The Mori Government Should Take up Three of Former Prime Minister Obuchi's Policies
Prime Minister Mori has claimed to have consistently followed the politics of the late Keizo Obuchi since taking office. However, this expression was simply picked up by the mass media and there was not enough discussion about the policies to be adopted. The late Prime Minister Obuchi provided the opportunity to discuss policy by setting up the Economic Strategy Council, the Industrial Competitiveness Council and the Commission on Japan's Goals in the 21st Century, among others, and considering the results of the deliberations by these committees, the following two Obuchi policies to be taken up emerge.
The first is emergence from the critical situation of 1998 and overcoming the confidence crisis. Once a crisis arises, there is nothing the government can do except invest money regardless of how it looks. The purpose of the policies pursued by the Obuchi government, such as public investment in banks, economic measures and zero interest, was to prevent the occurrence of such a "crisis."
The second is promoting reactive restructuring. In other words, the Obuchi government hammered out various policies aimed at getting rid of the three excesses, equipment, debt and employment, burdening the Japanese economy.
And thirdly, the Obuchi government attempted to carry out proactive restructuring aimed at broad structural reform to create a 21st century economy and society, as symbolized by the response to the IT revolution. The need for broad reforms, such as deregulation, pension reform and sound finance, is emphasized in the proposals of the Economic Strategy Council and the Commission on Japan's Goals in the 21st Century.
