Japanese management mainly opposes Kishida
Sawako Utsumi and Sawako Uchida
Modern Tokyo Times
In the Reuters monthly survey of major Japanese corporations, just below two-thirds oppose Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s policy direction. This comes on top of three recent ministers being forced to resign and a decrease of 2.6% in real wages from one year earlier.
Business disgruntlement aimed at the administration of Kishida concerns his economic strategy for growth. Others note the execution of his vague policies, no countermeasures to inflation, and his aloofness to the weak yen outside of waiting for a natural re-alignment based on measures taken by America.
Reuters reports, “Inflation in Japan is running at a 40-year high, driven by soaring energy prices from the war in Ukraine and exacerbated by a steep drop in the yen. Almost 90% of companies polled said continuing inflation was the biggest risk they faced in 2023, and 68% said it should be a policy focus for the Kishida government.”
Lee Jay Walker says, “The business community knows that Kishida wants to double the military budget despite the enormous mountain of debt. Hence, an increase in business corporation taxes seems likely in the future – if Kishida wins the day!”
In Tokyo (a bellwether for how Japan is doing), consumer prices in 12 months have shot up by 3.6 %. Prices of non-perishable food have risen by 6.7 % and energy prices by 24.4 % in the same timescale. This is the highest increase in four decades and sums up the current government of Japan.
Kishida’s Cabinet approval rate was 54.1% in August before declining to 40.2 percent in September (surveys by Kyodo News). Since then, a further decline below 40%.
This isn’t surprising concerning the Moonies (Unification Church) scandal, the State Funeral of Shinzo Abe, coronavirus deaths reaching 51,000 (below 18,000 before Kishida took office), price hikes connected to sanctions on the Russian Federation, declining Yen to Dollar rate, endless monthly trade deficits, the slow response in helping people and other ills.
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