Japan Press Weekly

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2013 February 27 - March 5 [POLITICS]

Abe in policy speech just repeats what he promised US

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on February 28 gave a policy speech to both chambers of the Diet. Unlike other policy speeches, the speech shows a basic political course for the upcoming fiscal year.

Abe focused on having Japan become the world’s No.1 country in which corporations can easily perform without restrictions and presented the worn out trickle-down economic growth strategy.

Insisting that the elimination of all tariffs is not a presupposition as agreed to in the Abe-Obama talks, he suggested that Japan’s entry into Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiations is desirable, in contradiction to the campaign agenda his party set in the last national race.

The prime minister also declared that he will permit the restart of operations at halted nuclear reactors if their safety is confirmed.

Abe emphasized the Japan-U.S. security framework as deterrence and expressed that he will go ahead with the plan to construct a new base in Okinawa at an early date as a replacement for the U.S. Futenma base.

Regarding territorial issues, he hinted at taking forceful measures, including increasing defense-related budgets and moving ahead with a defense buildup.

Moreover, the prime minister called for national discussions toward constitutional revision.

Commenting on the speech, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo said, “He just repeated what he had promised the United States such as promotion of the TPP, the construction of a new U.S. base, and the resumption of nuclear power plants.”

The JCP chair told reporters that the party will engage in debating issues in the Diet while making concrete counterproposals.

Blaming Abe for not saying anything about the higher consumption tax rate scheduled for next year, Shii said, “Abe lacks a sincere attitude in explaining to the general public what he really has in mind.”