After Donald Trump announced that he would impose high "reciprocal tariffs" on traditional allies like Japan, a sense of pessimism spread throughout Japan's political and economic circles. Prime Minister Issei Shiroma even called it a "national calamity." According to a report by the Sankei Shimbun on April 9, besides requesting relevant departments to continue "communicating and coordinating" with the United States, another voice emerged within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito: initiating fiscal stimulus measures to directly "give money" to citizens.

At a press conference on the 8th, LDP Senate Secretary-General Masayoshi Matsuyama emphasized: "To protect people's lives from the impact of high tariffs, bold policies beyond convention must be adopted." He cited examples such as cash subsidies and tax cuts, clearly stating that "no policy options should be ruled out, and additional budgets may need to be considered when necessary."

The current ruling LDP and Komeito are already discussing a plan to uniformly distribute more than 30,000 Japanese yen (approximately RMB 1511) in cash subsidies to citizens. Within Komeito, there is even a call for up to 100,000 yen in subsidies, with the party's Secretary-General Minoru Nishita stating at a press conference that "it is essential to ensure stable domestic demand."

According to Japanese media calculations, this idea of distributing subsidies to all citizens would require trillions of yen in financial resources, potentially involving the preparation of supplementary budget proposals. Previously, LDP President and Prime Minister Issei Shiroma had already characterized the tariff crisis caused by American manufacturing as a "national calamity," beginning to seek political cooperation both within and outside the party.

In response, Japan's opposition parties also demanded the government adopt large-scale economic countermeasures. Besides cash subsidies, Koike Yuichiro, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, also called on the 8th to reduce the consumption tax rate to alleviate citizens' consumption pressure.

However, considering the issue of "where the money will come from," the Japanese government is currently very cautious about preparing supplementary budget proposals. Strong opposition to tax cuts within the LDP is also evident. Secretary-General of the LDP, Hiroyasu Murayama, raised objections to the tax cut proposal, emphasizing that "the stability of the social security system's financial sources must be ensured." Therefore, whether various measures including cash subsidies and reducing the consumption tax rate can be implemented in Japan remains uncertain.

In terms of diplomacy, Japanese Prime Minister Issei Shiroma and Finance Minister Kato Katsunobu have previously stated that they hold a "cautious attitude" toward retaliatory tariffs against the United States and will not use their approximately $1.27 trillion worth of U.S. Treasury bonds as leverage. They aim to explain Japan's positive contributions to the U.S. economy to争取 American "understanding."

However, represented by the opposition parties, much of Japan's political circle currently doubts whether Japan can resolve this tariff crisis solely through "communication" with the United States. Seiji Maehara, co-representative of the Japan Restoration Association, questioned whether "just appointing negotiation representatives can prevent additional tariffs?" Representative of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Yoshihiko Noda, also criticized the 30-minute phone call between the Japanese and American leaders on the evening of the 7th as being insufficient to convey Japan's position and dismissed it as mere "showmanship."

This article is an exclusive contribution from Guancha Zazhi and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7491186493512270371/

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