Japan Press Weekly

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2017 February 1 - 7 [POLITICS]

PM Abe trying to curry Trump’s favor with job creation plan

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is set to propose a plan to create 700,000 jobs in the United States at the Japan-U.S. summit meeting scheduled for February 10 in Washington D.C.

PM Abe’s policy package for the “economic growth” of the U.S. and Japan contains a plan to produce 700,000 jobs by investing in infrastructure projects in America. In addition, the Abe administration states in its proposal that it will consider making investments in high-speed railway projects in the U.S. and increasing the import of American-produced LNG.

In January, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the TPP on the grounds that the free trade pact will deprive Americans of employment opportunities. Trump has also threatened that his administration would impose higher tariffs on cars produced by some leading multinational automakers, including Toyota Motor Corporation, if they transfer their factories from the U.S. to Mexico. In response to these moves, the Abe government has hastily put together the economic package.

In Japan, the number of regular workers is decreasing while that of non-regular workers is increasing rapidly. The consumer recession has been prolonged as people’s incomes continue to decline.

The Abe government stance, attempting to win Trump’s favor while making no effort to improve domestic workers’ living conditions, shows how servile it is to Washington.