Kishida in Australia (West Papua): Yen 150 to the Dollar and Consumer Price high
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The ruling party in the United Kingdom understood the disaster of Prime Minister Liz Truss. Thus Truss was shown the door in roughly one and a half months. However, the political elites in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are extremely slow to show the door to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
NHK reports, “Consumer prices in Japan rose 3 percent in September. That is the biggest increase in more than three decades, excluding the effects of the consumption tax hikes.”
Kishida took power last year when the Yen was 110 to the Dollar. In just over 12 months, it is now a staggering 150 Yen to the Dollar. However, Kishida isn’t overtly concerned related to his “do nothing approach.”
Hence, Kishida is on another international trip to Australia to rebuke China and the Russian Federation and declare the need for a free and open Pacific (his language capabilities seem to get stuck by this saying). As usual, the leaders of Australia and Japan will ignore the horrendous crisis in West Papua.
Modern Tokyo Times recently said, “His ‘do nothing approach’ and empty ‘new capitalism’ – while seeking to double military spending despite the horrendous debt mountain – sums up his administration. Since Japan will likely buy more military arms from America – at the current currency level, it means Japan will be paying 33 percent more. No wonder America adores the ‘aircraft carrier – aka Japan’ to contain China.”
More economic woeful news was mentioned by Kyodo News. This news agency said, “The corporate goods price index reached 116.3 in September, its highest level since comparable data became available in 1960.”
Japan also recorded its highest first-half-of-the-year trade deficit since figures became comparable in 1979. Thus a record 11.01 yen trade deficit under Kishida. An individual who collects negative trade figures like no tomorrow.
Japan, once famous for its high-tech economy, is now hoping that international tourists will help the yen to rebound. Ironically, Japan installed one of the most anti-foreign draconian Covid-19 policies to keep foreign nationals out. Therefore, Kishida is clutching at straws – as usual.
Jesper Koll (Monex Group – director of financial services) told CNBC, “… yen could weaken further toward the 155 level, strengthening only next spring — and that wouldn’t be the result of action from Japan, but of the Fed signaling that it has “stepped enough on the brake.”
The Yen will strengthen against the Dollar when the Fed in America eases up on its respective interest rates.
Kishida seeks to double military spending at a time when the majority of people are getting poorer. Hence, his trip to Australia highlights how out of touch the ruling elites in many nations are – from Japan to the United Kingdom – with endless anti-China and anti-Russian Federation statements rather than focusing on serious economic issues at home.
West Papua
The leaders of Australia and Japan will waffle on about anti-China and anti-Russian Federation issues – and the usual free and open Pacific. However, both will ignore the crisis in West Papua that is on the doorstep of Australia. Therefore, rendering both nations to be complete hypocrites.
Elaine Pearson (Human Rights Watch – Australia) said, “For more than 50 years, Indonesia has tightly restricted access to Papua and West Papua for foreign journalists and human rights monitors making it very difficult to investigate allegations of serious human rights abuses… There are numerous reports of killings, torture, arbitrary detention and forced displacement for which no one has ever been held to account.”
The Guardian reports, “Indonesia has controlled West Papua since invading in 1963 and formalizing its annexation through the controversial, UN approved, ‘Act of Free Choice.’ Security forces are accused of severe human rights violations during the occupation with an estimated 500,000 Papuans killed.”
Last year, UN News said, “Between April and November 2021, we have received allegations indicating several instances of extrajudicial killings, including of young children, enforced disappearance, torture and inhuman treatment and the forced displacement of at least 5,000 indigenous Papuans by security forces.”
Australian Foreign Affairs reports (Dominic Simonelli), “…successive Australian governments have turned a blind eye to Indonesia’s brutal oppression and economic exploitation of the indigenous peoples of West Papua, prioritizing cooperation with Indonesia over the welfare of West Papuans. Indonesia’s pervasive abuse of ethnic Papuans has become institutionalized in the decades since its independence. Left unchecked by foreign powers, the West Papuan crisis is the Asia-Pacific’s “silent genocide”.
Therefore, when will the tenure of Kishida end?
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