Koike unveils party platform, vowing to freeze sales tax hike, end nuclear power

Oct 06, 2017 | News On Japan

Oct 06, 2017 (Japan Today) - A new party led by Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike has unveiled policies it dubs "Yurinomics" that aim to revitalise the economy and cut reliance on fiscal spending and monetary easing, seeking to distance itself from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's more aggressive stimulus measures.

The party, which is challenging Abe's ruling coalition, also sought to set itself apart from Abe's policies by vowing to freeze a scheduled sales tax hike in 2019. It is also seeking to end nuclear power by 2030 amid public safety worries after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The party wants to enshrine the nuclear power ban in an amendment to the Constitution.

"We'll carry out 'Yurinomics' that brings out private sector vitality, without relying excessively on monetary easing and fiscal spending," the party said on Friday at a policy launch ahead of a national election on Oct 22.

"While maintaining the Bank of Japan's massive monetary easing for the time being, the government and the BOJ should work together to seek a smooth exit strategy," it added.

The call to debate a strategy for ending ultra-easy monetary policy contrasts with the approach of Bank of Japan Gov Haruhiko Kuroda - appointed by Abe - to hold off discussing a withdrawal of his massive stimulus program any time soon.

Abe announced the snap election last week in the hope his Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition would keep its majority in parliament's lower house, where it held a two-thirds "super majority" before the chamber was dissolved.

But Koike's new party - launched last week as a "reformist, conservative" alternative to Abe's equally conservative LDP - has clouded the outlook amid signs voters are disillusioned with Abe after nearly five years in power.

The party says "Yurinomics" - derived from Koike's first name - will focus on deregulation to create jobs, increase capital expenditure and revitalise the stock market. It provided few details.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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