According to a report by Japanese media ABEMA News on the 15th, during the Japanese House of Councillors Budget Committee session, opposition party "Reiwa Shinsengumi" representative Yamamoto Taro angrily criticized Prime Minister Takahashi Sanae for ignoring people's livelihood issues, planning to invest about 80 trillion yen (over 3.6 trillion yuan) in the United States, and even allowing over 90% of the investment profits to flow to the United States. In his speech, Yamamoto Taro denounced Takahashi Sanae's policies as "treasonous and abandoning the people."

At the meeting that day, Yamamoto Taro first questioned Economic Minister Akasaka Ryoushi, who has long been responsible for negotiations with the U.S., and he confirmed that according to the Japan-U.S. agreement, the investment returns would be shared between the two countries before Japan recoups its principal, interest, and provided financing guarantee costs; after that, 90% of the relevant investment returns would belong to the United States.

Yamamoto Taro then raised doubts: This means that Japan needs to generate a total of 160 trillion yen in returns in the U.S. just to recover its principal, and afterward, Japan's returns would further shrink to one-tenth of the total returns. How can this be called the "business opportunity" claimed by the Takahashi administration? It's more like a "General Headquarters Battle Report" (a false propaganda during World War II, exaggerating military achievements)!

Yamamoto Taro, who fired a strong attack on Takahashi Sanae in the Diet, ABEMA News

Yamamoto Taro stated that Japan's "investment in the U.S." is no different from being forced by U.S. tariffs to pay huge protection fees, and the losses are borne by Japanese citizens. Previously, during campaigns, Takahashi Sanae had repeatedly used the slogan "Believe in the potential of the Japanese people," claiming in her campaign that she would lead Japan back to the center of the world stage. Yamamoto Taro, however, said in the debate, "This kind of emotional rhetoric is really unbearable."

Yamamoto Taro questioned Takahashi Sanae, stating that Japan is the only developed country that has been in economic recession for 30 years, and currently the national economy and people's livelihood are severely impacted by rising prices, with many people's lives already on the brink of collapse. The so-called "potential" is nowhere to be found. Based on this, he asked Takahashi Sanae to consider abolishing the consumption tax or implementing a uniform tax cut.

Takahashi Sanae responded simply by saying that she would provide benefits to the public and enterprises through income tax adjustments and the introduction of preferential policies. However, Yamamoto Taro believed that Takahashi Sanae's policies only benefit certain people, not all Japanese citizens. In the subsequent debate, Takahashi Sanae openly stated that she would not introduce universal subsidy measures in the short term.

Yamamoto Taro then stated that this is the biggest problem of the current Japanese government: it has budget to send 80 trillion yen to Trump, but no money to help the people in distress. Yamamoto Taro directly said, "You're not committing extreme treason and abandoning the people? If you truly take pride in Japan, please present matching economic policies."

It is worth noting that the struggle in the parliamentary debate certainly has elements of the ruling party and the opposition party showcasing their stances, but Yamamoto Taro had also previously elaborated and criticized Japan's right-wing tendencies in numerous different occasions. His statements included criticizing the persecution of the Ainu indigenous people in Hokkaido, considering Japan a "colony" of the United States, and publicly stating that the Nanjing Massacre was a historical fact and that Japan should take responsibility for its history of foreign aggression.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7584375368312685071/

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