SHINZO ABE wants to be remembered for making Japan great again. He reckons that entails reviving the economy and getting more involved in the world. The problem is, those things take time. Earlier this year he persuaded the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to extend the maximum tenure of its leaders to give him a shot at remaining at its head until 2021. Now he needs voters to pave the way, too.
This week Mr Abe called a general election to be held on October 22nd, 14 months earlier than necessary. He says an early vote is needed because he has had a change of heart over how to use the ¥5trn ($45 billion) in estimated revenue from a rise in the sales tax due in 2019. He now believes Japan should divert ¥2trn of that to education rather than using it all to pay down the public debt, which is almost 250% of GDP. He also says that Japan needs to have a discussion about North Korea.
Dishonest Abe
Few buy this explanation. Instead, observers assume that Mr Abe...Continue reading
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