Japan Press Weekly

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2016 June 15 - 21 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Abe desperately runs negative campaign against opposition alliance

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in his canvassing speeches in single-seat constituencies for the House of Councilors election is attacking the cooperation that has emerged between opposition parties and citizens’ groups working for the great cause of “repealing the security legislation” and “restoring constitutionalism”.

Security

He claims, “The revocation of the Peace and Security Preservation Legislation will cut off the bond of trust between Japan and the U.S., undermining the basis of the Japan-U.S. alliance.” He says that the abolition of the legislation will pose a problem to the bilateral alliance.

However, neglect of complying with the Constitution for the sake of the bilateral alliance is the real problem at issue. The use of the collective self-defense right will, in fact, press Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to participate in U.S.-led wars of aggression under the rhetoric of “self-defense”. In short, this right will function to mobilize Japanese to support unlawful wars. An end to the war laws will “not destroy the Japan-U.S. bond” but will “eliminate the dangers associated with Japan’s participation in U.S. wars”.

Abe keeps making statements against the opposition parties’ effort to scrap the war laws by shouting, “They are so irresponsible that we cannot entrust our children’s futures and the maintenance of peace to them.” It, however, is his despotic scheme that will endanger Japan’s future as he plans to remake Japan into “a country capable of fighting in overseas wars” in direct violation of the Constitution.

He often quotes provisions of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, but the Treaty stipulates that only in the event an armed attack against either party in the territories under the administration of Japan can the two parties act together in military operations (Article 5). A joint military response can be taken only when an armed attack from a foreign party occurs in areas where Japan has effective control. Nowhere in the Treaty does it allow a Japan-U.S. joint military action without such an armed attack.

Abe reinterprets not only the constitutional principle but even the provision of the security treaty as he pleases in order to rebuild Japan into “a nation fighting wars abroad”. Such flagrant violation of the Constitution as well as the limitations imposed by the security treaty is totally unacceptable. What will actually allow an opening of a new page for the future is the joint struggle of the opposition parties and citizens.

Economy

“The opposition alliance has no unified economic policies. They criticize me every day.” Aiming to dodge criticism over the failure of the “Abenomics” economic policies, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is attacking the JCP and three other opposition parties for having “no counterproposal”.

However, along with the repeal of the war laws, the four opposition parties affirmed that they will work to reverse the Abenomics-induced destruction of people’s livelihoods and address the issue of growing social inequalities and poverty. The four parties have agreed upon their common policies. This is reflected in 15 bills which were jointly submitted to the last ordinary session of the Diet.

Regarding economic issues, the opposition bloc has proposed: a wage increase for workers in childcare, nursing-care, and welfare services; an increase in child-rearing allowances; tightening of rules on excessive working hours; a minimum wage hike to at least 1,000 yen; the creation of a grant-type scholarship program for university students; and the establishment of a fair tax system by restoring the balance between progressive taxation on individual/ corporate incomes and a wealth tax on assets. The Abe administration works primarily for large corporations and rich people. The opposition bloc seeks an economic recovery through support for people’s livelihoods. The lines of confrontation between the government and the opposition have become obvious.

Under these circumstances, PM Abe began arguing, “I know many people have complained that they can feel no recovery in the Japanese economy,” and has been compelled to admit that his economic policy has reached an impasse. He has also stopped talking about the “new three arrows” of Abenomics.

However, the prime minister is still taking a stance sticking to the failed economic policies by saying, “I’ll rev up the engine of Abenomics as much as possible.” It is Abe who refrains from talking about new economic measures.

Japan-U.S. alliance

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo is glorifying the Japan-U.S. military alliance by calling it “an alliance for hope” and attacking the four opposition parties. However, what he says is propaganda using distorted facts.

“With the Legislation for Peace and Security Preservation enacted, Japan and the U.S. will be able to work closely in order to protect Japan. When North Korea launched a ballistic missile, the two governments responded to the situation with stronger cooperation than ever before,” Abe proclaimed.

However, in the first place, at the time of North Korea’s missile launch on February 7, the national security laws (war laws) had yet to come into force. The legislation, in fact, played no role in that situation.

If Japan experiences a missile attack, it will create a national emergency which can be handled with the conventional legal framework without resorting to the war laws.

PM Abe is attacking the JCP by saying, “In its Program, the JCP writes of the dissolution of the SDF which were essential to rescue operations when the powerful earthquakes hit Kumamoto Prefecture.”

The SDF has the reputation of being actively engaged in rescue operations in the event of disasters. However, it is the LDP and the Komei Party which intend to send SDF members to battlefields and force them to enter situations of killing or being killed.

Among SDF members returning from operations in Iraq and in the Indian Ocean, many are still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 54 have committed suicide.

What PM Abe is about to offer young people is not hope but hopelessness.

TPP

“By using the TPP as a trigger, Japan will achieve the goal of one trillion yen in exports (in farm, forestry, and maritime products) in 2019, one year earlier than the initial target year of 2020,” Prime Minister Abe Shinzo claimed on June 9 at a speech meeting in Yamagata City. He is repeating this assertion in other places.

Abe is attempting to give people the false impression that the TPP free-trade pact will increase farmers’ income through expanded exports of agricultural products, and he avoids mentioning the fact that the multilateral trade deal will significantly increase food imports. This is nothing but a tactic used to deceive the general public and farmers.

In the first place, even if the government export goal is fulfilled, it will not lead to an increase in farmers’ earnings.

In 2015, Japan’s exports of farm, forestry, and maritime products amounted to 745.1 billion yen, of which 443.1 billion yen or 59.5% is categorized as farm products. However, under the government definition, “farm products” include processed foods, such as sauces, pastes, and beverages produced by food companies which account for more than half of the 443.1 billion yen. Given that food manufacturers use a large amount of imported materials, a growth in processed food exports will have little effect on incomes of domestic farmers.

Of the one-trillion-yen export target, only 83.5 billion yen is agricultural products after maritime products, processed foods, and other items are excluded. The figure is less than 1% of Japan’s total agricultural production.

The fact is that the TPP will increase agricultural imports far more than exports.

Even now, Japanese farmers have been hurt by the growing imports of agricultural products. In 2015, Japan imported 6.56 trillion yen in farm products, up by 240.6 billion yen from the previous year, while exporting farm products, worth 443.1 billion yen, was up 86.2 billion yen. The amount and the growth of imports are 15 times and three times larger than those of exports, respectively. Once the TPP free-trade pact goes into effect, it will further increase agriculture imports and lead to the demise of domestic agriculture.

Although Abe claims that he will use the TPP as a trigger to boost Japan’s agricultural industry, it is clear that the trade pact will much more likely to devastate Japan’s farm sector than improve it. The withdrawal from the TPP framework is essential to revitalize Japan’s farming sector.

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Abe is scared of opposition parties and people united

Igarashi Jin, professor emeritus of Hosei University, on June 15 told Akahata about Abe’s negative campaign tactics. His comments are summarized as follows:

Abe is now engaging in a typical negative campaign against the opposition parties’ joint struggle because he cannot come up with anything positive. He knows that none of his policies can attract voters.

Japan’s top leader has been taking the lead in engaging in a negative campaign. It looks so ugly, so miserable. Is this what all he, the Prime Minister of Japan, could come up with? I must say this is very shameful.

His negative campaign focuses on the opposition parties’ united effort for fear of success in their cooperation. In other words, Abe recognizes the potential power of the opposition alliance. This is why he is desperately devoting his time to plot out how to divide the opposition solidarity. He uses the phrase he coined, “DP-JCP collaboration”, and often says, “Vote for the DP, you will get the JCP.” By doing this, he tries to launch attacks on the opposition parties’ joint struggle to weaken their resolve to cooperate.

Abe is intensively, anachronistically attacking especially the JCP because he probably thinks that the JCP is at the center of the opposition alliance and is the most threatening force for the ruling bloc, and so he may believe that he can stop the opposition parties’ united effort if he succeeds in isolating this force.