Despite the strong GDP data, household budgets are in crisis -- Akahata editorial, February 20Announcing that Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) for the October-December period increased by an annualized rate of 7 percent and by a nominal rate of 0.7 percent from the previous period, the Cabinet Office described this as "strong growth." Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuda Yasuo stated, "This is a result of the Koizumi Cabinet's steady reform efforts." He also said, "The business sector is on the road to recovery and gradually making the household budgets hopeful."
However, most citizens do not share the "light of hope" at all.
More bipolarity
Fukuda touts the GDP growth as the cabinet's "achievement." How removed his attitude is from what the general public actually feel!
The recovery of the business sector was cited by Fukuda as something remarkable. But he ought to recognize that it was achieved only by auto, electronics, and electrical manufacturers making huge profits and increasing capital investment and that these earnings were made based on the suffering of smaller business owners, workers, and other citizens. The reality of the household economy is not "bright" at all.
Although the Toyota Motors Group makes a record profit of more than 1 trillion yen, it is reluctant to raise workers' wages.
In 2002 and 2003, the internal reserves (savings) of 20 large corporations increased by 2.14 trillion yen to 27.95 trillion yen according to the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren).
Despite their lucrative business, more large corporations use the performance-based pay system that leads to wage cuts and try to cut their workforces and costs as much as possible.
With corporate restructuring prevalent, the unemployment rate has increased to around 5 percent with more than 3 million people out of work, and cash earnings per person decreased by 360,000 yen (1997 - 2003). Last year, 16,255 small- and medium-sized companies went out of business.
If the government is willing to safeguard the people's living conditions, its response should be to curb arbitrary corporate restructuring and have companies fulfill their social responsibility.
However, Koizumi's "reform" policy gives top priority to helping large corporations make as large a profit as possible. It assists them in cutting costs through restructuring and uses huge amounts of tax money to bail out major banks, while letting small- and medium-sized businesses go bust because of their burdens of "bad loans". It also lightens tax burdens for large corporations and shifts them onto the working people. It even abandons its responsibility for public well-being by allowing social services to become new sources of profits for large corporations. Through helping the strong and suppressing the weak, the "Koizumi reform" policy sharpens the economic polarization between poor and rich.
The people betrayed
All this did not happen by accident. Large corporations as well as business leaders have used their overwhelming economic power to intervene in politics to serve their interests. The extraordinary government way of taking the lead in promoting corporate restructuring shows how deep and cozy the ties between large corporations or the business world and the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties as well as the prime minister really are.
Japan Business Federation (JBF or Nippon Keidanren) Chair Okuda Hiroshi, who is also president of Toyota Motor Corporation, said "the 7-percent GDP growth represents state of corporate management." He seemed to show little interest in the severe living conditions of workers and common people today.
True economic recovery hinges on personal spending that accounts for 60 percent of the nation's economy. The Koizumi Cabinet forcing people to bear the "pain" is the factor that impedes Japan's true economic recovery. (end)