Abe resolved to tackle economic challenges

October 8, 2017

TOKYO- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his resolve to tackle economic problems for the country, including the sluggish birthrate, in a television debate among political party heads on Sunday ahead of the Oct. 22 general election.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who heads the Party of Hope, said that she aims to reinvigorate the Japanese economy by taking advantage of the power of the private sector.

In a program of Fuji Television Network Inc., Abe, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, underlined his achievements in shoring up economic activities, citing a rise in the job-openings-to-seekers ratio and improvements in other economic indicators.

Abenomics has arrived to a point 30 pct to the summit, Abe said, comparing his economic policy package to mountain climbing.

"I want to improve the economy further," he said. Noting that hurdles from this point are very tough, Abe said, "I'll tackle the biggest challenge facing the country--the low birthrate and aging population."

Koike pointed to the need for something that will help boost personal consumption, saying that she will promote her "Yurinomics" economic policy utilizing the power of the private sector.

She said, "It's important to devise measures that will provide people with hopes and make them say, 'Tomorrow must be better, mustn't it?'"

The official campaign period for the election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, is set to start on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Koike ruled out the possibility of her party naming former LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba as its candidate for prime minister in parliamentary votes to he held after the general election. The Party of Hope, which was set up late last month, will pick its prime minister candidate after watching the results of the general election, she said.

Koike reiterated her intention not to run in the general election, saying, "I have responsibility for my job as Tokyo governor." She said she wants to send as many colleagues as possible to the Diet through the Lower House election.

In response, Abe said that the Lower House election is for choosing not only a political party that would be tasked to run Japan but also the country's leader. Putting up a prime minister candidate would make the general election more understandable to voters, he noted.

Under law, Japan's prime minister needs to be a member of the Diet.

In a TV program of Japan Broadcasting Corp., or NHK, later on Sunday, Kazuo Shii, leader of the Japanese Communist Party, said that his party plans to hold talks on a prime minister candidate with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Social Democratic Party after the general election.

But CDPJ head Edano said in the NHK program that it is difficult for his party to coordinate views with the JCP on issues related to the Self-Defense Forces and the Imperial system. The CDPJ was established earlier his month by liberal defectors from the opposition Democratic Party. Jiji Press