economy

Japan after 2014 elections

Albert Zenkoff

The exit polls at the House of Representatives elections held in Japan on December 14, 2014 indicate that Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party is set to “win by a landslide”, according to BBC. In reality, the apathy of the public has won Shinzo Abe a carte blanche to do with the Japanese economy as he wishes.

The government said turnout was at just 35%, two hours before polls closed. This election had the worst voter turnout under the current constitution ever. The day after elections all sources quote not the government but the Kyodo news agency that guesstimated the vote turnout at 52.7%. Saves the face of the government, I guess. It would have been hard to cite overwhelming popular support with just one third of the population voting.

The election was rigged as an approval referendum for the economic policies of Abe and this point was completely missed by the general public. They probably also missed the point that Abe will be in the office for four years instead of remaining two. WSJ reports that the public was generally confused regarding the purpose of the snap election and no wonder.

Despite all, the election is literally trumpeted as …
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Japanese “new economy” fails … because of rain!

Albert Zenkoff

Sometimes it is just hard to believe news. Reuters reports that the Japanese government seriously blames the weather for the failing economy. To this, the only response I have is “you must be joking”. But, no, they are serious. The Economics Minister Akira Amari announced that “heavy rain has probably pushed the GDP down by 1.6 percentage points on an annualised basis in July-September“.

What kind of economy is it that can lose 1.6% because of rain? Mind you, the rain happens every year in Japan, it’s sub-tropical. Anyway, this only looks like a feeble “it’s not my fault” outcry from a naughty child. Instead of accepting the fact that the “abenomics” is destroying the economy and causing the country to fail, it is, of course, much easier to blame the weather for the absence of the much touted economic growth due to the so-called “stimulation”.

The article notes that “some economists worry that declines in real wages are the bigger factor behind weak consumption” and I am glad to see that at least some see the situation for what it is. Next, we will see failing consumer confidence and after that – the government will …
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Open Letter to the Emperor of Japan

Albert Zenkoff

Dear Tenno Heika,

Japan is an amazing country. Having lived there for a few years I learned a little about people and their beliefs, the way they do things. Japanese are a smart and enterprising bunch of people. Japan has built a perfectly stable economy within an incredibly stable society that is healthy in all possible ways and could be used as a textbook example of how to do things right. It pains me to watch this great country being destroyed now. The last two years are playing out as a really bad disaster movie or a nightmare that is impossible to wake up from. I feel my heart tearing apart every time I read the news about more economic atrocities from Shinzo Abe and his minions.

Why do I say Japanese economy is perfect?

Japan has achieved through hard labor what many people in so many countries dream about: the economic stability coupled with development and progress. There are many ways to define the “good living” but we would be wise to look at how well people do that live in the country now. Let’s look at some figures and compare with the subjective perception of the situation in …
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