Japan's GDP decline again

Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.2 percent in the quarter that ended in March, which is a 0.8 percent drop at an annual rate, the Cabinet Office announced on June 11.

Following the announcement, Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro stated that such a minus economic growth is the very reason why "structural reform" is needed.

Koizumi's "reform" is to shift more burdens and costs onto people, such as by writing off bad loans to help banks, cutting government expenditure on medical insurance, and introducing the consumption tax increase.

Akahata on June 12 analyzed that the present negative growth is caused by sluggish personal consumption. Koizumi's "plan" will cause more unemployment and bankruptcies and further discourage personal spending, Akahata predicts.

The Japanese Communist Party proposes countermeasures to improve people's living conditions rather than further the profits of major banks and corporations. The JCP also calls for the consumption tax rate to be cut, a freeze on adverse revisions of social welfare services, and a restriction on corporate restructuring. (end)