Economic Discussion in Weekend

Newspapers focused on the speeches of party leaders for the election reports in the weekend. In front of the families, businessmen or young couples walking in the cities, they appealed their own policies they would take in the Diet. Main target was economy. While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressed his achievement in his economic policy called Abenomics, the opposite leaders accused Abenomics as having widened economic gap between the rich and poor.

Although current rally of stock market in Tokyo is reflection of the consecutive stock price hike in the world, Abe took advantage of it as if it had been a good result of Abenomics. “Stock price marked the highest price in these twenty-one years yesterday. Resource for pension system has increased with investment to stocks. I want to continue this policy,” told Abe in his campaign speech in Takamatsu City, Kagawa, on Saturday.

While there is a speculation that victory of leading Liberal Democratic Party will have positive impact on stock market, it is common notion that the stock price hike is caused by involvement of the government or Bank of Japan, as seen in BoJ’s purchase of exchange-traded fund or increasing of stockholding of Government Pension Investment Fund. Benefit of stock price hike is actually limited to the voters in urban area and the local voters have not affected by it.

The opposite parties accused Abenomics as a policy only for a small number of the people. “Even though he argues that gross domestic products has increased, it was about numbers swollen by changing of definition,” argued President of Party of Hope, Yuriko Koike. “Although stock price is getting better, do you realize actual effect of it?” Koike asked the voters with the party’s policy of freezing consumption tax hike, the policy Abe promoted.

Consumption tax directly strikes the life of the people with lower income. Japan Communist Party strongly accuses that policy. “Actual wage of the workers has declined, and big companies enjoy unprecedented profit, accumulating internal reserves. It generated unbelievably large gap between the people,” insisted JCP Chairman, Kazuo Shii. He appealed abolishment of consumption tax hike from 8% to 10%.

Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan also focuses on economic gap. “We need to eliminate poverty by narrowing the gap not by top-down economic policy” told President Yukio Edano, requiring fair rules in open competition in economy. CDPJ is increasing its support by opposing to unilateral politics of Abe administration and building broad coalition with other liberal powers including JCP.