January 25, 2025

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on January 24 delivered a policy speech to the Diet in which he outlined the key issues he will tackle this year, including the economy, diplomacy, and national security, as well as his political stance on these issues.

PM Ishiba called for a “pleasant Japan” as his slogan for the year. He said that a “pleasant Japan” means, first of all, one in which “everyone feels safe and secure.”

PM Ishiba expressed his intent to achieve “wage increases that outpace price hikes”. In order to raise wages substantially, it would be effective to levy a tax on a portion of the internal reserves of large corporations, which are making unprecedented profits, and use it as a revenue source to directly support wage hikes at small- and medium-sized enterprises. However, he did not touch on this policy option.

In order to feel “safe and secure”, it is important to not tax the minimum amount necessary to cover basic living expenses. Based on this principle, the government should step forward with an emergency tax cut aimed at reducing or abolishing the consumption tax and raising the minimum taxable income. Improvement in social welfare programs is also important. However, PM Ishiba said that he will steadily push ahead with “reform processes” which entail further cuts in social welfare spending.

PM Ishiba made no mention of getting to the bottom of the LDP factions’ slush-fund scandal or banning political donations from corporations and other interest groups, though these are the key to “political reform”. His unwillingness to utilize large corporations’ internal reserves and lower the consumption tax rate is no doubt due to his commitment to “business-centered politics influenced by corporate donations”.

The most important thing to enable everyone to feel safe and secure is a world without war and nuclear weapons. The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Nihon Hidankyo is encouraging the global movement calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons. However, PM Ishiba did not mention a word about the abolition of nuclear weapons in his policy speech.

As the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump seeks to apply more pressure on Japan to increase its military spending, PM Ishiba said that Japan “must fulfill an appropriate role,” indicating his submissive stance in relation to the United States. He said he will “take the Japan-U.S. alliance to new heights.” It will be unacceptable for the government to embark on a further arms buildup that puts Japan at risk of war. PM Ishiba expressed his intent to immediately build shelters in case of missile attacks from other countries. To say that this will be for everyone to feel safe and secure is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.

PM Ishiba said that a “pleasant Japan” is a society where “each person with diverse values can respect each other and strive for self-actualization.” If this is the case, why did he avoid the issues of whether or not to allow same-sex marriage and selective dual surnames for married couples in his policy speech?

The Japanese Communist Party will do its utmost to shift to a transformation of politics that gives first priority to people’s livelihoods. It will strive to turn Japan into a truly independent country able and willing to help to build true peace. It will also work hard to correct the distortions in LDP politics which prioritizes the interests of the business world and the Japan-U.S. military alliance over people’s livelihoods.