Nationalist Kishida ignores debt: 1,000 missiles to hike in military spending
Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida does little concerning the mountain of debt, the coronavirus crisis (over 50 percent of all deaths and 90 percent of all infections under his leadership), the declining Yen to Dollar rate, and his “New Capitalism” relates to wealthy people utilizing their capital. However, one area where Kishida excels is nationalism.
Hence, his administration is anti-China and anti-Russian Federation. Indeed, Kishida even utilizes petty nationalism against foreign tourists (must have tour guides and other restrictions).
Thus Kishida seeks to increase the military defense budget at all costs – even if this puts further strains on the fragile economy. Therefore, Kishida is giving the Defense Ministry carte blanche to spend huge sums – despite Japan having the highest ratio of debt in the world.
The Asahi Shimbun reports, “The Defense Ministry is set to request funding for 100-plus items without divulging what they will cost in its budget request for fiscal 2023, in addition to seeking more than 5.5 trillion yen ($40.1 billion) in defense outlays, according to government sources.”
Three squandered economic decades, a low waged economy for tens of millions considering Japan is a G7 nation, two decades of static wages, low birthrate, pension concerns, and a host of other ills – but for Kishida, it is military, military, and his fake “New Capitalism.”
Reuters reports, “Japan is considering the deployment of 1,000 long-range cruise missiles to boost its counterattack capability against China, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Sunday.”
Hence, coastal areas of China and North Korea will be in range. Missiles will be located in the southern Nansei islands and surrounding environs – far from mainland Japan. Therefore, more Japanese nationalism.
The belittlement of the Ryukyu region (Okinawa) knows no boundaries. Thus the majority of American military bases are located in this part of Japan (the Ryukyu Kingdom and its people were once independent). However, if North Korea and the Russian Federation are a threat to national security – then why not put these missiles in Hokkaido or other areas nearer to these two nations?
It is in the interest of Japan to seek dialogue with China and the Russian Federation. Rather than allowing America to divide the region even further – and set off an arms race throughout Northeast Asia.
Under the late Abe, he sought positive relations with the Russian Federation even after Crimea reverted to the Russian Federation (the Soviet Union gave this Russian-dominated area to Ukraine during the Communist Period). However, Kishida is avidly anti-Russian Federation and he is also utilizing the Taiwan Question to further his militarization plans.
Japan News (The Yomiuri Shimbun) reports, “The Japanese government is working to extend the range of the Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missile deployed by the Ground Self-Defense Force from the current more than 100 kilometers to about 1,000 kilometers, allowing the missile to reach North Korea and coastal areas of China. It is also seeking to modify the missiles to be fired from ships and fighter jets.”
Japan is protected by America’s nuclear umbrella. However, under Kishida, he seeks to expand the role of Japan. Kishida also is taking a strong stance against China and the Russian Federation.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, the Foreign Minister of Japan, in a veiled threat to the Russian Federation, said, “Russia’s aggression needs to go down in history as a clear failure, otherwise it is inevitable that other countries will follow Russia and attempt to change the status quo by force.”
The ratio of debt in Japan is shockingly 260% of GDP. However, despite three decades of aggressive fiscal spending by the government, the nation is mired by low economic growth, static wages, weak inflation, sluggish productivity rates, females still facing enormous discrimination within senior management structures, and the population is declining and graying.
Kyodo News reports, “Japan, whose fiscal health is already the worst among major industrialized economies, is expected to see its government debt-to-GDP ratio come to 262.5 percent this year, 0.6 points lower than a year earlier.”
Japan should focus on the economic ills that blight the country and seek to address over two decades of static wages. The World Population Review (2020) ranked Japan 15th in the world concerning the minimum wage. However, with costs of goods like fruit being high – and housing for many being small – even this figure is glossing over the real reality after two decades of static wages.
In 2020, the hourly minimum wage in US dollar terms was (World Population Review) 14.54 (Australia), 11.46 (France), 11.37 (United Kingdom), 11.21 (Netherlands), 10.68 (Germany), 10.33 (Canada), 8.99 (South Korea), 8.17 (Israel), and 7.52 (Japan). Sadly, with the Yen being so weak to the Dollar, this now equates to 7.01 dollars in 2022.
Ordinary people want the ruling party to focus on bread and butter issues. Yet Kishida mainly focuses on the military angle – and following the geopolitical ambitions of America in Northeast Asia and Europe.
Is this good enough?
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