Political squabbles condemning Japan
Kevin Rafferty sees a powerhouse's downward spiral into indebtedness
It's hard these days to have much faith in Japan as the Rising Sun, a global economic power and Asia's industrial and technological powerhouse, as the country's political, bureaucratic and economic leaders squabble in a headlong rush to turn the country into an over-indebted third-world country.
The faltering economy, crippled with government debts of 240 per cent of gross domestic product, higher than Greece's, and an overvalued yen driving companies offshore and hollowing out industry, is bad enough. Tensions with China, Japan's biggest trading and investment partner, have merely added a damaging downward twist to the economic spiral.
But worst of all is what can only be called mindless political shenanigans. Leaders are playing children's games to try to gain power. This is a tragedy for Japan, but it is also a danger for Asia and the world.
Events of the past week demonstrate the close links between tragedy and farce. Independent audit bodies discovered that much of the money already spent from a 19 trillion yen (HK$1.8 trillion) fund to help put the earthquake- and tsunami-devastated region of northeastern Japan back on its feet has been diverted.
Beneficiaries include road building in Okinawa, far from the disaster zone, subsidies for a contact lens factory in central Japan, protection for Japan's controversial whaling fleet and help for selling nuclear technology to Vietnam.
About half of the reconstruction money remains unspent because of arguments about how to rebuild the area. Eighteen months after the disaster, almost 300,000 people are still displaced and don't know when they will be able to return home, if ever.
Japan's politicians today are indulging in wild mating dances before the next lower house parliamentary election due by August next year. Shintaro Ishihara gave up his powerful job as Tokyo governor to take his aggressive nationalism into mainstream politics.