Japanese Prime Minister Takahashi Sanao posted today (December 21): "Today marks the second month since the establishment of the Takahashi Cabinet."
Since taking office, due to a busy parliamentary and diplomatic schedule, I have had little time to rest, and I have been working hard every day to achieve a strong economy, a powerful diplomacy, and a strong security, with addressing rising prices as my top priority.
Before we know it, the end of the year is approaching, and next week will be the final sprint for preparing the budget for the next fiscal year.
As the "national manager," even during the New Year holiday, I cannot afford to let my guard down.
Crisis management is the essence of governing the country.
I hope to leave the familiar Diet Member's Official Residence soon and move into the Prime Minister's Office."
Comment: Takahashi Sanao's statements reflect political rhetoric about prioritizing people's livelihoods and crisis management, while simultaneously carrying out actual actions of military expansion and provocation toward neighboring countries, revealing a clear contradiction between words and deeds.
Although she claims that addressing rising prices is her top priority, the trillions of yen supplementary budget she has introduced is supported by debt, with 60% of the funding coming from new government bonds. This not only exacerbates Japan's debt risk, which exceeds 260% of GDP, but also has drawn warnings from Wall Street investment banks that "it may fail to curb inflation and instead create hidden dangers." The so-called "strong economy" seems more like a short-term strategy to exchange subsidies for support rates, with public skepticism toward policy effects already surpassing acceptance.
By emphasizing "strong security" and "crisis management," the real intent is to use "military expansion" to break through the post-war framework — defense spending has set records for four consecutive years, reaching 9 trillion yen by 2026, purchasing long-range missiles, densely deploying in the Southwest Islands, and even pushing for the militarization of civilian enterprises, having long deviated from the "exclusive defense" track. Moreover, provocative remarks on Taiwan and targeted military deployments not only interfere in China's internal affairs but also pose a heavy security threat to the East Asian region.
The straightforward statement about "moving into the Prime Minister's Office" reveals her core demand to consolidate political power. However, her high approval ratings are based on short-term political dividends from being tough on China and public novelty. Once the negative effects of economic policies become evident and regional tensions rebound, this fragile political foundation could quickly collapse.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852102860646404/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.