By Bilawal Hammad
Your commercial awareness dose.
Japan is one of the most highly advanced economies of the world: it ranks as the third-largest. Because of its economic prowess and political power Japan has a great say in the socio-economic and political order of the world. We can gauge its political power from the fact that Japan is a member of important INGOs (International non-governmental organizations). Japan is a member also of APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation Organization), WTO (World Trade Organization), TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), G20, and G7. All these are prestigious and prominent international organizations actively working for the betterment of the world. Japan, as an economic giant, has valuable backward and forward linkages with the world’s giant economies. Therefore, Japan holds an important position in the world.
Japan has recently experienced an increase in political turmoil. The political crisis in Japan has not augured well for the world’s economic development. The timing of said crisis is unfortunate; the nation has been devastated by the impacts of COVID-19. The economic growth of Japan is at its lowest state for decades. According to the estimates of the experts, the economy of Japan will shrink by 5.3% in 2020.
The ex-prime minister of Japan Shinzo Abe decided to resign from office in the last week of August 2020. His term of office was due to last until 2021 – he decided to resign one year earlier than expected. Many have cited his health condition as the reason for his early resignation, while others believe that this stint was due to corruption scandals. Many also believe that he resigned because he wanted to avoid stringent accountability; wanting to maintain his political image. Shinzo Abe was the longest-serving prime minister of Japan. In his highly anticipated press conference in August, he declared that whilst he cannot continue to lead the country, his decision to step down as prime minister is not an end to his political career. He announced that he plans to contest general elections in 2021.
Rob Fahey, a research associate in Waseda institute of political economy at Tokyo, said that the Shinzo Abe resigning in 2020 is not the same Shinzo as in 2012. He said that he sees a lot of difference in his personality as a leader. According to Fahey, Shinzo Abe could not realize the political targets that he had set for himself as a leader. The economic slowdown and the coronavirus had further knocked his government. This blow caused havoc for Shinzo Abe, contributing to his resignation from office a year prior to the completion of his tenure.
The incumbent prime minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, has inherited many issues from the office of his predecessor Shinzo Abe. The challenge for Yoshihide Suga will be to ameliorate the downtrodden economy of Japan. He will also have to deal with the second wave of the COVID-19 and its debilitating impact. A further challenge will also be how he plans to conduct the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which were postponed earlier in the year due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
In conclusion, we can say that Japan is amongst the world leaders in terms of its political activity and economic prowess. Hence, the political crisis in Japan could prove devastating for the world and its quest for inclusive development. Japan’s political machinery must realize this and work to rejuvenate its politics, finding a way out of this turmoil. The earlier Japan comes out of the crisis, the better; for the economies of both Japan and the World.
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