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<br>
J@pan Inc Newsletter<br>
The 'JIN' J@pan Inc Newsletter<br>
A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends<br>
in Japan.<br>
Issue No. 499 Wednesday February 4, 2009, Tokyo<br>
<br>
September may seem far away for most of us at this time in the year<br>
but for some, it must feel like they are hurtling toward a brick wall,<br>
or a cliff's edge. In the latest in a series of populist moves by<br>
members of the ruling party, some members of the LDP are now talking<br>
about giving a wad of government-issued fiat money to every resident.<br>
The government would literally print more money in order to give each<br>
voter as much as 600,000 yen. For those unfamiliar with the term -<br>
fiat money is legal tender which is not backed by the reserves. The<br>
printing of more money increases money supply and drives inflation. On<br>
the flipside, it puts spending money in the hands of the average<br>
person.<br>
<br>
Some within the LDP greeted the proposal with interest, some with<br>
scorn. In the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, Yoshihide Suga, deputy chairman<br>
of the LDP's Election Strategy Council and one of the senior party<br>
members pushing the proposal, was quoted as telling a Sunday<br>
television program: "The financial crisis we are facing is said to be<br>
the worst in a century. We have to think of all possible measures. I'm<br>
very interested in the idea."<br>
<br>
LDP Secretary-General Hiroyuki Hosoda had a somewhat different take.<br>
At a Monday news conference he ridiculed the proposal, calling it a<br>
"meaningless hollow theory."<br>
In the same Asahi Sumbun article this sarcastic remark appeared<br>
attitributed to Hosoda:<br>
"If it is possible (to fix the economy like that) why not just print<br>
up 30 trillion yen every year. Then, after 30 years, we will have paid<br>
off all government debt."<br>
<br>
The move would mean a depreciation of the yen, but with the currency<br>
remaining strong, much to the dismay of exporters, maybe it wouldn't<br>
be such a bad move. The question would be really, how would Joe<br>
Average view the whole affair? If the last couple of stimulus packages<br>
were anything to go by, they wouldn't really care. But this is<br>
somewhat different. If people are struggling and the government doled<br>
out 500,000 or 600,000 yen directly to them, some would view it in<br>
whole different light.<br>
<br>
Prime Minister Taro Aso has already said that it wasn't time to<br>
consider such a move but things are getting desperate for the LDP.<br>
Approval ratings are woeful and the after the extremely negative<br>
reaction to the government's 2-trillion-yen cash handout, the<br>
government is looking for something else to improve the fortunes of<br>
the party before the next election.<br>
<br>
The more I read about these programs the more I get these visions of<br>
some Warner Brothers cartoon or an old Western, maybe. There is a<br>
locomotive hurtling towards a red signal light and an old LDP<br>
politician has hauled himself up onto the lever that changes the<br>
tracks. There are a team of other LDP politicians desperately oiling<br>
the lever but it just won't budge. Meanwhile, Taro Aso, wearing a<br>
stripy train driver's hat, is keeping one eye ahead, while the other<br>
eye, positioned just over a lopsided grin (possibly a sneer), looks at<br>
the gobsmacked public lined up to watch the show.<br>
<br>
September does seem a long way away. But who knows? There could be an<br>
election before then - if the LDP manages to do something to boost the<br>
party's popularity. Maybe throwing more money at people in different<br>
forms is the answer. I'm sure most families would welcome that kind of<br>
money put directly into the pocket. To the average observer, it seems<br>
that everyone is sick of all these populist moves though. We keep<br>
flicking the channel and keep seeing the same show.<br>
<br>
Michael Condon<br>
Editor-in-chief<br>
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Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 14th of Feb, 2009<br>
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