Anti-Russia Kishida: Debt, nationalism, and Yen hits 20-year dollar low
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, is the most anti-Russian administration in living memory. Hence, the debt mountain never gets tackled – and the yen to dollar rate just hit a 20-year low under Kishida – but his administration peddles anti-Russian Federation policies instead of focusing on internal issues that need addressing. Therefore, the anti-China administration of Yoshihide Suga is passing on the anti-China and anti-Russian Federation baton to the nationalist Kishida administration.
In the internal Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) election in 2021, it is worth remembering that Sanae Takaichi came second concerning Diet member votes. This points to the mounting nationalism within the ruling LDP. After all, Takaichi opposes the Murayama Statement that clarifies the war crimes committed by Japan during the war, denies Comfort Women being forced into sexual slavery, took a picture with a holocaust denier (Kazunari Yamada), and utilizes the Yasukuni Shrine openly in league with her nationalist tendencies. Hence, for Takaichi to come second in the Diet voting ballot last year – highlights the rise of nationalism within the ruling LDP.
Kishida, only in power for over just six months, is a disaster in the making for a country blighted by debt. Thus no shock that the yen hit a 20-year low to the dollar under his administration so soon. Likewise, Japan logged its second-largest current account deficit (since statistics began in 1985) in January under Kishida. Therefore, with Japan being blighted by approximately 1.4 quadrillion yen in debt (roughly $13.1 trillion US dollars and 260 percent of GDP) – and the second-largest current account deficit since records began in 1985 – it is presumed that Kishida would be more prudent.
Not at all – instead, Kishida approved the highest initial budget planned for 2022. This entails approximately one-fifth of Japan’s entire GDP. Defense spending also reached its highest figure under Kishida. Therefore, approximately 107.6 trillion yen (940 billion dollars) will further burden this indebted nation – without altering the economic malaise.
Yet even when the yen reaches a 20-year low against the U.S. dollar at 128 yen, Kishida’s main focus is endless anti-Russian Federation policies. His other main policies are opening up money channels to Ukraine, grand statements during G-7 meetings, affirming Japan’s Green Lobby (while preparing to release radiation into the sea related to the Fukushima nuclear debacle that is ongoing), and assisting foreign nations with capital – and announcing Japan’s highest ever military budget.
Bread and butter issues – for this silver spoon politician is all but forgotten after being elected the leader of Japan – despite promising a new way to spread greater economic distribution.
Hence, while ordinary citizens worry about the pension system, static wages in the last 20 years for vast numbers of the workforce, decreasing working rights since the Junichiro Koizumi period, declining population, and a moribund system where Japan fairs terribly related to women directors and so forth: Kishida focuses on his anti-Russian Federation policies, appeasing America’s geopolitical ambitions, and spend, spend, spend but not on ordinary Japanese citizens.
Modern Tokyo Times recently said, “Japan is blighted by over three decades of endless political mismanagement. This is down to the “political family chairs” of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Hence – over three squandered economic decades later concerning negative to limited economic growth and static wages – the result is the highest debt ratio in the world and a declining population that will further burden the pension system in the years to come.”
The answer for Kishida – like Koizumi, Abe, and Suga – is nationalism and enacting increasingly anti-China and anti-Russian Federation policies. It seems that this will not end well – and this not only concerns more debt and economic statism but even worse unless moderates within the LDP can turn off the elitist nationalist clock.
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