Japan Press Weekly

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2016 May 18 - 24 [POLITICS]

PM Abe’s ‘dynamic engagement plan’ goes against public demands

The Abe Cabinet on May 18 released a plan for “promoting dynamic engagement of all Japanese citizens”. The 10-year program is far from meeting the demands of the general public.

With regard to the serious issue of many children waiting for admission to authorized childcare centers, it just plans to build facilities for 100,000 children. The program does not take into account another 60,000 “hidden” children who were removed from the waiting list after the Abe government narrowed the definition of “waiting children”.

The wage level of childcare and nursing-care workers is lower than the national average by 100,000 yen a month. However, the government plan’s target increase in monthly wages for care workers is only 6,000 to 10,000 yen.

In Japan, the number of workers who quit their jobs to care for their aged parents is sharply increasing. Even though there are some 520,000 elderly persons on the waiting lists for public nursing-care homes, the accommodation target of planned care facilities is only 120,000.

In a bid to resolve the issue of long working hours, the program calls for a review of the Labor Standards Law. On the other hand, the government is still aiming to enact a bill to create a “zero-overtime-payment” system, which will lead to extending working hours even further.

The program also abandoned the plan to introduce a grant-type scholarship system, stating that it will maintain the current system which is criticized as “student loans”.

Driven by people’s growing demand and the increase in social movements, PM Abe in the government plan expressed his intention to address previously neglected issues. The general public is increasingly critical of Abenomics which is worsening poverty and increasing income disparities.

The government in the plan admits that private consumption is weak and that some economists point to a growing economic gap and a possible business recession. The government notes that it will try to create a society where an improvement in basic social welfare services, such as child rearing support, leads to a stronger economy. This indicates that the government acknowledges the failure of Abenomics which is based on the so-called trickle-down theory, an idea that the more corporations increase profits, the better off the general public will be in the end.

Regarding the funding needed to implement the plan, the government says that it will find a source for the funding while following the ongoing scheme to rebuild state finances. This means that the government will maintain its policy to slash 500 billion yen every year from the social security budget.

The government proposes to encourage mutual help among local community members. Apparently it has the intention to shift its responsibility onto the voluntary sector and local residents. Under such a government stance, the general public cannot expect the realization of better social security services and a healthier economy.

The contents of the government plan has made it even clear that the urgent need now is to bring down the Abe government in order to change politics for the benefit of the general public.

Past related articles:
> Use of non-regular workers to cut labor costs clarified in government data [November 6, 2015]
> Abe seeks to exploit women and elderly for sake of ‘economic growth’ [October 24, 2015]