrefutable" claim to most of the south china sea how can the japanese people berate abe for trying to take precautionary measures to defend japan and its people.