Abe drifts away from public opinion after a year in office

By Chen Yan
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, December 31, 2013
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In December 2012 the Japanese public gave Abe a second chance to lead the country - he had resigned as Prime Minister because of unpopularity in 2007 - to seek economic recovery. Japan, having suffered two decades of recession, could not afford for its economy to continue stagnating. Abe promised that he could lead Japan back on track with economic growth, earning him widespread support.

Support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe slid in opinion polls after his ruling coalition steamrolled through parliament a tough secrecy act that critics fear could muzzle media and allow officials to hide misdeeds.



In July, Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a majority in House of Councillors as Abe's LDP started to completely control Japan's politics. The LDP fulfilled all its campaign promises. The Japanese stock market has improved, despite speculative foreign influences. Extraordinary loose financial policies and excessive liquidity both drastically depreciate the yen, solving the lingering problem of appreciating yen hindering the Japanese economy. Everything was in line to boost growth, but the Abe administration found itself drifting away from public opinion.

The Japanese government has failed to offer any detailed plans on how it will lift the national economy. Among "Abenomics" policies, the biggest was raising the consumption tax rate, from the current 5 percent to 8 percent, to be effective in April 2014. It will be hiked up to 10 percent in October 2015. Raising consumption tax is necessary to solve the financial deficit and maintain present social welfare, but it does not stimulate consumption. A projected outlook is that Japanese consumers will be even cautious in spending money, which will negatively impact its domestic market. This negative outlook will also be reflected in industrial activities because manufacturers will not want to invest to expand their capacity in a shrinking market that suffers from a lack of confidence.

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