During the election campaign for the House of Councilors on the streets, former Premier Abe Shinzo was shot to death in the city of Nara. Here we extend sincere condolence, condemning the shooting as a violent act to challenge democracy. We firmly remember, however, the illicit records as well as darkness that Abe’s politics has brought in to our lives.
DARK LEGACIES AND SUSPICIONS ARE LEFT INTACT
The Abe cabinet dissolved in September 2020. He served as prime minister for 3,188 days, including his previous term, which records the longest in the history of parliamentary system of the country. Let’s look back the misconducts we have seen during the extensive reign.
Distorted view on history
In his second-round cabinet the former premier proclaimed his policies, called the Abenomics and Three Arrows, and emphasized to get free from the political scheme formulated after the WWII; he claimed to review thoroughly the Constitution and the administrative system. But the Abenomics economic package has failed in improving the employment and wage issue, which remains unsolved even today under the Kishida government. The wage level is the lowest of the industrially advanced nations for the past 25 years.
Former Premier Abe has made an extensive tour to many foreign countries, but he could not break through the stumbling blocks lying with China, Republic of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Russia. Reasons for the fiasco are attributable to the distorted idea on history embraced by him and his party, the Liberal Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, his administration expanded the US-Japan Alliance further to the whole range of Asia, purchasing a lot of expensive US arms, building a new US base in Henoko, Okinawa, and militarizing the islands in the Southwestern region of the archipelago against the will of people. Concerning the nuclear issue, he maintained his reactionary stance, not joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and at the same time he ordered to restart nuclear power plants in the country.
Many attempts to destroy Constitution
As for the internal affairs, the consumption tax rate was surged from 5% to 8% in April 2014, and from 8% to 10% in October 2019.
Ex-premier introduced a series of laws which violate the constitutional principles; during his first-round administration he revised the Fundamental Law on Education and inaugurated the Ministry of Defense, ranking up its agency-status.
During his second-round administration, the Act on Protection of Specially Designated Secrets was legislated in 2013, was revised the Three Principles on Exporting Weapons to the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment in 2014, and was installed the Cabinet Offices Personnel Bureau in 2015, which has resulted in a hotbed where the premier remains uncriticized by his fellows. In 2014, his cabinet made a decision to approve the right of collective self-defense and in 2015 the government enacted the Laws on National Security to Execute the Right of Collective Self-defense (=Laws on War), and in 2017 his administration legalized a notorious act to respond to ‘crime on conspiracy’.
Scandals are numerous around him, including schools of the Moritomo and the Kakei and the parties to enjoy cherry-blossoms. As for the Moritomo School, the plot of land for its construction was sold with a discounted price by 800 million yen as the site had been state-owned.
In order to conceal the fact, the official documents were altered and false descriptions were made, which led to a suicide of an official of the Financial Bureau of the Kinki Region, Mr. Akagi Toshio. The suspicion on establishing a veterinarian faculty in the Kakei School remains yet uncleared.
In 2019, in addition, suspicions emerged over the parties to enjoy cherry-blossoms. Mr. Abe invited many of his supporters to the official events, which spend tax money, taking advantage of the festivals for his own sake. On the eves of the spring event, his followers had enjoyed a discounted payment for meals at the hotels, which was disclosed to be violation of the Law on Public Office.
We cannot close his vice and dubiety in exchange of his tragic demise.
安倍内閣は20年９月に総辞職した。第一次を含めた在任期間は３１８８日、憲政史上最長となった。長期政権下、どのような「罪」を重ねたか振り返る。
歪んだ歴史観で
第二次内閣は、「アベノミクス・３本の矢」と「戦後レジームからの脱却」を標榜し、憲法や行政システムの見直しを掲げた。アベノミクスは、雇用と賃金を改善できず、岸田現政権に至るも賃金は上がらず、四半世紀も先進国で最低だ。
元首相はまた、歴代で最多の外遊をこなしたが、中国、韓国、朝鮮、ロシアと関係打開はできなかった。その要因は元首相や自民党の歪んだ歴史認識と外交姿勢にあった。
一方で日米同盟を「アジア安保」に拡大し、米国の要求のままに高額兵器を爆買いし、沖縄辺野古新基地建設、南西諸島の軍事化を強行した。また、核兵器禁止条約への不参加、原発再稼働など反動的姿勢を通した。
憲法破壊の数々
内政では、消費税を14年４月に５％から８％、19年10月には8％から10％に上げた。
また、憲法と相容れない悪法を数々強行した。第一次内閣では教育基本法改悪、防衛庁の省昇格。
第二次内閣では13年特定秘密保護法、２０１４年「武器輸出三原則」を「防衛装備移転三原則」に改悪、15 年に内閣人事局を発足させ、忖度政治の温床を作った。14年には集団的自衛権容認の閣議決定、15年集団的自衛権行使のための安全保障関連法（ 戦争法）、17年は悪名高い「共謀罪」法だ。
「森友・加計」や「桜を見る会」など、元首相自身にまつわる数々の「疑惑」も残された。森友学園建設予定地の国有地が、なぜ約８億円も値引きされたのか。
疑惑隠ぺいのための文書改ざん、虚偽答弁が行われたことによって近畿財務局の赤木俊夫さんの自死があった。学校法人「加計学園」の獣医学部新設を巡る疑惑もある。
さらに19年には首相が主催する「桜を見る会」の疑惑が浮上した。血税を使った公の場に元首相自身の後援会会員を多数招き、「桜を見る会」を私物化した。その前夜祭でのホテルの飲食代金の値引きは公選法違反の疑いが指摘された。
元首相の死去で、悪政と疑惑の幕引きは許されない。
英訳版↓
No. 1268 Assassination of Former Prime Minister
During the election campaign for the House of Councilors on the streets, former Premier Abe Shinzo was shot to death in the city of Nara. Here we extend sincere condolence, condemning the shooting as a violent act to challenge democracy. We firmly remember, however, the illicit records as well as darkness that Abe’s politics has brought in to our lives.
DARK LEGACIES AND SUSPICIONS ARE LEFT INTACT
The Abe cabinet dissolved in September 2020. He served as prime minister for 3,188 days, including his previous term, which records the longest in the history of parliamentary system of the country. Let’s look back the misconducts we have seen during the extensive reign.
Distorted view on history
In his second-round cabinet the former premier proclaimed his policies, called the Abenomics and Three Arrows, and emphasized to get free from the political scheme formulated after the WWII; he claimed to review thoroughly the Constitution and the administrative system. But the Abenomics economic package has failed in improving the employment and wage issue, which remains unsolved even today under the Kishida government. The wage level is the lowest of the industrially advanced nations for the past 25 years.
Former Premier Abe has made an extensive tour to many foreign countries, but he could not break through the stumbling blocks lying with China, Republic of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Russia. Reasons for the fiasco are attributable to the distorted idea on history embraced by him and his party, the Liberal Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, his administration expanded the US-Japan Alliance further to the whole range of Asia, purchasing a lot of expensive US arms, building a new US base in Henoko, Okinawa, and militarizing the islands in the Southwestern region of the archipelago against the will of people. Concerning the nuclear issue, he maintained his reactionary stance, not joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and at the same time he ordered to restart nuclear power plants in the country.
Many attempts to destroy Constitution
As for the internal affairs, the consumption tax rate was surged from 5% to 8% in April 2014, and from 8% to 10% in October 2019.
Ex-premier introduced a series of laws which violate the constitutional principles; during his first-round administration he revised the Fundamental Law on Education and inaugurated the Ministry of Defense, ranking up its agency-status.
During his second-round administration, the Act on Protection of Specially Designated Secrets was legislated in 2013, was revised the Three Principles on Exporting Weapons to the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment in 2014, and was installed the Cabinet Offices Personnel Bureau in 2015, which has resulted in a hotbed where the premier remains uncriticized by his fellows. In 2014, his cabinet made a decision to approve the right of collective self-defense and in 2015 the government enacted the Laws on National Security to Execute the Right of Collective Self-defense (=Laws on War), and in 2017 his administration legalized a notorious act to respond to ‘crime on conspiracy’.
Scandals are numerous around him, including schools of the Moritomo and the Kakei and the parties to enjoy cherry-blossoms. As for the Moritomo School, the plot of land for its construction was sold with a discounted price by 800 million yen as the site had been state-owned.
In order to conceal the fact, the official documents were altered and false descriptions were made, which led to a suicide of an official of the Financial Bureau of the Kinki Region, Mr. Akagi Toshio. The suspicion on establishing a veterinarian faculty in the Kakei School remains yet uncleared.
In 2019, in addition, suspicions emerged over the parties to enjoy cherry-blossoms. Mr. Abe invited many of his supporters to the official events, which spend tax money, taking advantage of the festivals for his own sake. On the eves of the spring event, his followers had enjoyed a discounted payment for meals at the hotels, which was disclosed to be violation of the Law on Public Office.
We cannot close his vice and dubiety in exchange of his tragic demise.
July 27, 2022