politics

Japan contemplates post-Abe world, but rivals' positions still murky

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By Linda Sieg

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none have offered detailed policy alternatives to his "strong defense, strong economy" platform.

That's OK, Abe hasn't offered details of his "strong economy" platform either, he's just talked about it for 5 years.

Kishida has ... urged greater attention to reining in the country's enormous public debt.

Ah, this is what the author means by no details. Yes, easy to talk about reining the debt in, but how you are actually going to do it is important.

You start by cutting overall public expenditures by 5% each year, and keep doing that every year until tax revenues exceed expenditures. This can be done by cutting those expenditures which are of lowest priority, or going for cost-efficiency. Yes, this means that each ministry will have to decide which 95% of its budget to keep and which 5% to scrap, and how to go about doing that. Each year. "Prioritization" and "value-for-money" should become the buzzwords in Kasumigaseki.

As a corrolary, if the public has such an appetite for it, cut consumption and income tax rates as well, in exchange for continuing annual 5% cuts to public expenditure to compensate for lower tax revenues.

"Shinjiro" ... calling for reforms to social security to rebalance spending toward younger voters.

Rebalancing spending, but not cutting it... no good.

Kishida sounds like the best of the useless bunch of hopefuls.

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I am called a man who doesn't or cannot take a leap, but... I will show that I will act when a crisis comes," Kishida said to cheers from supporters at a fundraising party. He earlier told reporters he had not decided whether to run.

another nippon kaigi twit.

The U.S.-educated Kono, 55, has a reputation as a political maverick. That image has been dented since he joined the cabinet and appears more willing to toe the party line, although he remains outspoken on the need for Japan to wean itself from nuclear power and boost renewable energy.

Sounds like the best of the bunch to me.

But he's generally seen as too green to become prime minister yet.

Because the japanese politicians need to be old as dirt to qualify. what a country.

"Japan is not ready for a Macron," said Jesper Koll, an economist who has followed Japanese politics for decades, referring to France's 40-year-old president, Emmanuel Macron.

Who cares what this Twit Jesper Knoll says?? Why do they keep dragging his useless opinions out? This guy is a lapdog for Abe, and his lectures are a joke. Enough already. Nothing that comes out of this guy's mouth is worth listening to.

And yes Japan is ready for a Macron- or a Trudeau. They need someone young to finally steer Japan in the correct direction. Take a look at the dinosaurs. What exactly have they accomplished?

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Japan will get a LDP man after a LDP man

Nothing surprising

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