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07-26-2013, 01:56 AM
Japan Communist Leader Rails Against Abenomics (http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-281072/)
JRT caught up with Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii, who has been campaigning across the nation to cast his party as an alternative for voters uneasy with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic agenda, or "Abenomics."
By Alexander Martin and Eleanor Warnock
As the campaign for Sunday’s upper-house election entered its last leg, JRT caught up with Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii, who has been campaigning across the nation to cast his party as an alternative for voters uneasy with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic agenda, or “Abenomics.”
In an interview Thursday, Mr. Shii laid out what he sees as the dangers of Mr. Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s pro-business agenda and goal of revising the nation’s constitution.
“This election is about people’s lives and the economy, and especially whether voters decide to embrace Abenomics or not,” Mr. Shii said.
He opposes the government’s plan to cut the corporate tax rate and raise the consumption tax from next year. Rather than burdening average citizens, Mr. Shii said the trillions of yen that big corporations hold in their internal reserves should be used to revitalize the economy.
The nearly century-old Communist party is riding on an impressive victory in the recent Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election. The JCP placed third, winning 17 of 127 seats, more than the Democratic Party of Japan, which suffered a massive defeat, dropping to 15 seats from 43.
The JCP is now aiming to put the brakes on Mr. Abe and the ruling coalition’s seemingly unstoppable momentum.
Opinion polls show the LDP and its coalition partner, New Komeito, poised for a landslide. Wresting back the opposition-controlled upper house for the first time since 2007 would strengthen the government’s hand in pushing through its policy agenda.
Despite holding only six of 242 seats in the upper house–three of which are up for re-election–the JCP appears confident it can win over voters looking for an alternative to the LDP.
Once the flag-bearer for anti-LDP sentiment, the main opposition and former governing DPJ has been floundering since a crushing lower-house election defeat last year. The DPJ is expected to lose half its 44 seats up for grabs Sunday. The Communists aim to hold their three seats under contention and win at least two more.
Mr. Shii’s JCP rejects the government’s plan to ease employment regulations, arguing this would lead to an increase in non-regular workers and lower wages. The party also opposes plans to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement, saying it would destroy Japan’s agricultural sector and local economies. As well, the JCP opposes restarting nuclear reactors and exporting nuclear technology–both of which the LDP supports.
But Mr. Shii stressed his party wasn’t simply taking knee-jerk positions against anything the LDP proposes. “In any issue that has come up, we’ve always presented alternatives,” he said.
With an LDP victory almost certain Sunday, Mr. Shii said he was most concerned that Mr. Abe would use his mandate to move ahead with efforts to revise the constitution. The prime minister has said he first wants to revise Article 96, lowering the bar to change other articles, including Article 9, which renounces the country’s right to make war.
“We’d like to make an appeal to prevent this from happening, Mr. Shii said. “The Communist party must make great strides.”
JRT caught up with Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii, who has been campaigning across the nation to cast his party as an alternative for voters uneasy with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic agenda, or "Abenomics."
By Alexander Martin and Eleanor Warnock
As the campaign for Sunday’s upper-house election entered its last leg, JRT caught up with Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii, who has been campaigning across the nation to cast his party as an alternative for voters uneasy with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic agenda, or “Abenomics.”
In an interview Thursday, Mr. Shii laid out what he sees as the dangers of Mr. Abe and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s pro-business agenda and goal of revising the nation’s constitution.
“This election is about people’s lives and the economy, and especially whether voters decide to embrace Abenomics or not,” Mr. Shii said.
He opposes the government’s plan to cut the corporate tax rate and raise the consumption tax from next year. Rather than burdening average citizens, Mr. Shii said the trillions of yen that big corporations hold in their internal reserves should be used to revitalize the economy.
The nearly century-old Communist party is riding on an impressive victory in the recent Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election. The JCP placed third, winning 17 of 127 seats, more than the Democratic Party of Japan, which suffered a massive defeat, dropping to 15 seats from 43.
The JCP is now aiming to put the brakes on Mr. Abe and the ruling coalition’s seemingly unstoppable momentum.
Opinion polls show the LDP and its coalition partner, New Komeito, poised for a landslide. Wresting back the opposition-controlled upper house for the first time since 2007 would strengthen the government’s hand in pushing through its policy agenda.
Despite holding only six of 242 seats in the upper house–three of which are up for re-election–the JCP appears confident it can win over voters looking for an alternative to the LDP.
Once the flag-bearer for anti-LDP sentiment, the main opposition and former governing DPJ has been floundering since a crushing lower-house election defeat last year. The DPJ is expected to lose half its 44 seats up for grabs Sunday. The Communists aim to hold their three seats under contention and win at least two more.
Mr. Shii’s JCP rejects the government’s plan to ease employment regulations, arguing this would lead to an increase in non-regular workers and lower wages. The party also opposes plans to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement, saying it would destroy Japan’s agricultural sector and local economies. As well, the JCP opposes restarting nuclear reactors and exporting nuclear technology–both of which the LDP supports.
But Mr. Shii stressed his party wasn’t simply taking knee-jerk positions against anything the LDP proposes. “In any issue that has come up, we’ve always presented alternatives,” he said.
With an LDP victory almost certain Sunday, Mr. Shii said he was most concerned that Mr. Abe would use his mandate to move ahead with efforts to revise the constitution. The prime minister has said he first wants to revise Article 96, lowering the bar to change other articles, including Article 9, which renounces the country’s right to make war.
“We’d like to make an appeal to prevent this from happening, Mr. Shii said. “The Communist party must make great strides.”