Featured Suga wins LDP election, in step to becoming Japan's prime minister

[INDIAPOSITIVE]

Suga wins LDP election, in step to becoming Japan's prime minister

https://twitter.com/x/status/1305393639984689152

Japan PM front-runner Suga vows to not back down from China
Chief cabinet secretary stresses alliance with US in debate with other candidates

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga speaks at a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo. (Photo by Yo Inoue)
Nikkei staff writersSeptember 13, 2020 02:20 JST
TOKYO -- Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga promised on Saturday to stand his ground with Beijing, saying he will not be afraid to express Japan's claims to China should he become prime minister.
"If there are assertions that should be made, I will make those assertions at high-level talks," the front-runner said about Japan-Sino relations during a debate with his two rivals, Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba, in the race for the top leadership spot.
The event at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo comes ahead of Monday's election to decide the next president of the Liberal Democratic Party. Since the LDP-led coalition controls both houses of parliament, which elects the prime minister, the next leader of the party will succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced his resignation last month over health reasons.

While Japan's relationship with China improved under Abe, the country's longest-serving prime minister, there are still disputes between the countries. The Japan-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea are claimed by China, which calls them the Diaoyu. On Wednesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono called China a "security threat" and warned Beijing might try to expand its maritime militarization to the East China Sea.
Suga's two rivals gave their own takes on relations with China.
"We must never let channels for dialogue close," said Kishida, a former foreign minister, adding that Japan must be smart in controlling the dialogue.
Ishiba, a former defense minister, said Japan's role was to help realize a world in which the U.S. and China can cooperate.
Responding to a claim that his diplomatic skills are untested, Suga said he "was involved in all decisions that have been made as a nation" during his seven years and eight months serving as Abe's lieutenant.
Citing his experience in diplomacy, he said he sat in on most telephone conferences between the leaders of Japan and the U.S.
While praising Abe's style -- in which the prime minister's office took the lead in foreign relations instead of bureaucrats at the foreign ministry -- Suga said: "I will conduct my own style of diplomacy."


Diplomacy "will be conducted by the government as a whole" along with the foreign minister, he said, noting that he will be receiving reports from the foreign ministry. Suga also said he would consult Abe on foreign affairs.
"The important thing is to have solid ties with Asian nations by having the Japan-U.S. alliance as the foundation," he said.

Japan PM front-runner Suga vows to not back down from China

Chief cabinet secretary stresses alliance with US in debate with other candidates

asia.nikkei.com

 

[Viet]

Was not a Ming eunuch that discovered the senkakus? How comes he failed to discover the islands despite located next door but found islands that are thousands miles away?

 

[FuturePAF]

“Yoshi hides the Sugar ...”, that name is going to generate some interesting memes.

Instead of Mario it could be Trump on Yoshi’s back, asking for more money to defend Japan against China.

 

[Viet]

“Yoshi hides the Sugar ...”, that name is going to generate some interesting memes.

Instead of Mario it could be Trump on Yoshi’s back, asking for more money to defend Japan against China.

View attachment 669684

Nations come together to fight a common threat. Nothing to joke about it, bro. China today is like facist and racist Germany pre WWII. Japan is right: the US/JP military alliance should cover the 10 countries in ASEAN.

 

[Suika]

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Tokyo, Sept. 9 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, at a teleconference on Wednesday, affirmed their cooperation to ensure free navigation based on law and order.

Motegi reiterated Japan's opposition to any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force, apparently referring to China's increasing assertiveness in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

"We agreed to give shape to Japan-ASEAN cooperation while sharing many basic values including the rule of law and freedom of navigation," Motegi told reporters after the teleconference.

During the talks, Motegi also brought up issues related to North Korea, underscoring Japan's position of demanding the reclusive country abolish its nuclear and missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

He asked afresh for ASEAN cooperation to resolve the issue of North Korean abductions of Japanese nationals.
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https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2020090900758/


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Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Monday elected Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga as its party president, after a majority of its lawmakers and regional representatives cast votes for him, putting the veteran politician on track to succeed Shinzo Abe as prime minister.

After Abe's resignation announcement, the Japan Center for Economic Research and Nikkei conducted a survey from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7, collecting 12 responses from economists and analysts in the five biggest member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN -- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand -- as well as India. The questionnaire didn't specify Suga as the next prime minister, but most respondents were aware of his front-runner status.

In their answers, the economists and analysts expressed expectations for Japan to contribute more to regional stability under its new leadership through enhanced cooperation with Asian countries and balanced relations with both the U.S. and China. They also hope Japan will offer models for reform in fields such as social welfare.

Japan's relative economic power has undeniably decreased throughout the 2010s. The size of Japan's economy was almost the same as China's in 2010. But by 2019 it had fallen to about a third of its neighbor's when measured in nominal U.S. dollars. Many international relations experts see limited room for Japan to take the initiative while two giants -- the U.S. and China -- dominate the region.

While recognizing these circumstances, the Asian experts expressed expectations for Japan in various fields. Tirthankar Patnaik of the National Stock Exchange of India stressed that "Japan's role as a guardian of the liberal, equitable, rules-based international order should continue." Carlo Asuncion of Union Bank of the Philippines echoed that, saying Japan should "continue to be an important player in the geopolitical situation in Asia." Shekhar Shah of the National Council of Applied Economic Research in India emphasized that Japan should "continue to show leadership in Asian affairs on trade and international relations, particularly in the context of China and the U.S."


Manu Bhaskaran of Centennial Asia Advisors in Singapore expects Japan to be "a moderating force on [the] U.S. that is more isolationist and distracted," adding that, "the U.S. is still needed as a balancing force in Asia against China." Wan Suhaimie of Kenanga Investment Bank in Malaysia said that Japan should "forge a balanced relationship with China and the U.S. to ensure geopolitical stability in the Asian region."

Randolph Tan of Singapore University of Social Sciences referred to Japan's soft power, including technological achievement, which has attracted many young Chinese: "There is reason to be cautiously optimistic that Japan will temper the hostility in the Pacific arena, maintain a civilized approach to competition, and keep superpower rivalry from spilling over into actual conflict."

The economists expect stronger cooperation between Japan and Asian countries to contribute to stability in the region under the new government. Somprawin Manprasert of Bank of Ayudhya in Thailand said that "strengthening regional cooperation" would be necessary "to cushion external shock from outside of the region, especially protectionism and deglobalization." Lalita Thienprasiddhi of Kasikorn Research Center in Thailand stated that "Japan should cooperate with ASEAN and South Asia [India] to rebalance China's power in the region." Nicholas Mapa of ING Bank Philippines sees further cooperation in security, saying that the "security of the West Philippine Sea is now very important."


They also anticipate that Japan will serve as an "economic model" for Asian countries. In the late 20th century Japan was a front-runner in economic development and a model for Asian countries. But of course, the expectations for the new model differ from the ones presented decades ago.

Wan Suhaimie of Kenanga expects Japan to engage in "extending social security system reform," adding that the revamped system "would be a great reference for other Asian economies." Bhaskaran of Centennial Asia said that "Southeast Asia can learn much from Japan, especially on small and medium enterprises." Bank of Ayudhya's Somprawin expects Japan to lead in "frontiers/cutting edge technologies," which would "support industrial reform in Asian countries."

The analysts also expect a stronger Japanese economy and a recovery from the current recession. NSE's Patnaik implied that Japan should pursue the good policies of Abenomics, the set of economic policies pursued during Abe's administration. Strong growth "would help the global economy," he commented, especially at a time when the world economy faces the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Japanese economy "is still the third largest in the world," he added.

On the other hand, asked which policies and developments drew their attention over the nearly eight years of Abe's tenure, many pointed to Abenomics. The prime minister launched "three arrows" -- a combination of easy monetary policy, flexible fiscal policy, and growth strategy -- in the first stage of his government, aiming to overcome prolonged deflation and increase the country's economic growth rate. The Bank of Japan, the central bank, targeted an inflation rate of 2% and introduced unprecedented quantitative and qualitative monetary easing.

There were initial successes. The real economic growth rate increased from 1.5% in 2012 to 2.0% in 2013. The core CPI rate turned positive in 2013 and reached 2.6% in 2014 thanks in part to a hike in the consumption tax rate. But the economy did not return to a robust growth track in the following years. The inflation rate stayed at less than 1% after 2015.


Evaluations differed on the unprecedentedly accommodative monetary policy. Umar Juoro of the Habibie Center in Indonesia said that "easy monetary policy [did not] support growth" as had been expected. He also pointed out that "the inflation rate is very low." Bank of Ayudhya's Somprawin stated that the monetary easing policy was still "struggling with a deflationary spiral." Wan Suhaimie of Kenanga focused on the Bank of Japan's negative interest rate policy from 2016, saying that it "resulted in decreased inflation," rather than increased inflation in the short and medium term.

But the situation surrounding monetary policy may not be so simple. The failure to achieve the inflation target and to spark strong economic recovery is the result of not only monetary policy, but also fiscal and other policies.

Shekhar Shah of NCAER took a more positive view, commenting that "progress against deflation" was achieved by macroeconomic policies including an easy monetary policy. Centennial Asia's Bhaskaran remarked that aggressive monetary easing was "partially successful."

Evaluations of Abe's growth policy were far from positive. Jonathan Ravelas of BDO Unibank in the Philippines stated that Abe "tried to revive Japan's growth through reforms," but "not all were successful." Kasikorn Research's Lalita said: "Abe's government was not so successful at structural reform, especially [in promoting a] productivity revolution, which is important to medium- and long-term growth."

Economists gave high marks to Abe's policies to promote women's participation in the labor market and to increase foreign workers. The employment rate of women between 15 and 64 years old rose from 60.7% in 2012 to 70.9% in 2019. The number of foreign workers expanded from 682,000 to 1.66 million over the same period.

Dharmakirti Joshi of CRISIL in India remarked that "efforts to improve women's labor force participation under Shinzo Abe's tenure have been commendable." SUSS's Tan stated that the increase of foreign workers "is especially significant in the context of globalization, and may be recognized in times to come as a watershed change."

Abe's foreign policy also received positive comments. Bhaskaran of Centennial Asia observed that Abe had shown a "more robust posture toward China" and commented that it was "a necessary move" and "helpful for regional stability in the long run." SUSS's Tan paid attention to Abe's relations with U.S. Presidents Obama and Trump. "A deft foreign policy approach to two starkly different U.S. administrations will be recognized as one of Abe's signature achievements," he wrote.

More details of the survey, including a full list of respondents, can be found on the JCER's website.
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https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Ja...hope-Japan-s-new-leader-provides-reform-model


JS Kaga and JS Ikazuchi will sail into the Indian ocean on Indo-Pacific training that goes from September 7th to October 17th.
https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/release/202009/20200901-2.pdf

 

[Suika]

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NEW DELHI/TOKYO -- India and Japan have signed a pact for the reciprocal provision of supplies and services between their armed forces, a move that comes as China grows increasingly assertive in the Indo-Pacific region.

The countries announced the deal, inked on Wednesday, after a phone call on Thursday between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan's Shinzo Abe.

"They concurred that the agreement will further enhance the depth of defense cooperation between the two countries and contribute to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region," a statement issued by India's external affairs ministry said.

The move comes as Abe prepares to leave office next week on health grounds. The two countries have come closer under the leadership of Abe and Modi.

With regard to the "significant enhancement" of Japan-India relations in recent years, Abe stated that both prime ministers took actions "toward realizing the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific," according to a Japanese government statement.

The military agreement "will also enhance the interoperability between the armed forces of India and Japan thereby further increasing the bilateral defense engagements under the Special Strategic [and] Global Partnership between the two countries," a separate statement issued by the Indian defense ministry said.

Earlier in June, India signed a similar deal with Australia -- an "arrangement concerning Mutual Logistics Support" that enables reciprocal access to each nation's respective military bases.

Both the pacts signed by India with Australia and Japan are also expected to strengthen the quadrilateral partnership or 'Quad' that includes the U.S. and is seen by analysts as part of efforts to contain China's influence in the Indo-Pacific. India has already inked such agreements with the U.S. and a few other nations.

"The pact completes logistics support network among the Quad," Pankaj Jha, a professor of defense and strategic studies at the O. P. Jindal Global University, told the Nikkei Asian Review, pointing out that India also has such agreements with countries supporting this quadrilateral partnership, including France and Singapore.

"It gives a larger outreach to India for launching operations and provides support to its naval expeditions in the Indo-Pacific region."

The Indo-Japan pact also comes amid a tense standoff between India and China along their Himalayan border, with the two countries accusing each other's troops of firing shots in the air on Monday night.

This was the first time in over four decades that shots were fired along their disputed border. Earlier on June 15, a hand-to-hand combat left 20 Indian soldiers dead and an unspecified number of Chinese casualties.
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https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/In...n-military-supply-pact-as-China-flexes-muscle

 

[S10]

Suga? Sounds like a rapper name.

 

[cgy]

Nations come together to fight a common threat. Nothing to joke about it, bro. China today is like facist and racist Germany pre WWII. Japan is right: the US/JP military alliance should cover the 10 countries in ASEAN.

So what kind of help is Vietnam going to provide in this alliance? Bars and brothels for navy soldiers on vacation? Or a few small tonnage old frigates of the last century?

Here, I have to remind you that the cost of US military bases in South Korea and Japan is paid by Korean and Japanese. How much are you going to spend to buy off Americans?

 

[Suika]

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The UK has struck its first big post-Brexit trade deal after reaching a historic agreement with Japan that is expected to increase trade by £15bn a year.

The deal was reached after a compromise on agriculture under which the UK will have access to export quotas for cheese and other products that have not been used by the EU, said negotiators.

The agreement with Tokyo comes at a crucial moment for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as his move to unpick parts of the Brexit withdrawal treaty risks the collapse of trade talks with Brussels.

Parallel trade talks with Donald Trump’s US administration have stalled — to the disappointment of Brexiters — with the UK reluctant to give untrammelled access to US agrifoods.

Toshimitsu Motegi, the Japanese foreign minister, and UK trade secretary Liz Truss confirmed their agreement in principle to the new deal via a teleconference on Friday morning London time. The agreement is expected to be finalised in October.

“This is a historic moment for the UK and Japan as our first major post-Brexit trade deal. The agreement we have negotiated — in record time and in challenging circumstances — goes far beyond the existing EU deal,” said Ms Truss.

“Strategically, the deal is an important step towards joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and placing Britain at the centre of a network of modern free trade agreements with like-minded friends and allies.” The TPP is a sprawling multinational trade pact.

Alexander Stafford, a Tory MP, described the deal as “amazing” and said: “Brexit bonanza here we come.”

Yet officials confirmed that the deal was expected to add a mere 0.07 per cent to UK gross domestic product. By contrast, government economists have forecast a 5 per cent loss of GDP from leaving the EU customs union and single market.

The UK government said on Friday that the deal would yield a £15bn increase in UK-Japan trade but was unable to give a timeframe on this estimate.

Japanese officials also highlighted the importance of the deal as a bridge to the UK joining the TPP, which includes Japan, Australia, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, Canada, Mexico and Brunei.

The deal replicates most of the existing agreement between Japan and the EU, but adds new digital provisions such as a ban on data localisation. That will allow British financial services companies and Japanese game makers such as Sony to operate from offshore servers.

London hailed the deal’s liberal rules of origin for biscuits and knitwear; new “geographical indications” for Wensleydale cheese and Welsh lamb; and more generous market access for its malt producers.

Tokyo said that UK tariffs on automobile and railway parts would fall faster than they would have done under the existing EU deal, creating new opportunities for its exporters. UK tariffs on electronic control units for automobiles will fall to zero as soon as the agreement takes effect.

“This maintains the benefits to Japan under the existing EU-Japan agreement and ensures continuity for Japanese business,” Mr Motegi told reporters.

One of the biggest sticking points was so-called tariff rate quotas in agriculture, which let European farmers export a limited amount of sensitive foodstuffs to Japan at a lower tariff.

Tokyo refused to give the UK any new quota, but for 10 out of 25 products covered in the EU-Japan deal — including cheese, tea extracts and bread mixes — the UK will be able to use any quota left over by the EU.

For example, if the EU uses only 19,000 tonnes of its 20,000 tonne quota for low-tariff cheese exports, the UK will be able to use the remaining 1,000 tonnes. Asked whether that meant the UK could end up empty-handed, one official said: “There is headroom in these quotas.”

Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the CBI business group, hailed the signing of the deal as a “breakthrough moment”.

“Business will help support the government in its efforts to secure more trade deals around the world and promote their benefits to communities,” she said. “The Japan deal can be the first of many.”
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UK strikes ‘historic’ trade deal with Japan

Agreement with Tokyo comes at pivotal moment as talks with EU hang in balance

www.ft.com

 

[Song Hong]

Unlike Abe, Suga has no power base to do anything meaningful. Suga is peasant.

Abe is aristocrat.

 

[8888888888888]

He is not going to improve relationship with S Korea, China would just work with Japan economically as usual. He is probably going to help improve the Japanese economy to succeed where Abe failed.

So I don't think he will be that hardline to China. If he time it correctly he might even be PM when Trump lost the Nov 2020 election and doesn't have to listen to the Trump admin anymore.

 

[Nan Yang]

So I don't think he will be that hardline to China. If he time it correctly he might even be PM when Trump lost the Nov 2020 election and doesn't have to listen to the Trump admin anymore.

LOL That made me laugh. Trump certainly didn't treat Abe very well.

 

[8888888888888]

LOL That made me laugh. Trump certainly didn't treat Abe very well.

He treats Japan like a vassal state.

 

[Viet]

So what kind of help is Vietnam going to provide in this alliance? Bars and brothels for navy soldiers on vacation? Or a few small tonnage old frigates of the last century?

Here, I have to remind you that the cost of US military bases in South Korea and Japan is paid by Korean and Japanese. How much are you going to spend to buy off Americans?

Our biggest asset is Iq.

 

[cgy]

Our biggest asset is Iq.

Japanese and Korean people are higher than you. How much money are you going to spend to bribe Americans to adopt your opinions instead of others?