Shinzo Abe’s Abenomics and Three Arrows Find Their Mark With Japanese Voters

Right on Target: Shinzo Abe’s Abenomics and Three Arrows Find Their Mark With Japanese Voters

Japan’s ruling coalition led by the Father of Abenomics, Shinzo Abe has garnered two-thirds majority in parliamentary elections as per a referendum based on the economic policies of the Japanese PM.

LDP Retains The Majority

Japanese media reports have revealed that Mr. Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party has maintained its House of Representatives Majority. LDP will now govern with the Komeito party which has been backed by Buddhists. Both parties jointly won 325 out of 475 seats in the snap polls called by PM Shinzo Abe.

The snap vote was called by the Japanese PM for securing his support for Abenomics economic reforms. Media reports have indicated that LDP has retained a majority with around 290 seats and Komeito taking around 35 seats. The main rival of the LDP, the Democratic Party of Japan secured over 73 seats which means an increase of around 11, NHK said.

Japan In Recession

Shinzo Abe was elected in the year 2012 and he tried to revive the economy through rise in public spending and printing of money. But Japan soon slipped into recession during the second half of 2012 and this was partly due to increasing sales tax, according to economists. A tax increase was legislated by the other government in 2012 for cutting the huge public debit faced by Japan.

Abe called for the snap polls to establish a mandate for delay in second increase in the tax to 10% scheduled for next year. "My 'Abenomics' policies are still only half-way done," Abe said adding there is no room for complacency following his win.

"I am aware that there are still a lot of people who are still not feeling the benefits. But it's my duty to bring [benefits] to those very people, and I believe this election made that clear,” he also added.

Secure Win, Low Voter Turnout

Though Abe was victorious during the snap polls, but the turnout was low. Though he has secured a new majority, he has to really prove himself and Abenomics as well. Amidst the pledges, Abe vowed to assist Japanese women to remain in employment plus enter job markets through tightened anti-discrimination laws.But low voter turnout shows many are not convinced. The turnout was just 35% two hours before the polls closed.

Abenomics and the 3 Arrows

The economic policy launched by Abe in 2013 was named after him. It was made to enable Japan to pull out of deflation and kickstart an economy. It focused on three arrows namely monetary policy, fiscal stimulus and structural reform for boosting the Japanese economy. As far as monetary policy is concerned, printing vast amounts of cash for helping to improve Japan’s purchase of government bonds was initiated by Abe. Another effort was to use fiscal stimulus to help spur growth and increase state spending. Structural reform in key sectors such as agriculture and health care was the third arrow.

So far, Abenomics has failed to keep stagnation and economic downfall away from Japan’s door. But whether this will continue in the future as well remains a question that can have many possible answers, depending upon factors such as just how farsighted this economic vision is.