Some more information about Shinzo abe, observations that are based on Abe's new book, ﾂ"Toward a Beautiful Nationﾂ" (Utsukushii Kuni e).
Part I discusses Abe's economic policy, and
Part II discusses his foreign policy.
Maybe nice to discuss in here with you guys!
Some parts that I find interesting:
Immigration. The most surprising element in Abe's book is his endorsement of an activist policy seeking immigrants for Japan. Abe says, ﾂ"We should aim for a country that is seen by people around the world as a place where they want to come to work, want to invest, in short a country that gives everyone a chance. To those who resonate with Japan's national character and ideals, to those who wish to educate their children here, or to those who want to be Japanese, we should open our doors wide. Moreover, we should do this because it will contribute to the dynamism of Japanﾂ" (p. 158). Later on the same page he points specifically to India as a ﾂ"new Asian partnerﾂ" for Japan.
I think it's a good thing that Abe aims "for a country that is seen by people around the world as a place where they want to come to work, want to invest, in short a country that gives everyone a chance." but to open their doors wide open, I don't know if that is such a good idea.
But Japan needs foreigners, looking at Japans birthrate, I think it's a good step, but it shouldn't be too easy to come to life here.
A fly in Abe's pension bouillabaisse is his arithmetic on the national pension (kokumin nenkin) system. He gives specific figures for payments and receipts for a model national pension. He says that the nominal amount of receipts of a person who (a) starts contributing at age 21, (b) continues contributing until age 60 (under the current contribution schedule), and (c) collects (at the current payout level) until age 85 (the current life expectancy of women) will be double the amount of the contributions. He then says that this ratio of pay-out to pay-in is high, and implies an attractive return. (For people dying at 78, the male life expectancy, the pay-out/pay-in ratio is only 1.3x, but at least they get their principal back, Abe says.) He concludes that ﾂ"it is almost unheard of for a ﾂ'financial product' to yield such high return with such low risk. The national pension is safer, more certain and more advantageous than any private aging insurance.ﾂ" (p. 181).
Using the numbers Abe gives for contributions and receipts, even a person dying at age 85 earns a return on this investment of only 2.0%. For someone dying at 78, the return is only 1.1%.
the fact that TBN makes this Pollyanna case for the advantages of the kokumin pension suggests to me that Abe is taking advice on the pension issue from people who are not very good at calculating risks and returns on financial products. He needs expert advice.
I think one of the main problems of Japan is the Pension system, so I think he indeed needs to come up with something better than this.
Medical reform.his conclusion is that Japan needs more emphasis on improving the ratio of active years to total life span (p.197-200).This initiative has two parts, rapid response and preventive care.
Rapid response is essential for heart attack and stroke victims, who can become long-term care recipients if not treated very quickly. A good way to reduce costs of long-term care is rapid response. Preventive care is even better, since it reduces the incidence of a number of diseases, including cancer, stroke, heart attack, bone breaks, and others that create the need for long-term care. There is evidence from prefecture data that regions with strong preventive care programs have lower medical costs.
While these medical issues are important, Abe omits many others. These other issues include (a) drug pricing rules (which are inflexible), (b) medicine approval procedures (which are slow), (c) average hospital stay periods (which are long), (d) doctor re-certification rules (which are loose), (e) moral hazard in insurance policies (e.g., paucity of non-smoker discounts in life insurance contracts), (f) dietary deterioration (too many fat children), (g) supply of doctors (average age is high), etc. The success of medical reform over the long term (not to mention fiscal reform!) depends critically on addressing these medical issues.
Sounds like a lot of work needs to be done on this one! but if it is done, the total life span could surely be improved.
tax system changes to encourage fertility; what he proposes, however, is not merely subsidies to families that have more children, but rather tax breaks for extended families (parents, grandparents and children) who live together, so that the burden and uncertainties of child-rearing can be better shared.
Sounds pretty good to increase the birthrate.
foreign policy.Abe emphasizes a number of values that define Japan (as he sees it), including democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, equality of opportunity, separation of church and state, reliance on a minimum national standard for the social safety net, etc. By implementing these values through enforcement of laws, Japan creates a national identity. For example, Japan is quite serious about enforcing low levels of street crime and high levels of environmental and food safety. Many foreign residents find these two characteristics quite attractive, and decide to remain in Japan in part because of them.
The low level of street crime is something that is also very attractive to me, and more countries (including my own country) should do more to prevent this.
Abe also supports a much more active exchange student program between the two countries. By inviting more Chinese students to Japan, Abe hopes to spread knowledge inside China of the Japanese as human beings, and thus undermine the anti-Japanese propaganda campaign of the Chinese government at the grass roots level.
Good point!!!
Japan-India relations. Abe singles India out for special treatment, and sees India as new partner in the world of Asian democratic diplomacy (p. 159). He recalls India's respect for Japan as the first Asian nation to defeat a western power (in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05), and cites Indian opinion polls that consistently list Japan as a country with which Indians have the most affinity. Abe is somewhat apologetic that India's affection for Japan has been unrequited, until recently. He said that he ﾂ"would not be surprised if Japan-India relations in a decade's time were more important than Japan-US or Japan-China ties.ﾂ" (p. 159)
Let's see how he is going to do this. Isn't a big thing to say: "would not be surprised if Japan-India relations in a decade's time were more important than Japan-US or Japan-China ties. " ?
The Yasukuni issue.Abe points out that the China-Japan Peace Treaty of 1978 prohibits both countries from interfering in the domestic affairs of the other. Since commemorating war dead is an internal matter, China has no right to interfere, Abe believes. Moreover, precedent argues against recognizing Chinese claims, according to Abe. The Class A convictees were enshrined in 1978, and several prime ministers visited the shrine in subsequent years. However, China never objected until 1985. Finally, if China views the visits as a symbol of revived Japanese militarism, the evidence is negative; Japan has taken no military action against any country for 60 years, and has no long-range missile capability. Japan respects human rights and does not suppress individual freedoms (p. 67-68). In Abe's view, a country with such a track record cannot be accused of reviving militarism.
interesting part in here, I wonder if he is going to the The Yasukuni shrine, and if something will happen to the war criminals that lay in there... take them out and bring them to another place... (bit off topic detail: the people who are working in the shrine don't need to pay taxes
So what do you guys think of Abe?
* I have to research a bit more about history, and politics.