January 21, 2022

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on January 20 at a House of Representatives plenary meeting used his interpellation time to appeal the need to create a people-oriented economy by turning away from neoliberalism and the government’s pro-business policies.

Shii pointed out that Prime Minister Kishida in his policy speech said that various harmful effects may arise from neoliberalism, but he made this statement with no real understanding of the extent of the “harmful effects”.

Shii said that the Japanese economy has become weak and vulnerable under neoliberal policies.

Shii went on to say that this was evident from the following facts:
- OECD data show that the average annual real wage per capita in Japan decreased by 640,000 yen in 2020 from its peak level in 1997, meaning that Japan ranked at the bottom among the 22 countries surveyed in terms of wage growth;
- The nominal GDP in Japan grew 6% between 2013 and 2020 while that in the U.S. and Europe posted an increase of 25% and 14%, respectively, during the same time period; and
- In the latest world competitiveness ranking list released by the Swiss-based think tank, Institute for Management Development (IMD), Japan was placed the 31st, though it topped the list in the early 1990s.

Shii pointed out that the blame for making the Japanese economy “weak and vulnerable” should be placed on the successive Liberal Democratic Party governments which implemented pro-large corporation policies. As typical examples, Shii cited repeated deregulation of labor rules, cutbacks in public expenditure on social welfare services, and increases in the consumption tax rate in contrast with generous tax breaks to large corporations and the wealthy. He asked PM Kishida if he intends to shift away from policies subservient to the demands of big business.

PM Kishida responded by saying, without elaborating, that Shii’s criticism missed the point.

Past related article:
> JCP Shii calls on JCP Dietmembers to engage in Diet debates by offering counterproposals regarding diplomacy and economy [January 18, 2022]