On Sunday, the Japanese went to the polls – or more accurately, some of them did. A shade over half of Japanese citizens who were eligible to vote bothered to do so; the turn-out was 52%, the worst figure since 1947. In common with many other democracies, a very substantial proportion of the populace feels itself to be disengaged from politics, expressing little trust or interest in politicians – this is a worrying trend in democratic society.
Incumbent Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, called the snap election to refresh his mandate, re-affirm support for “Abeomics” and gain moral support for a decision to delay a second rise in sales tax by 18 months. His party lost four seats in Sunday’s poll (295 down to 291), but together with his coalition partners, his Liberal Democratic Party now holds a “super majority” of 326 seats in the House of Representatives’ 475-strong chamber. In the normal course of events, his original mandate had two years to run, now he can look forward to a further four years in power.
The result was not seen as a ringing endorsement for Abe and his policies, but was the predicted outcome since the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, is in disarray. Polls suggest that active support for Abeomics is supported by a slim majority of Japanese: 54% to 46%.
The Yen has depreciated significantly against other major currencies since the summer. This makes exports more competitive, but conversely pushes up the costs of imports. Mr Abe is to launch a further $16 billion stimulus package in the New Year which is designed to boost consumer demand (which accounts for 60% of Japanese output), partially, this is designed to offset the rise the price of food and imported goods (much of Japan’s food is imported).
Mr Abe is a supporter of bringing Japan’s nuclear capacity back on line. Currently, Japan is having to import LPG to meet its electricity generation needs which places a huge strain on the nation’s balance of payments figures. However, in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident, there is considerable public suspicion of nuclear energy.
The government wants to reduce corporation tax to make the nation more attractive to businesses, but it is faced with the world’s largest debt to GDP ratio and an aging workforce, putting ever increasing demands on healthcare and social spending at a time when the nation wants to rein in its deficit.