In August 2017, the Japanese government resigned. Why? The details of the political life of one of the most economically developed countries in the world are unknown to most Europeans. What is happening in the mysterious eastern power?
Features of Japanese democracy
Officially, it is believed that the state system established in the Land of the Rising Sun in the post-war period is an Asian version of democracy. Nevertheless, the expression "Japanese democracy" sounds somewhat unusual. A detailed study of the political system of the descendants of the samurai is surprising and many questions. The Liberal Democratic Party has been in power for fifty years. The election process at all levels is more like a ritual than a political struggle. Applicants for public office say very little about their programs. Campaigning basically boils down to the fact that the candidates bow to the voters and give their name.
Eastern vertical of power
Strict hierarchy and unconditional obedience to management are the main characteristicsJapanese society. These principles are steadily observed everywhere: in political parties, in commercial corporations, and in yakuza gangs. Any elected government official is very far from independence in decision-making. He primarily follows the instructions of the leadership of the party that nominated him. Japanese political organizations promote the careers of only those members who are willing to submit to a rigid hierarchy. Ambition and independence are the least welcome in the parties of the Land of the Rising Sun.
The origin of the current prime minister
Shinzo Abe, the current head of the government of Japan, is far from a random person in the political arena. His family belongs to the elite of the Land of the Rising Sun. Kishi Nobusuke, maternal grandfather, served as prime minister in the late 1950s. Immediately after the end of the war, he was suspected of involvement in the crimes of the Japanese imperial government and was arrested by the American occupation authorities. However, it was not possible to prove the guilt of Kishi Nobusuke. As head of state, he was remembered by fellow citizens for his frankly pro-American policy. But in reality, Kishi Nobusuke showed a willingness to make concessions in relations with the United States solely for the sake of signing agreements beneficial to his country. The father of the current head of state served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Japanese government in the 1980s.
Short biography
Shinzo AbeHe graduated from Seikei University School of Law and also studied in the United States for one year. He began his political career as a secretary in his father's office, the foreign minister. Abe joined the Liberal Democratic Party. Subsequently, the young politician was elected a member of parliament. He worked in the administration of his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi. Abe's appointment as party leader was seen by many Japanese government cabinet members as a sign that he was destined to become the next head of state. In 2006, Parliament approved his candidacy. Shinzo Abe became the first leader of the country to be born in the post-war period. He is also the youngest statesman to hold this position.
Political opinions
Shinzo Abe quickly attracted media attention due to his outspoken right-wing views. He maintains close relations with the well-known nationalist association Nippon Kaigi. This political organization advocates the revival of the empire, the restoration of the divine status of the Japanese monarch and the establishment of Shinto as the official state ideology. Abe shares and stubbornly upholds the beliefs of Nippon Kaigi. He appointed Tomomi Inada as the next leader of the ruling party, which, according to tradition, means choosing her as his successor. According to press reports, Inada fully supports Abe's political views.
Corruption scandals
In 2007, the Liberal Democratic Party lost most of its seats in the upper house of parliament. For the first time in half a century, her power was shaken. The popularity of the young prime minister, who promised a change for the better when he took office, declined sharply. Corruption scandals in the highest power structures became the main reason for the loss of public confidence. The head of the Ministry of Agriculture hanged himself after accusations of embezzlement of funds from the state treasury. His successor also found himself at the center of a financial scandal involving donations to party funds and resigned. In an attempt to resurrect confidence in his administration, Shinzo Abe announced the formation of a new Japanese government. However, this measure failed to change the situation. A year after taking office, the Prime Minister resigned, citing he alth problems.
Second attempt
Abe returned to the top of the political Olympus in 2012. The Japanese government announced the holding of parliamentary elections. During his campaign, Abe promised to revive the economy through monetary quantitative easing and toughen positions in the discussion of disputed territories. He used the rather nationalistic slogan "Take back Japan".
Abe's economic reforms have brought some positive results. His financial policy was even called "Abenomics". The country has created new jobs and growthindustrial production. In addition to quantitative easing, Abe's economic program provides for a flexible taxation system and a development strategy based on private investment. However, the artificial devaluation of the national currency turned out to be a double-edged sword. The weakening of the yen led to an outflow of capital from the country, which largely spoiled the impression of the economic strategy of the current prime minister.
Links with far-right nationalists
The scandals involving high-ranking government officials that caused the Japanese government to resign during Abe's first term began to happen with surprising regularity. The prime minister was suspected of patronizing and financially supporting ultra-right nationalists, for whom he had always felt sincere sympathy. It became known to the general public that with the assistance of Abe, for a ridiculously low price, land was sold for the construction of a kindergarten, education in which corresponds to the spirit of militaristic imperial Japan. In this preschool institution, an oath of absolute obedience to the will of the sovereign and readiness to die for him was pronounced daily, which is contrary to the modern constitution of the Land of the Rising Sun. Abe said that he had nothing to do with the corrupt deal to buy land. However, further scandals erupted, which led to the fact that the Japanese government resigned.
Defense concept
NationalistAbe's beliefs are expressed in a desire to revise the pacifist constitution adopted in the post-war period. The Basic Law, aimed at demilitarizing the country, includes provisions forbidding Japan from participating in armed conflicts and from having a standing army. Revisionists who dream of restoring the empire and revisiting the results of the war are demanding the return to the constitution of the clause on the right to conduct hostilities abroad.
Mission in Africa
At the center of yet another scandal is Tomomi Inada, a well-known nationalist who was appointed defense minister by Abe. The parliamentary opposition accused her of deliberately concealing from the public documents related to the activities of peacekeepers in Africa. These reports testified to the high level of danger that members of the Japanese mission were exposed to in the region torn by civil war. Official representatives of the armed forces initially tried to convince the opposition that these records had been destroyed. After the forced publication of documents, the Ministry of Defense announced the withdrawal of peacekeepers from South Sudan. However, this was not enough to end the scandal. The head of the defense department left her post. Abe temporarily transferred her duties to the foreign minister.
Goal of Japanese government resignation
Revelations related to corruption, radical nationalists and peacekeeping mission in Sudan brought down the rating of the headstate by 30 percent. There is a simple explanation why the Japanese government resigned almost in its entirety. Experts agree that this is an attempt by the prime minister to stay in office. Abe is hoping new faces in the administration will help lift his sagging ratings. Time will tell if he can win back the trust of the people.
