In 1988 South Korea held its first open presidential election the 3 opposition leaders Kim Dae-jung, Kim Young-sam and Kim Jong-pil failed to agree upon a unified candidate allowing former army General Roh Tae-woo to snatch victory from what should have been a sure defeat. That same dynamic is about to play itself out here in Japan because the various opposition parties (which are to numerous to name.) are unable to unite in a single political block and prevent the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from retaining power in an election, the voting public sees no purpose in having.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved the Diet’s lower house on Friday for a snap election on Dec 14, seeking a fresh mandate for his struggling “Abenomics” revival strategy just two years after he returned to power promising that “Japan is Back.”The policies of the LDP have failed to pull Japan out of its 2 decade long economic doldrums because they fail to recognize the world has changed and they are unwilling to change with it.
Abe had vowed to revive the economy with a mix of hyper-easy monetary policy, government spending and reforms, while moving ahead with plans to rein in Japan’s massive public debt.
“The battle is now starting,” he said, rallying party members shortly after the dissolution. “We’ll make an all-out fight in this battle so that we all can come back here to resume our responsibility to make Japan a country that shines in the center of the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment