Japan would lose voice of fiscal prudence if scandal brings down Aso

What kind of joke is this ? Which international law says so ? Which domestic law says so ?

Aso and Abe are the same kind, they will do anything to keep their positions.

What fiscal prudence did Abe and Aso do in the past 5 years ? What achievement did they bring to Japan ? One arrow after another, all failed. In the past 5 years, there is $1 trillion loss in GDP. That was Abe and Aso did to Japan.

The only thing that Aso has been pushing is the sales tax increase as he has wanted more money for him and the LDP to throw at farmers and the construction industry all long time supporters of the LDP, and thus, keep them in power longer. I never heard him railing against Kuroda and the Bank of Japan when they decided to monetize the national debt? Did we hear him complain about the cost of the Olympics and other wasteful spending? No! I say good riddance.

The LDP has a long history of corruption, but nobody has ever been jailed for it. A few have been made to step down, but that’s about all. These two jokers are pretty well untouchable. The direct evidence connecting them to the fraud has already been burned. There is some evidence to support their knowledge of the fraud, but not to show their involvement. They are above the law.

Sugar coat it all you want. These two men lied to the people of Japan, telling them they had nothing to do with moritomo while at the same time falsifying documents. They have to go.

Hell if I falsified documents at work, I'd be fired. If any foreigner falsified documents to get a Japanese it would be rejected and the person would most likely be deported.

Why do these 2 guys get a free pass? They should be held to even higher standards.

The only thing that Aso has been pushing is the sales tax increase as he has wanted more money for him and the LDP to throw at farmers and the construction industry all long time supporters of the LDP, and thus, keep them in power longer. I never heard him railing against Kuroda and the Bank of Japan when they decided to monetize the national debt? Did we hear him complain about the cost of the Olympics and other wasteful spending? No! I say good riddance.

Extremely well said.

DisillusionedToday  07:48 am JST

The LDP has a long history of corruption, but nobody has ever been jailed for it. A few have been made to step down, but that’s about all. These two jokers are pretty well untouchable. The direct evidence connecting them to the fraud has already been burned. There is some evidence to support their knowledge of the fraud, but not to show their involvement. 

Abe quite likely never was involved with any of this directly. Making sure his wife was known to be connected to the Moritomo Gakuen people was probably supposed to be taken to mean that the bureaucrats should bend over backwards to do anything they wanted. Or given that other right-wing nationalist politicians were getting on their case it could have been a concerted Nippon Kaigi effort to pile enough pressure on the bureaucrats to get a sweetheart deal. Still, it doesn't look as if he can prove he wasn't involved.

Regarding Aso as a voice of fiscal prudence is like regarding a bartender who tells alcoholic patrons to have just a single with an extra ice cube on that next drink, an alcohol abuse clinic.

Hiking sales tax to get an extra 4 trillion yen of revenue is not fiscal prudence when you are running 35 trillion yen deficits, and you then earmark the extra revenues for additional spending, not just plugging the massive hole you already have.

Aso or not, Japan’s public finances are a mess, and I believe, also badly misallocating Japan’ decreasing work force resources on low value spending projects, holding potential growth down below it could be.

Cut the useless and poor spending, free up the workers ‘employed’ by that to be available for use in higher value projects, and the consumption tax hike could be canned altogether.

Aso hasn’t called for this - he is a big government control freak who cares about himself before the country.

Look at that face, is that not the face of corruption. And a smoker as well.

The LDP is corrupt to the core and no one can deny that. Why the Japanese continue to vote for a one party state is just unbelievable. Scandal after scandal. It is always the same. And will be unless a new party appears that really cares about the workers and not just the far right nutters that Abe and his crew represent.

The whole scandal stinks and as a result Abe should resign. This was all done in his wife's name. Of course he knew and approved. No way his wife's name was used without him knowing and approving. No way.

Why in Japan. A single minor scandal can bring down a vibrant , effective Government

Who or what has anything to gain?

Look across the other side of the Pacific,Trumpland.

No please. Japan cannot end up like the U S OF TRUMP.

Japan needs this Government, Japan needs Abe as a Prime Minister, if Aso has been naughty send to a naughty corner for a while, but KEEP THE GOVERNMENT.

Good to hear a voice of reason and rationality by Reuters. Only bitter morons and minimum wagers with nothing to lose want Aso to resign over this non-issue where no evidence of anything has been shown whatsoever.

As stated, Aso has been incredibly prudent with the finances so wanting him gone is irresponsible or worse, and luckily the only people who matter, voters, disagree with such silliness.

Thankfully this won’t happen. This county runs on pragmatism, not hysterical emotion like overseas

ZENJIToday  08:57 am JST

Why in Japan. A single minor scandal can bring down a vibrant , effective Government

Sorry, which government are you talking about, because I can't think of a single thing the current one has actually achieved.

Only bitter morons and minimum wagers with nothing to lose want Aso to resign

With respect, people who want corrupt politicians out of government are not bitter, and why repeatedly look down upon those of us on a minimum wage? Do only big money earners get to have a say in democracy?

It's astounding the man has remained in power this long. Teflon or what!

I agree Aso has been fiscally prudent and has been quite successful in his role as Finance chief. It's a non-starter to have him resign over something as trivial as this. Asking for Abe to resign is a joke not worthy of the opposition

Zenji - "...a vibrant, effective govt..." Well that's your take on it and I respect each to their own opinion.

But a "..single minor scandal..".   Hardly.

Firstly it's not single. This is just one part of an unwritten (= no proof) cover-up policy that is an inherent aspect of normal daily procedings at LDP Inc. There have been many cases over the years, just that this time, real info has been leaked by thankfully those with a  conscience and sense of injustice being done. And the media is not giving them a free ticket this time. They've been riding the roller-coaster on their terms for way too long. So it's definitely not an isolated case.

Secondly it's not minor. On face value there is the deceit which enabled $8million (money which belonged to the people) to disappear for the purpose of aiding an acquaintance - an acquaintance who shared similar political and social sentiments to Abe. This is illegal. This has happened before. How many times we don't know, but rest assured the monies involved over generations of collusion, despotism, arrogance and self-entitlement must amount to a considerable sum. Brown Paper Bags - an LDP symbol if ever there was one.

And the greatest loss in all of this is not the money - it's the loss of trust, accountability and faith. No one is perfect, but we expect those entrusted with societies management and leadership to act accordingly and put the people - the citizens of Japan - first.

Unfortunately the LDP, now lead by Abe Inc, has seen and still sees the govt as a private club with restricted membership to act and do whatever it likes. It's their Fiefdom. And the good citizens of Japan are it's peasants.

And any loss of "a voice of fiscal prudence" with the demise of Aso ( surely given greater importance than it holds), would be a good reminder to all those aspiring manor-lords to lie and connive at your own risk.

I'm hoping for more plugs to be pulled and the swamp to be steadily drained.

Great article! Good to hear that Aso won't be resigning as he has shown he has been invaluable to the current economic boom in Japan. I would say almost all businesses in Japan would agree

Thick skin Aso. Let Chinese Xi deal with him if LDP isn't capable.

Simon FostonToday  09:10 am JST

ZENJIToday  08:57 am JST

Why in Japan. A single minor scandal can bring down a vibrant , effective Government

Sorry, which government are you talking about, because I can't think of a single thing the current one has actually achieved.

-1( +5 / -6 )

Oh, look. 6 down votes, exactly like before. Suspiciously predictable.

WellingtonToday  09:26 am JST

I agree Aso has been fiscally prudent and has been quite successful in his role as Finance chief.

But you can't really back that up with anything, can you.

It's a non-starter to have him resign over something as trivial as this.

So even if he was actually involved or just criminally negligent in overseeing what senior bureaucrats in his ministry were doing, just forget about the whole thing, eh?

DarmstadtToday  09:36 am JST

Great article! Good to hear that Aso won't be resigning as he has shown he has been invaluable to the current economic boom in Japan. I would say almost all businesses in Japan would agree

Would you say that indeed. Care to elaborate?

This is the guy that has praised Hitler and said if all the elders could quickly die 「さっさと死ねるように」the aging problem would be solved.

It amazes me what they teach the children at the conservative kindergarten school to shout and proclaim at their fall sports day, “Go Prime Minister Abe! The National Security Law has passed at the Diet!” -「安倍首相ガンバレ！安保法制国会通過よかったです！」

This was the law that enables the Self-Defense Forces to fight overseas for the first time since the end of war.

Kindergarteners can cheer for Aso’s fiscal prudence this fall if he survives.

But you can't really back that up with anything, can you.

Did you even bother reading the Reuters article? It lays out a very thorough argument there to which I have seen no counter argument so far besides emotional diatribes against "the LDP" or nameless "cronies" for numerous unknown and unsubstantiated claims and theories based on no evidence, further discrediting your position. In fact, so flimsy is the argument on your side, I don't even consider it valid and I think can be dismissed out of hand.

So even if he was actually involved or just criminally negligent in overseeing what senior bureaucrats in his ministry were doing, just forget about the whole thing, eh?

If? Jesus, are we going into hypotheticals now are we?

I think at this point the opposition should back off a bit. Until there's complete proof of wrongdoing, the opposition is digging itself into a hole in which I think they will struggle to get out of. The public will have a hard time forgiving them if nothing shows up

Would you say that indeed. Care to elaborate?

Elaborate on what? Aso's idea of the sales tax is popular among fiscal liberals and conservatives alike to raise revenues and also pay down the public debt. Aso's monetary policies are what is causing such a big economic expansion at the moment, so all businesses are benefiting. Inflation targeting is also working better than expected considering the 2 decades of deflation experienced here.

You really think any businesses care more about some land deal which by the day seems like nothing, than the health of the economy? Not in a million years, they would never risk their livelihoods for something like that

It's good to have many diversity on opinions here to know what to figure out what the meaning of politicians to be involved in economic affairs. Well, for me I want to know what the financial experts in Japan are capable to find better ways to diminish internal debts that will affect a lot to all Japanese citizen (including foreign permanent residents) in the future. Actually, we don't need a veteran politician of old school style to be a top leader, we need more the brains who can help a fair and clean leader. So, why do we have to persist Aso?

And what about the new story of the Japanese government loaning Trump’s son-in-law money last year? That could bring down Trump and Abe.

DarmstadtToday  11:14 am JST

Would you say that indeed. Care to elaborate?

Elaborate on what? Aso's idea of the sales tax is popular among fiscal liberals and conservatives alike to raise revenues and also pay down the public debt. Aso's monetary policies are what is causing such a big economic expansion at the moment, so all businesses are benefiting. Inflation targeting is also working better than expected considering the 2 decades of deflation experienced here.

I'll be impressed when the general public benefits, not just businesses.

You really think any businesses care more about some land deal...

No, I don't. I've noticed a general tendency for Japanese business owners, like many elsewhere, to be somewhat lacking in moral fibre. So I care very little for what they think.

...which by the day seems like nothing...

A month ago I would have agreed. Now the scandal seems to be getting bigger day by day, none of the bureaucrats involved in the documents cover-up have even been called on to explain themselves yet, and there's no indication that Abe and Aso can or will do anything to restore public trust.

domtoidiToday 12:42 pm JST

And what about the new story of the Japanese government loaning Trump’s son-in-law money last year? That could bring down Trump and Abe.

What's that? Got a link?

I’ve never seen so many fan boys for Taro Aso and Shinzo Abe as are on this site. I wonder do half of these people really live in Japan? If they do I’d like them to show us how Aso and Abe’s great economic policies have helped them. Are they getting huge salary increases and tax cuts to help their families? I think not.

@MarkX: Anyone who doesn't agree with you is a fanboy of Abe?

I'm in Japan and have received good salary increases every year. The economy is booming so our company is doing very well too. I have no complaints about the economy or its management whatsoever, and actually would actively campaign against the opposition coming to power as they are almost guaranteed to ruin the current economic run.

It's moot anyway, the market sets employees' wages, not Abe or Aso. So minimum wagers and the unskilled getting upset at them for not getting raises is not based on reality and they should be trying to increase their skillsets instead of whingeing

So minimum wagers and the unskilled getting upset at them for not getting raises is not based on reality and they should be trying to increase their skillsets instead of whingeing

I'd proffer that perhaps the salary men, suits and vulgarians should hold off from telling the little people, the proles, the ordinary working class folk that they aren't entitled to have a comment about Abe and various corruption scandals.

Just because one has money, does not make one superior to the rest of us.

Calling the average or lower income worker bitter morons does not advance the argument on cronyism and its acceptance in certain quarters.

Japan would lose nothing but a 77 year old embarrassment

You can't have leaders involved in corruption and scandal. No matter how minor they may be. For the very reason that they can't be trusted to make honest decisions on our behalf. And if they involved in one, what's to say they aren't involved in more that's yet to be discovered?

Our leaders must be strong and pure. If not, they must be replaced!

I've never met anyone who could say with a straight face that the economy is booming after experiencing something like 0.25% growth per quarter.

The stock market is doing well, but that has nothing to do with actual economic performance. If what you're saying was the truth then we'd never have unexplained bubbles or crashes. Right now the PBR of the entire market is roughly in line with the averaged share price across the market. It's as it ought to have been for the past decade or so. I would not call it booming.

Besides all of that though, do you not believe that as a prime minister, Abe should not be flagrantly breaking the law regarding this? Keep in mind he did this not once, but at least twice - there was a university involved with a similar illegal transfer of land and money. That brings the total to two that the public knows about.

The PM is not supposed to be engaging in these kinds of back alley deals for buddies. This kind of stuff has brought down past PM's in Japan before.

When you and your own taxpayers hold nearly all your debt and you issue one of the world's strongest, most stable currencies to pay it off, "fiscal prudence" isn't much of an issue.

Simon Foston

Today 01:13 pm JST

domtoidiToday 12:42 pm JST

And what about the new story of the Japanese government loaning Trump’s son-in-law money last year? That could bring down Trump and Abe.

What's that? Got a link?

I'm not sure but I think domtoidi is referring to the extremely questionable dealings of NTT (30+% govt owned) investment sector with Kushners company. After Abe & Aso met with The Trump last year Feb and wined & dined at Mar-a-lago, NTT paid big for a Kushner N.Y. property. 

Some info here - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-13/kushner-conflict-cloud-hovers-over-brooklyn-sale-linked-to-japan

Snorts all around.

When you and your own taxpayers hold nearly all your debt and you issue one of the world's strongest, most stable currencies to pay it off, "fiscal prudence" isn't much of an issue.

Until it becomes an issue, which is the whole point. Fukushima Dai-Ichi was doing fine until it wasn’t, because ever present, latent risks surrounding its operation came to fruition.

The Bank of Japan holds some 40% of the debt as ‘assets’, while issuing currency (that people rely on) as ‘liabilities’.

Commercial banks own the debt because they find nothing better to do with the money that people deposit with them.

Life insurers... similar story, and again their customers expect their life insurance policies to pay out to support their retirements.

None of this is an issue, until it is an issue. Unless people don’t care about the value of their cash, their savings, or their retirement funds and insurance plans.

Certainly not directly a problem for foreigners. But for residents of Japan, it is a total nonsense to say that it is no matter that your institutions owe huge monies (equivalent to more than half the value of privately owned assets) to you and your fellow local residents, because it is you yourself who will be screwed, one way or another - higher taxes, higher inflation, not getting paid what you were promised, or poor quality public services - choose your poison.

Enjoy while the money-go-round continues, but do not be fooled similarly by how Fukushima was ‘safe’ for years of operation, until it wasn’t.

As saccharine scare tactic. Japan would be far better off without Abe and Also. And the LDP. Imagine a government without corruption.

 Fukushima Dai-Ichi was doing fine until it wasn’t, 

Nuclear power analogy, eh? Nice. In fact, Japan's nuke industry experienced a string of explosions, shutdowns coverups, and even deaths (Tokaimura) in the leadup to Fukushima. Not that that has anything to do with public finance, but it's your crazy analogy, not mine.

Until it becomes an issue, which is the whole point. 

When?

"....because it is you yourself who will be screwed, one way or another - higher taxes, higher inflation, "

Yeah, that nasty rocketing Japanese inflation. LOL. Higher taxes, yes, but only because of alarmist political pressure from debt hawks like yourself who dont understand how public finance works in a fiat currency issuing economy, not because of economic realities. And that's going to be the real trajedy.

So Fukushima D1 blowing up was ‘crazy’ and you also predicted the date it would happen?

You don’t inspire confidence in others with your care free attitude.

I guess if your butler does a good job cleaning your house, he gets to clean your coffers too. I mean who else is gonna clean your house, let the man do his job.