Category: Japan

A Closer Look at Japan PM Abe’s Proposed Agricultural Reforms

In his 29 April speech to US Congress, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proudly referred to his administration’s ‘sweeping reforms to our agricultural cooperatives that have not changed in 60 long years’. But the draft bill presented to the Diet on 3 April to reform the Japan agricultural cooperative (JA) organisation is a very much watered-down version of the initial recommendations for JA reform from the Agriculture Working Group of the Regulatory Reform Committee in May 2014.

Japan’s Central Bank Move Flies Under the Radar, but Should not be Overlooked

Japan and the yen seem sidelined.  Japanese markets were closed for the first half of the week during for the Golden Week holidays.  The weakness of the US economy and the concurrent doubts about Fed tightening this year, coupled with the dramatic reversal of euro zone assets after strong gains in Q1 have kept traders and investors focused elsewhere.

Japan’s Population is Aging…Quickly

The ageing of Japan’s population is globally unprecedented in both its level and its speed.

Japan’s Revival Could Be Its Neighbors’ Worry

For more than two decades, Japan has been caught up in a slow-burning crisis. Rapid aging population and low productivity have added to the declining financial health of the country. Japan’s public debt is twice the size of its annual GDP.

Japan’s Abe Moves Closer to His Ultimate Goal for the JA

The Abe administration’s policy of separating the organisational interests of JA-Zenchu, the peak body of agricultural cooperatives (JA), from the interests of the prefectural central unions (chÅ«Åkai) and local cooperatives and farmers generally paid off in April’s local government elections.

Seeking Honest Voting Solutions in Japan

It may seem fairly obvious, but only those people who fulfil particular requirements are given voting rights in an election. In Japan, voters must be Japanese citizens aged 20 or over and have a registered address in a municipality within a relevant electoral district for more than three months. According to the Public Offices Elections Law, exploiting this requirement by moving one’s residential registration to another municipality — just on paper — for the purpose of voting, while continuing to reside in an original municipality, is illegal.

Japan’s Agricultural Co-op Can Respond to Abe’s Reforms in Upcoming Elections

The nationwide local government elections in April are the ideal opportunity for Japan’s agricultural cooperative organisation (JA) led by the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-Zenchu) to respond to the Abe administration’s recent reforms of the JA group. On 12 and 26 April 2015, around 1000 elections in total will be held to select local government heads and assembly members as part of the so-called ‘unified local elections held every four years’.

Japan’s Fiscal and Monetary Solutions are Exceptionally Harsh

Japan is facing a dual problem of an ageing population and increasing government debt. While pension payouts will balloon out in the next decade, a low tax base means that the government will struggle to finance this. In 2013, Japan’s gross debt-to-GDP ratio was 243 percent, the highest among OECD countries. If the government does not implement strict reform, Japan risks a financial crisis similar to the European crash in 2009.

Japan has been Quietly Opening the Door to Increased Immigration

With the foreign population in Japan expected to grow in the future, policymakers have an interest in promoting a more positive view of immigration. Current public opinion toward immigration in Japan, like in much of the rest of the world, is generally negative. But recent public opinion data shows that individuals who are more likely to come in contact with foreigners or who self-assess as being of high English speaking proficiency are more supportive of increases in immigration.

Sharing Submarine Technology to Strengthen Japan’s Domestic Production Capacity

In July 2014, the Abe government adopted the ‘Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology’, which approved Japanese weapons exports as long as certain conditions are met.

Based on this new, less restrictive policy on weapons exports Japan has concluded two major deals. The first is to supply surface-to-air missile parts to the US and the second to conduct joint research on air-to-air missiles with the United Kingdom. The proposed Australian submarine deal would eclipse both of these in terms of scale and significance.