So Shinzo Abe (LDP) has won apparently.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? good? bad?

All I know is he plans to pressure the bank of Japan into monetary easing to pay for infrastructure projects and help exports by lowering the value of the yen (eroding purchasing citizen's purchasing power and hindering overseas expansion by japanese companies). Oh, and expand the role, scale, and no doubt cost of Japan's military which is likely to piss off China and will be bad for Japan's economy. How much he'll actually be able to do waits to be seen though.

My initial reaction is that this will be good for the japanese stock market and possibly create some employment in the short run but ultimately do nothing to solve any of Japan's problems in the long run.

I'm hoping he'll participate in TPP talks, but I'm not massively optimistic about the chances of that happening.

I'm just glad that the megaphone vans will stop yelling all over the place.

I just hope the inflation targeting scheme works out well. Japan has been needing that for years but the BOJ, for some reason, fears inflation over deflation. I hope the LDP shakes them up real good.

nadiatims Wrote:but ultimately do nothing to solve any of Japan's problems in the long run.

I don't know anything about politics aside watching the news and what-not, but aren't politicians essentially focused on pandering short-term goals in order to gain a few years in office?

It seems (once again, based of gleamed observations) that those really interested in the long term tend to be those involved in science, education, research- those of whom the general public/majority of voters don't pay a whole lot of attention towards unless it involves taxes or an increase in schooling costs.

You are right uisukii – some people, even those who claim to be educated, are hard pressed when you ask them about Club of Rome.