Taxation for Growth?

The Glorious Revolution determined a principle that the government cannot pose tax on the people without consent from them. American Revolution was a great protest against taxation of British government. Now, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe insisted that taxation was the basis of democracy. That was why he dissolved the House of Representatives and had general election to ask legitimacy of rescheduling consumption tax hike, which did not really make sense, though. Now he made minor changes in tax system without any election at the end of the year.

For individual, the government encourages transferring personal property from parents to children. Taxation on donation from parents or grandparents to children will be eased from FY 2015. Money contribution of building houses or college tuition will be more supported by tax exemption than now. Helping children’s or grand children’s budget for marriage or raising children will be supported by lighter tax. The government thought that ¥1.6 quadrillion of personal monetary asset mostly owned by aged people will be consumed with stimulus on family transferring.

Tax exemption on small amount of savings on stock or investment trust, which has strange name called NISA, abbreviation of Nippon Individual Saving Account, will be broadened from ¥1 million or less to ¥1.2 million. This is a preferable policy for stockowners. For house owners, the government will extend support on interest of housing loan. If you have enough money for buying a house, you will receive benefit from national government. If you do not, nobody cares.

For corporations, actual corporate tax rate will be gradually reduced. In FY 2015, taxation on corporations both by national and local government will be reduced by 2.51% from 34.12%. It will be further lower in FY 2016, when the tax rate will be reduced to 31.33%. Abe administration is willing to reduce the rate lower than 30% to encourage more active business.

One of the controversial decisions was introducing size-based business tax. Major corporations will be posed heavy tax, even if they are in red. Major corporations will be in a great competition, while small and mid-size firms will not receive benefit. If this reform works negative on corporation, the impact will be falling on not only the business management, but on workers or wages. As many recognize, the government did not show this time again its positive attitude for improving balance of national budget. It is unclear what the administration really wants to do.

Registration of Secrets

After activation of notorious Designated Secrecy Law earlier this month, the government began to register special secrets. To prevent terrorism or other purposes, the government encloses various kinds of information discretionarily. Leaving broad concern on going back to pre-war authoritarianism, in which the government oppressed citizens ideologically unfavorable, the government is getting a huge black box.

Designated Secrecy Law was legislated to protect important information for the nation. If a public worker leaked one of the registered secrets, he or she will be punished with ten years in prison at most. In addition, private citizen who required the leak also will be punished with five years in prison at most. Public workers who deal with those secrets will be checked his privacy, including criminal record, history of mental diseases, addictive tendency to alcohol, amount of debt and names or nationality of families and inmates.

The first governmental organization that announced registration of special secret was National Police Agency. On Friday, it registered eleven items related to information gathering satellite, two for terrorism, two for cooperation with foreign government, one for spy activities, one for task and operation of military company, and one for human information source. Information related to satellite was pictures taken by Japanese satellite in past eleven years. One of the two terrorist secrets was domestic and another was international. Expiration of the registration will be five years later.

Although NPA voluntarily released its registration of secrets, others were highly reluctant to reveal that. According to Asahi Shimbun, Ministry of Foreign Affairs admitted to the interview that it registered thirty-five special secrets on Friday. By Friday, Cabinet Chamber registered forty-nine items, National Coast Guard did fifteen, Public Security Intelligence Agency did ten, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry did four, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications did two and National Security Council did one. Ministry of Defense registered two hundred and forty-four military secrets to designated secrets.

While ministries were enthusiastic to register their own secrets, most ministries had not started checking process for its workers. Although the law requires establishment of information supervising council in the National Diet, there is still no move to do that in both Houses. Before the law was activated, there had been four hundred seventy-one items registered as special preserving secrets. They counted each pictures as one item. Designated secrecy was registered some related items as one. Numbers of secrets were drastically declined by this counting method. It is even unclear how many items they have registered.

Invitation from Russia

A strange invitation has arrived from the Eurasian Continent. News reports revealed that the government of Japan received a letter from Russian government inviting Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, to the ceremony on Victory Day against Nazi Germany on May 9^th next year. It came to Abe later than this summer. Japanese government has not replied yet. As long as it is unlikely that United States and most European states will not attend the event, Japan does not have any reason to join that, risking cooperative relationship with Western nations.

May 9^th was the day after Nazi Germany signed a document of surrender to United Nations in 1945. There will be a great ceremony next year, which will commemorate seventieth anniversary. Russian government has a reason to invite Abe. In the sixtieth anniversary of the day, Russia invited then Prime Minister, Jun-ichiro Koizumi, and Koizumi attended the ceremony with other world leaders including U.S. President, George W. Bush.

But, the situation next year will be significantly different from ten years before. Relation between the Western countries and Russia is the worst after the end of Cold War, affected by Russian aggression to Ukraine territory, namely Crimea Peninsula. It is likely that U.S. and other European countries will boycott the ceremony next May. To keep alliance with U.S., Japan has reluctantly joined sanction against Russia. If Japan solely joins the event next year, it will look like disturbing that concerted effort.

For Japan, making good relationship with Russia has its own meaning. Personal relationship between Abe and Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has not been bad. At Beijing last month, Putin agreed with Abe to have official visit to Japan as early as possible next year. Abe expects the visit to be a major step to reach a deal over territorial dispute over Northern Territory and peace treaty.

Japanese government also sees the ceremony as a possible opportunity to approach North Korea. Russia official has announced that the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, would be attending the event. If Abe joins it, there might be an opportunity to have a talk with Kim. As well known, solving abduction issue is one of the biggest agenda for Abe. He has been disappointed with failure to let the North provide with information about abductees this fall.

Common problem the Japanese diplomacy showed in the process is that Japan only sees itself. One who understands international politics can easily see that it is extremely hard to expect improvement in Japan-Russian relation in this cold relation between the West and Russia. This narrow mind can be paralleled with that of pre-war Japanese military government.

Discretionary Distribution

The government of Japan made a decision for new package for economic stimulus on Saturday. Targets are low-income people, small business, reconstruction from earthquake and local community. To bring his economic policy to success, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began to support the weakest part of economy in Japan with the budget of ¥3.5 trillion. But, nobody knows whether this medicine work appropriately.

Policy that Abe mostly wanted to appeal was subsidy for urgent support for life, which would be funded as much as ¥420 billion. The support was consisted with two kinds of support for local government. One was with some choices for local governments to use the subsidy for their various needs, which included commodity voucher, support for purchasing kerosene or raising children. Another support was to reward local governments that would exercise actual measures dealing with demographic decline.

Those policies did not go beyond an traditional concept of regulative governance. “We have money, you have idea.” That is the way bureaucrats look down on local governments. While policy for demographic decline is firstly responsibility of national government, bureaucrats in Tokyo require local people to find ways. Nevertheless, they never allow local government to use national budget other than for promoting Abenomics.

Support for small business is nothing new. There were various stimuli such as low-rate loan for small and mid-size business, subsidy for introducing environmentally conscious measures or urgent support for rice farmers in low rate rice price. But, increasing hydrogen station for fuel cell vehicle would not be a policy for economic growth, but a support for Toyota, the top runner on this field.

For the region where suffered from great earthquake and nuclear accident, the government would subsidize for innovation of public schools with earthquake-proof construction or local community that would accept intermediate processing facility of nuclear-contaminated soil. Those supports for reconstruction strongly indicated national government’s selective distribution of public wealth. In Okinawa, Abe administration had been supportive on local development as long as the governor was supportive for relocation plan of U.S. Marine base. But, soon after new governor, negative against the plan, was elected, the government started reducing subsidy to Okinawa.

This discretional distribution of national budget is suspected to be appropriate. Biased subsidy may violate the principle of equality under law. Before that, spreading money without principle will not work for economic growth. Voucher distribution in 1999 contributed for consumption as limited as thirty percent of the amount of whole value of distributed vouchers. Abe believes that doing something will keep people’s expectation to his administration.

No Longer Front Runner

Former frontrunner vanished into a cloud. In the twentieth conference of parties for United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Lima, Peru, earlier this month, Japan could not take a role for accelerating negotiation for greenhouse gasses reduction. After the severe accident of nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japanese government and nuclear-interested people in Japan have been increasing greenhouse gas emission, dependant on thermal power generation. Obviously, they have been highly reluctant to replace nuclear power generation to renewable energy. It is predictable consequence that Japan was lagging behind of other nations in climate conference.

The statement after Lima conference mandated parties to submit their reduction plan for greenhouse gas emission as early as next March. They can write down in the plan concrete timeline of emission reduction, year for basis in calculation or kinds of gasses to reduce. The administrative office will make a draft of new framework before next May and release a report by November 1^st after analyzing all plans submitted. Time schedule is extremely tight. Those were the elements of the process to reduce greenhouse gasses within two Celsius degree higher than the level in the time of Industrial Revolution

The result was not necessarily satisfactory for all the participants. While European Union required a reviewing system to verify the plans each other, China rejected it with concern on its own growing emission. Developing counties have been reinforcing their influence in the conference with accusation on developed countries as mainly responsible for increase of greenhouse gasses in the world. A number of countries expressed its willingness to donate for Green Climate Fund, which would support mitigate disaster in high tide or flood and breed improvement of agricultural products for adaptation to climate change.

As the host country of Kyoto Protocol, Japan would have been exercising positive role in this complicated discussion. But, it has not have any clear perspective for submitting its own emission goal, having been lazy for making its own energy plan for the future. Although poll has shown people’s willingness to abolish, or reduce, nuclear power plants, the government, manipulated by power industry, has been rejecting nuclear option. It is said that next June, when Group Seven summit will be held, should be the deadline for Japan to submit actual plan for greenhouse gasses reduction.

Not only in terms of security in Northeast Asia, but also of security of environment on this planet, Japan is in a crisis of being shattered by struggle between China and United States, which are emerging on the center of the stage in climate issue these months.

Broken Safety Net

The governmental committee for verification of the accident in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant released new record of interviews to one hundred twenty-seven people who were involved in the accident at the time. It revealed that Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency, an agency inside Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and abolished after the nuclear accident in Fukushima, had not played appropriate role for preventing severe accident at all.

According to an article of Tokyo Shimbun, Earthquake-proof Safety Judgment Director in NISA, Masaru Kobayashi, revealed reluctance of NISA in dealing with risk of huge earthquake to the interview. Although Kobayashi proposed reviewing risk of as great earthquake as Jogan era in the ninth century in 2010, some officers of NISA threatened Kobayashi, saying “You will be fired, if you are involved in it too much.”

At that time, NISA prioritized national policy for promoting development of mixed oxide fuel from used nuclear fuel to nuclear sefety. Discussion of disaster prevention was thought as having negative impact on the project. Power generation company was accomplice of NISA. Koji Yamagata, Officer for Overseeing Safety Standard of Nuclear Facility, testified that officers of power companies had been reluctant in every opportunity and received various kind of pressure when he tried to review safety guideline.

NHK reported that one of the staffs of Tokyo Electric Power Company told his recognition about meltdown in nuclear reactors to the interview. He realized that level of cooling water in the first reactor of First Fukushima Plant was less than a half and upper part of nuclear fuel exposed to the air must have been melted at the point of one month later from the accident. “I heard a story in the company that ‘meltdown’ should not be used in explaining the situation of reactors, because there was not clear definition of meltdown.” Labeling the public stupid and nervous, the experts of nuclear technology enclose information that is fatal to national interest.

Asahi Shimbun ran an article about the interview on then Governor of Fukushima, Yuhei Sato. Sato remembered that there was no information provided from national government or TEPCO hours after the accident. Closely watching TV, he independently decided to issue evacuation order to the residents around the nuclear power plant.

System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information, or SPEEDI, in Nuclear Safety Technology Center did not work speedily. Deputy President of NISA, Eiji Hiraoka, revealed a recognition that no one in the agency talked about, or even had an idea of, taking advantage of the data of SPEEDI for evacuation, even though they knew the existence of such a system. After all, people in the nuclear village just stalled in the severe accident, escaping from their responsibility.

Not So Bright Future

The third Cabinet of Shinzo Abe was formed on Wednesday. After whole dismantlement of the second Cabinet in the morning, Abe reappointed seventeen Ministers out of eighteen in the evening. Mostly nothing has changed. New session of the Diet was convoked on the same day. But, political power structure in the House of Representatives has not changed from the situation at the time of dissolution last month. Nevertheless, Abe is excited to promote his agenda in new Cabinet.

Justification of the legitimacy of his leadership seems to occupy Abe’s mind. “In this election, I received strong support from the nation to go straight on this way,” told Abe in his press conference Wednesday night. But it was a wrong elaboration of the result of the election. Voters’ turnout was a new record low of fifty-two percent. Votes for his Liberal Democratic Party in proportional representative was around thirty-three percent of all effective votes. So, LDP obtained only seventeen percent of all eligible voters. He did not get “strong support” from the nation.

However, LDP gained over sixteen percent of all seats in the House. Abe is expecting that great power for his economic policy, using the wording of “evolution of Abenomics.” As long as he promised firm success of Abenomics in compensation with postponing consumption tax hike by eighteen months, Abe is responsible for achieving obvious increase in individual income and in profit of small and mid-size businesses. But, most news media are skeptical about economic revitalization by Abe’s policy.

It is okay for him, anyway. His greatest agenda for his new term is not economy, but constitutional amendment. “This is the ever hardest challenge in post-war politics,” said Abe in the press conference. To make it happen, he needs to get two-third majority in the election of the House of Councillors two years later, and then to have a simple majority in general referendum. He is still not confident on gaining majority of public support. While he is willing to make every effort for that, newspapers are negative to consume political capital on this issue.

Improving the relationship with China and South Korea is more urgent issue than constitutional amendment. Calling his diplomacy as “looking down globe” way, Abe stressed his effort to have good relationship with all nations in the world. However, he has been inviting stalemate with his ideological behavior such as visiting Yasukuni Shrine or denying history of comfort woman. Preserving ministers in his Cabinet, including Sanae Takaichi or Eriko Yamatani who had relationship with neo-Nazi or hate speech organization, will be making his diplomacy more difficult.

Pro-terrorism Student Speaks Out

A student of Hokkaido University who made an attempt to join Islamic State and was investigated by Tokyo Metropolitan Police in October had an interview of Yomiuri Shimbun. According to the article on Monday, he did not think well about his action and regretted on it. “I thought I would be able to have a sense of fulfillment, if I had put myself in an unusual situation,” he explained. He had no reason for his behavior in an I-don’t-like-Mondays way.

The student revealed his process to become responding to recruitment of ISIS. While he visited Tokyo in April for searching job after graduation, he found a paper on the wall of a secondhand bookshop, which was a job offer reading “Working place: Syria.” He was immediately interested in it.

The student imagined that he would be an engineer of a firm of information technology in Japan after graduation, but had no interest in his life as an ordinary worker. He had no interest in friends, family or social status and was feeling like doing something interesting. The bookshop introduced him to a researcher of Islam, Ko Nakata, and the student decided to join ISIS with Nakata’s instruction. With no experience of going abroad and no religious knowledge about Islam, he realized the possibility of going Syria.

The student knew that ISIS had been uploading movie of beheading journalists or activists and had received strong criticism from the world. Nevertheless, he did not embrace specific sentiment on it. Although he would be recruited as an engineer, he thought he would be killing someone. However, he did not consider the meaning of it.

If police had not interviewed him, the student would have flown to Syria. Now he realized how his idea was unrealistic and reckless. He no longer has any intention to join ISIS. Even if the student was in the age of prudence, his mind stopped growing up at the level of kindergarten kids in terms of doing the right thing. It is the big difference of Japan from Europe where young people join Islamic extremists with religious causes.

Not so frequent as Western people, though, Japan has produced some victims of Islamic extremist. Ignoring such possibility of being a prey, the young Japanese wanted to be involved in restless murders. Without distinction of real life from such virtual world as in video game, that kind of young people in Japan seeks realistic stimulus more attractive than in games. Some may understand the phenomenon as lack of sensitivity as a consequence of peaceful life in post-war Japan. But it must have actually been a lack of imagination how his activity would affect his outer world.

Feeding on Asahi

An unprecedented media scandal still goes on. Asahi Shimbun reported result of verification of independent committee on false stories of recruiting comfort women and wrong decision of abandoning a column article of a journalist critical against Asahi. The committee concluded that correction of comfort women stories was too late and former president was responsible for unpublished column article. Asahi reiterated apologies on its pages on Monday issue. However, right wing people consistently keep on attacking the paper.

The independent committee criticized Asahi’s attitude on comfort woman issue. It repeatedly reported about the “witness” of recruiting comfort women, who revealed he had been involved in women trafficking. Asahi was late in abolishing the stories after it noticed its falseness and rejected apologizing for those reports. The committee determined that it harmed credibility of its readers. Asahi finally apologized in August, but did not apologize.

What made matters worse was abandoning a column article of Akira Ikegami, which required Asahi to apologize about its failure. The committee found that the decision was actually made by then president, Tadakazu Ito. Ito told his impression on the column story as “very severe” and the leader of editing section explained to editors that abandoning the article would be less risky than publishing and it was decision in perspective of management.

It sometimes happens that an article proves to be wrong, because information brought was false. Even how writers are careful on it, this kind of thing may happen. Asahi was simply wrong when it rejected correction and apology. But, abandoning column article is a matter of contradiction. If Asahi published an article which said “Asahi is a liar,” the newspaper becomes to be lying about being liar as long as the article is correct. Running an opinion requiring apology on a newspaper that rejects apology may be recognized as sending mixed message. So, Asahi killed the article trying to keep its relevancy, which resulted in failure.

The right wing people are delighted with weakness of Asahi. Ultra conservative legislator, Tomomi Inada, Chairwoman of Policy Research Council, required Asahi to recover harmed honor of the Japanese nation. “Its influence on world society was not small. I hope Asahi to lead movement to recover Japan’s honor,” told Inada. They are still looking for their survival feeding on Asahi’s apology.

Guideline Postponed

It may be called deceit or fraud when a person requires money or labor within a time limit, even though the limit does actually not exist. The government of Japan did something close to that story. Both governments of Japan and United States agreed on postponing revision of Japan-U.S. Security Guideline to next year. The greatest reason of Shinzo Abe administration to decide reinterpreting of the Constitution for enabling exercising collective self-defense right this summer was because the government needed to finalize the guideline by the end of this year. The handling of that highly controversial security policy lost its cause.

The guideline is to determine the role of each military of Japan and U.S. in a contingency of Japan or its neighboring country. Joint statement by both governments admitted the necessity of further discussion for finishing their effort within the first half of next year, considering internal process of Japan for security legislature. It means that U.S. government is not satisfied with the simple fact of making governmental decision for exercising collective self-defense right.

Both governments agreed on the timing of finishing revision of the guideline as the end of 2014 in the joint statement of ministry level meeting in October last year. It was Japan who insisted on setting time limit of the end of this year. It is easy to suppose that Japanese government wanted to take advantage of the agreement for persuade the nation. “We need to change the interpretation of the Constitution, because we have to make a deal with United States by the end of this year,” governmental leaders asserted many times in discussion in the Diet.

However, Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, gave up submitting necessary legislations to the fall session of the Diet. It was mainly because the coalition partner, Komeito, was reluctant to hurry up. The government also considered negative impact on gubernatorial election of Okinawa in November. There will be major local elections in next April, which Komeito takes as extremely important. The submission of related bill will be next May or later.

Here is a fundamental question: Is the revision of guideline really needed? Both governments expect the guideline to be useful in any stage of contingency. However, there is an argument that both military have been integrated enough to do that. Some experts in Washington, D.C., are worrying about decline of momentum, caused by delay of the revision. After all, the guideline might have been a tool for Japanese government to reinterpret the Constitution.

Survival Effort of Democrats

After serious defeat in last general election of the House of Representatives, Democratic Party of Japan struggles for revitalizing its political power. It decided to have presidential election on January 18^th to replace Banri Kaieda who lost his seat in the House. Some names have been raised for possible candidates. The biggest issue for the campaign must be whether the party can be rebuild by itself or it need some help from other opposite parties.

The result of the general election was shocking for DPJ, because they had believed that the proportion of seats in the House had not correctly represented general support for DPJ. In the election in which DPJ was dropped out of administration two years ago, they thought that voters punished DPJ of its handling of politics. But that negative image on DPJ was not diminished in the election last week.

There are two prescriptions for this hardship of the party. One is to construct new party that integrates the opposite parties. To deal with great power of leading coalition of Liberal Democrats and Komeito, some think new power needs to be built. Main concept is to integrate DPJ and Innovation Party. While one of co-leader of Innovation Party, Toru Hashimoto, is well-known DPJ hater, asserting it to be too dependent on trade union. So, the new party will be independent from labor union.

Former Minister of Disaster Recovery, Goshi Hosono, raised his hand to run for DPJ president. He upholds the integration theory and tries to persuade the member of DPJ to go for making new party. On the same standpoint of Hosono, Seiji Maehara, is also positive for running for the election. Maehara will make his attitude clear until next Friday. Young members are mostly supportive for the integration scenario.

Another option is to rebuild the party by themselves and do not project any integration. Those members think that DPJ needs to review its policy and political principle along with criticisms they received. Former Foreign Minister, Katsuya Okada, revealed his willingness to run for president and incumbent Secretary General of DPJ, Yukio Edano, is supporting Okada if he runs. Most lawmakers supported by labor union are supportive for Okada.

The presidential election will start on January 7^th. Each lawmaker affiliated to the party has two votes, while potential candidate for the election of the House of Councillors two years later have one. Supporters in local organizations have 141 votes as a whole, which will be proportionally distributed to the candidates. It is said that supporters’ votes may decide the course of the party.

STAP Did Not Exist

The Institute of Science and Chemistry, or Riken, announced that it failed to confirm the existence of controversial stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency cell on Friday. Although the unit leader of the study, Haruko Obokata, and other researchers were involved in verification experiment for months, they could not re-create STAP cell. Riken gave up its effort and Obokata will retire as researcher of Riken. It is unclear whether Japanese science can regain its credibility.

As the unit leader, Obokata released her achievement of STAP cell in January. Since then, some doubted on the method of experiment and description on the thesis. Riken started verification of the study on February and admitted fabrication and manipulation in the thesis on April. After Riken withdrew the thesis, it continued experiment for re-creation of STAP cell, which resulted in failure.

Riken stopped the verification experiment, which would have been continued by March next year. In the press conference, a representative of verification experiment reiterated that they failed to produce chimera mouse, which was filled with cells produced by implanted STAP cells. Obokata released a comment that she made every effort to reproduce STAP cell, but regretted with experiment in restricted environment. “Now I am very exhausted and confused in this result,” told her. She said that she had been successful in producing STAP cells for more than two hundred times in April.

The greatest question left behind is how that inappropriate thesis was written. The result of verification experiment was far different from what the thesis said. One of the doubts is that STAP cell was other kind of pluripotency cell such as embryonic stem cell. There were fourteen co-authors in the thesis. One key person, Yoshiki Sasai, former Professor in Reproduction Medical Insitutite in Riken, killed himself in August with responsibility of trouble in the study. After Obokara retires, there will be only a few people in Riken, who are familiar with the process of the thesis.

Some experts think that it was not likely that Obokara alone could write a scenario of inappropriate thesis. Riken has a responsibility to explain why they approved releasing the result of wrong conducted study. Other co-authors will firstly be responsible for the explanation. Riken established investigation team consisted with scholars independent from Riken in September. But the most important thing is that Riken stops negative approach in opening all information and sincerely answer the questions the Japanese and the world embraces.

Decline of Feed in Tariff

Along with resuming effort for nuclear reactors, the syndicate of power generation company and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is moving forward to shutting

out small businesses for solar generation. METI released policy review of feed in tariff, which gave unlimited power on major power generation companies to restrict acceptance of renewable energy as their disposal. Having great technological potential, Japan is retreating from being green energy great power.

Current policy of feed in tariff was laid in 2012, a year after the tragic accident in First Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. It required power generation companies to buy all amount of renewable energy produced by private business entities. As a result of compromise with power companies, the government allowed them to add its cost for buying renewable energy on the price of electricity.

Ignoring that immorality of putting additional cost on utility price, bureaucrats attributed their failure in engineering feed in tariff system to price setting in buying. At the time the government introduced the system in July 2012, the price was ¥42 for 1 kilowatt per an hour. METI will reduce it to less than ¥20 next year. High price caused rushing into power generation business. Because there were too much electricity expected in power supply network, power companies temporarily stopped buying solar energy.

METI has clearly been reluctant to establish viable system for feed in tariff. If the price for renewable energy had been too high, they could adjust it. If solar power had been too much for supply network, they could make efforts to raise the capacity. What they actually did was everything for restricting renewable energy.

Current restriction for feed in tariff is limited to major solar and wind generation with 500 kilowatt or more. New regulation will be applied to all kinds of generation, including small size generation in every family. Restriction period will be extended from less than thirty years to limitless. Major power companies will be able to restrict renewable energy as much as they like.

The message from power companies and METI is obvious. “That is why we need nuclear power. Told ya!” Bureaucrats use time for controlling the people. METI has been waiting for bitter memories of nuclear accident going away from people’s mind. They believe those bitter memories will be contained within the people around Fukushima. To other people, bureaucrats stress the importance of “stable supply” of energy. Most people in Japan will forget the fact that nuclear energy supply had been done on sacrifice of someone.

Nuclear Resurge

Just as having waited for the victory of nuclear-familiar Liberal Democrats, nuclear villagers became active to get reactors started. Collecting every possible reason that people need nuclear power, electric power companies step up its way to make nuclear generation prevalent in all over Japan again. It is hard for anti-nuclear movement to deter the surges of those people living on nuclear generation.

Nuclear Regulation Authority approved resumption of two reactors in Takahama Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui owned by Kansai Electric Power Company. After thirteen days of collecting public comments, the authority will officially allow them to work. This will be the second case of resumption, following Sendai Power Plant in Kagoshima. Kansai Power submitted request of resumption July 2013 and raised its warning level against earthquake, which met new regulation of the authority.

The government of Japan has been worried about higher price of electricity. Cost for fossil fuel of all power plants in Japan rose by ¥3.6 trillion from the level before the great earthquake three years ago. However, the structure of power supply which allows generation companies add its cost on price of electric power has not been changed. Some manufacturers moved its factories to escape expensive electricity.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is one of the people who are deeply concerning heavy burden on businesses. Higher electricity price is a threat for growth. Even if the administration delivers supportive policy for companies, including corporate tax ease, high utility price may fundamentally disturb achievement of Abenomics. So, the government is more dependent on nuclear power, ignoring its potential cost in disaster.

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry started discussion for replacing old nuclear reactors. Abe administration aims to reduce dependence on nuclear power as much as possible. To fulfill its ambition to increase nuclear power, METI prepared rhetoric that the replacement would be needed. “It will be hard for power companies or local governments around nuclear plant to decide abolition of nuclear reactors, if future vision of nuclear power compensating alternative power supply,” told temporary draft of a report of METI. It is a man-made rhetoric that nuclear power is needed for abolishing nuclear reactors.

Followed by positive attitude of the government, power companies started showing bold actions. J Power submitted request of security check for new Oma Nuclear Power Plant to NRA. It was the first attempt of constructing additional nuclear reactor to submit the request. Not only resuming halted reactors, power companies began to think building new facility in this nuclear devastated land. Desire of the Japanese for energy has not fundamentally changed from the time it aggressed Indonesia in the World War II.

Fifty-two Percent Democracy

The cause of asking people’s opinion is still not clear after the election of the House of Representatives. This less legitimate election made voters, mostly independent, stay home, instead exercising their right to participate in politics. As a result, elected candidates represented about a half of eligible voters. Knowing this truth enough, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seems to introduce the principle of winner takes all in post-election politics.

Final turnout in the election was 52.66%, renewing the lowest record in the history of the House. The former lowest was 59.32% in the election two years ago. Certain amount of voters were frustrated with Abe’s handling of politics, but there was no reliable alternative to Liberal Democratic Party. That was why they rejected expressing their will through their votes.

LDP obtained 48% of effective votes in all 275 districts. This number increased from 43% in the last election. However, the party actually gained only a quarter of all eligible voters. With this proportion of support, LDP will occupy nearly two thirds of all seats in the House. This kind of contradiction may happen under the election system of winner-take-all in each electoral district.

The opposite parties collected 49% of all elective votes, which took over LDP. Without support of Komeito, LDP could not get majority in general voters. The lack of viable strategy of integrated candidates or policy cooperation, opposite parties allowed the leading coalition reinforcing its power in the House, not fulfilling their responsibility of deterring the excessive politics.

So, this is a half democracy controlled by a quarter of the nation. The sharply divisive issues, such as continuing Abenomics, exercising collective self-defense force, amending the Constitution or resuming halted nuclear power plants, can be promoted in favor of LDP. This will increase frustration of the opposite side, making democracy ineffective. Without respect on the minorities, democracy does not work.

Abe has not shown any tolerance for his opposite powers. Saying “no alternative,” he intends to maintain his economy, security and energy policies. With the reflection of the first term, when he tried to make effort to introduce opposite opinions in his policy, Abe rejects to hear the voices inconvenient to him. If he steps into constitutional amendment, which may include changing the status of Article IX, this highly integrated nation will be divided like never before.

Stimulus Package

After the election of the House of Representatives, the first job for Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, will be delivering a policy package for economic stimulus before this yearend. He announced it in his press conference the day after the election. Well, what was he doing for supporting declining economy? It would never be deregulation, but pouring government money into direct distribution, which does not fundamentally solve the problem. This is traditional way of Liberal Democratic Party. But Abe keeps on saying that there is no alternative.

In the election campaign, Abe reiterated that Abenomics had not been complete. “Some might have not felt rewarded by my economic policy. I will make good circulation of growth, wage and consumption,” told Abe in his speeches. Although the voters were half in doubt on his message, they voted for Abe, because no other alternative could found. After sweeping victory, Abe tried to show his seriousness for the implementation.

The Bank of Japan released its monthly report on short-term economic perspectives on Monday, which revealed little decline on corporations’ mind. Diffusion index of large-size manufacturers was +12, one point behind last month. While Abe was appealing his achievement of economic policy, business owners were calmly analyzing where Japanese economy was heading. Among small and mid-size businesses, retailers were psychologically negative for their future. Cheap yen and increasing export cost affected them negatively.

So what is on the prescription? Ministry of Finance started to consider additional budget for economic stimulus with amount of ¥3 trillion. MoF will make no effort without calculating income and outcome of national wallet. The substance will be distributing regional voucher to families, encouragement of purchasing houses to help both families and construction firms or subsidy for low-income families to purchase gasoline or kerosene. Those measures have been considered after gross domestic products in the third quarter showed steep decline in November.

In the annual reform of tax system, the government will propose three-year schedule for reducing the tax on corporations. On the other hand, it will pose heavier burden on consumers. In FY2015, higher tax rate will be applied to light beer. In this situation, it is hard for retailers to support further economic growth. Expectation for Abenomics is going to decline.

Not Funny at All

The controversial election has passed over. Newspapers reported the victory of the leading coalition of Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito in the general election of the House of Representatives voted on Sunday. The fact was that the two parties reduced their seats from 326 to 325. However, that narrow margin represented survivability of the coalition. The weak opposites are more responsible for LDP victory.

Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, showed his brightest smile through TV footage. “We received thorough credibility from the voters not only for my economic policy, but for my security policy, including exercising collective self-defense right” was his message in his press conference. He believed in himself that the voters gave him freehand in all policy, which was apparently wrong.

Abe’s message of “there is no other way than this” was based on the saying of “there is no alternative” by Margaret Thatcher. But it was not Abe but the voters who had no alternative. Abe asked them whether he should keep his economic agenda, even though its benefit had not been prevalent everywhere in Japan. While he reiterated to convince him, the opposite parties could not show viable economic policy for helping people in hardship. Voters were force to take negative choice.

The priority is on constitutional amendment. Although Abe carefully avoided revealing his intention to take initiative for it, he showed his willingness to make effort to collect enough votes in both Houses. As a result of the election, legislators supportive for the amendment exceeded required two-thirds majority. It is necessary for them to build the same portion of amendment power in the House of Councillors in the election 2016.

Serious was the defeat of the opposite. The top opposite actually increased their seats. Democratic Party of Japan gained 73, adding 11 before the election. In spite of that, the result of the election was too cruel. Party leader, Banri Kaieda, lost his seat, while he had been traveling all over Japan to support his colleagues. The party got back to their routine internal quarrels seeking next leadership, which will drive the party to extermination.

Strangely enough, Japan Communist Party increased their seats from 8 to 23. They asserted that voters had responded to their massage, “This is a match of LDP vs. Communists.” It was not correct. The turnout of voters marked the lowest of 52%, which was preferable for a party with firm supporting organization. Less participants meant crisis of democracy, and the Communists were simply benefited by this crisis.

Hate Speech on Media

Every eve of voting day of national election, Akihabara becomes space for right wing festival. Liberal Democratic Party again chose the place for final rally in their election campaign. Conservative activists gathered to cheer for right-leaning political leaders, represented by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Not only supporting LDP, those people denounced left-leaning media, Asahi Shimbun, to get out of there. It was typical hate speech, which was crime. Taking advantage of their freedom of speech, right wing people embarrassingly showed no regret violating other’s freedom of speech.

A half hour before 8 p.m. on Saturday night, which was the last campaign speech, Abe was appealing his achievement in economic policies, while harshly dismissing previous administration led by Democratic Party of Japan. “Even if there is some problem in current cheap yen, high rate of yen in DPJ administration was definitely wrong, you know,” stressed Abe. Approximately two thousand listeners surrounded him in front of Akihabara station cheered, waving the Sun Flag that right wing activists had distributed.

LDP has been making final campaign event in Akihabara in these elections. Firstly, LDP leaders targeted “otaku” people, who were interested in cartoon or girly costume. Akihabara had been said as holy place for otaku culture. Marginalized by mainstream in the society, otaku people were feeling isolated in politics. LDP tried to send message that the party was hearing their voices. In return, otaku people accepted right-wing message from LDP. So, final campaign in Akihabara became to look like right-wing rally.

The rally partly showed an aspect close to meeting of Ku Klux Klan in terms of hating someone. After the speech of Abe finished, one old man started chanting “Asahi, go home” toward press corps. Some responded him saying “betrayer.” Others reiterated “garbage, garbage, garbage.” One man screamed “Dismantle Asahi and NHK.” Hysteric barks spread one after the others. Journalists who reported the event did not responded to those dirty words. Although police office dispatched a number of policemen for security, there was no police who tried to stop those abuse of right-wing people.

“Go home” can consist hate crime. In hate speech of Zaitoku-kai, they required Korean-Japanese to go back to Korean Peninsula. Their crime violating other’s human rights was recognized by the Supreme Court few days before. Asahi-haters in Akihabara did the same thing as Zaitoku-kai. It was fundamentally sad for Japanese people that those hate speakers did not fully understand freedom of speech. They thought they were protected not by democracy, but by Abe administration. They thought they could say anything as long as they would support Abe. We cannot help call them barbarians