Japan’s work-life imbalance kills thousands of workers every year and it’s also partly to blame for the nation’s disastrously low birth rate and declining productivity. The Government is taking steps to change the culture, but is it too deep-rooted?
On 25 February, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened the first meeting of a new special advisory council, the Commission on a Framework for the 21st Century. The rather ambiguously and grandiosely named council is to meet with him over the coming months, presenting the results of their deliberations on five topics.
Japan’s GDP grew by 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 because of exports. Despite an expectation of 3.6 percent growth, many economists believe Japan’s dark days are passing.
This news gives Prime Minister Shinzo Abe enough wiggle room to implement more of his growth-based policies, otherwise known as “Abenomics.” Abenomics has “three arrows,” which are structural reforms, fiscal stimulus and easy money. His aim is to get Japan out of its two-decade economic slump, but there are some hurdles to overcome.
Japan’s inward foreign direct investment (FDI) is extremely low in comparison with that of other developed countries and even its Asian neighbours.
After his victory in the December 2014 elections, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to turn Japan into ‘one of the greatest powers in the world’ by implementing the new foreign policy approach of ‘proactive pacifism’. Abe is seeking to foster Japanese international engagement, which will increasingly reach beyond the regional boundaries of the Asia-Pacific.
The debate on fiscal reform in Japan has been heating up. The working assumption so far has been that tax hikes will be sufficient to solve the fiscal problem. Fortunately the fiscal debate has now gone beyond this innocent simplicity and spending control is finally on the agenda. So is privatisation, with the government promising it will ‘implement public service reforms which aim for more efficient administrative work and privatisation’. But how much can privatisation actually contribute to fiscal reform?
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to enable more women to participate in the Japanese workforce. But his policy has largely amounted to rhetoric and there has been no discussion of the impact of these policies for male employment. In order to realistically increase opportunities for women, the current system of male-focused employment needs to be reconfigured. And Abe shows no willingness to address this.
After a decisive election victory on 14 December, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would seem to be in an extremely sweet spot to deliver on both his main domestic and international policy agendas.
Shinzo Abe’s second term as prime minister of Japan, unlike his first, was a modest success through till 2014. But he will have to bring real and tangible outcomes for Japan and the Japanese economy if it is to succeed the third time round.
The island nation of Japan is all set for better economic times as cheap oil and zero interest rates empower the economy for a year of growth! This, coupled with the nation’s weak yen, has set the stage for a long-term economic boost. This fiscal year the Japanese government is expecting some real economic growth, the target being around 1.5%. This is, of course, based on the premise that consumer spending will increase and capital investment will expand.
