by Zhang Yanxin
The term "Ultraman-style inspection" has recently become a buzzword among the Japanese public, a sarcastic reference to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's visit to the Kumamoto earthquake disaster zone, where she spent a mere three minutes with evacuees -- about as long as Ultraman, a Japanese sci-fi hero, can fight on Earth.
According to Japanese media reports and online comments, most evacuation shelters have been unbearably hot in the wake of the disaster. Takaichi opted for Hikawa Junior High School, the best-equipped shelter with air conditioning, where she only paid a perfunctory visit to several hand-picked evacuee representatives. Yet her office released a slick and cinematic promotional video, complete with background music. Japanese netizens were outraged, asking whether she felt no shame.
Others mocked a photo released by the Ministry of Defense to publicize relief efforts, in which Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stands prominently in the foreground in a suit, captured from a low angle. They accused him of seeking to capitalize on the earthquake disaster for publicity and questioned whether victims' lives meant anything to him at all.
These angry and grieving reactions highlight a stark contradiction in Japan's current political and social landscape.
On one side, concerns about people's livelihoods are mounting. As of June this year, Japan's consumer price index has risen year-on-year for 58 consecutive months, making persistently high prices the new normal. Nominal wage growth for ordinary workers has long lagged behind rising prices, with real wages posting negative growth for consecutive years.
Approximately 55 percent of households say they are struggling to make ends meet, and over 90 percent expect prices to continue rising. Imported inflationary pressure has mounted significantly, with the 2026 inflation forecast revised up from 1.9 percent to 2.2 percent.
Japan's national debt remains a Sword of Damocles hanging over its long-term fiscal health, surpassing 1,343 trillion yen (8.46 trillion U.S. dollars), equivalent to 240 percent of its GDP, the highest ratio among all advanced economies.
On the other side, the Takaichi administration has been relentlessly advancing its remilitarization agenda through a sweeping military buildup. Japan's defense budget has grown for 14 consecutive years, exceeding 9 trillion yen in fiscal year 2026, and the government is weighing an aggressive proposal to raise defense spending to 3 to 3.5 percent of GDP.
The Japanese government has revised the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology to allow exports of lethal weapons and ramped up procurement of offensive armaments, including long-range missiles, hypersonic weapons and F-35 fighter jets. The latest edition of the Defense White Paper has hyped external security threats, framing the expansion of the defense industry as a driver of economic growth. Some cabinet members have also repeatedly made remarks testing the boundaries of debate over nuclear armament.
Not surprisingly, Japanese netizens have lamented time and again that prioritizing military expansion over people's wellbeing has long been the defining feature of the Takaichi administration.
Political grandstanding and empty pledges cannot alleviate people's hardships. Japanese netizens have sharply criticized the practice of turning disaster relief, a touchstone of a government's ability, into a stage for politicians to seek media attention. Some politicians tend to prioritize their public image in front of the cameras, using livelihood issues to gain political capital.
In response to the Takaichi cabinet's proposal to slash the food consumption tax from 8 percent to 1 percent next April, netizens and economists have bluntly pointed out that any gains from the tax cut will vanish instantly if prices continue to surge. The tax cut will further deplete pension and healthcare funds, at the expense of people's long-term interests for electoral gain. It will create an annual fiscal shortfall of trillions of yen, yet the government has yet to unveil any alternative funding plan.
Netizens have also criticized a recently passed bill to establish a sub-capital. Ostensibly intended as a contingency plan in case of a disaster in Tokyo, the initiative has been dismissed by critics as a waste of public funds serving the political ambitions of the Japan Innovation Party.
Young people and peace groups across Japan have repeatedly warned that amid a deepening demographic crisis of low birth rates and population aging, with yawning gaps in pension and healthcare provisions, taxpayers' money should be channeled first and foremost into improving people's lives, rather than funneled endlessly into military procurement.
Why can military expansion be approved with unusual haste and rolled out at breakneck speed, while support for people's livelihoods is all too often hamstrung by "insufficient funding?"
The administration is fixated on diverting public attention from domestic governance failures by stoking external security anxiety and manufacturing a "crisis narrative" to build public support for easing military constraints. It has repeatedly shirked its responsibility on pressing issues such as bringing down prices and safeguarding livelihoods, while rushing to develop capabilities to strike enemy bases. "What exactly does this country put first?" many have asked.
History offers ample lessons showing that diverting excessive national resources to military buildup while ignoring falling living standards will only engender dual perils: deepened social rifts at home and heightened regional tensions abroad. A growing number of far-sighted Japanese observers have come to realize that exaggerating security threats and relying on military expansion offer no real solution for the country.
Editor's note: Zhang Yanxin is an international affairs observer.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Xinhua News Agency.
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