Team Takaichi with Abe's Allies

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi identifies herself as a successor of former Premier Shinzo Abe. Her choice of staffs in the Prime Minister’s Office reflects her loyalty to Abe. So what kind of policies does Takaichi follow form former Abe administration? It is likely that she hopes to promote active governmental spendings, which was Abe’s typical economic policy called Abenomics, and engagement with security in Asia-Pacific region.

Takaichi appointed Takaya Imai to a Special Advisor to the Cabinet. Imai was an officer in Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and a secretary of prime minister Abe in his first and second term. Backed by Abe’s strong grip on the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Imai exercised his influence on ministries to promote Abe’s policies.

 

Abenomics was a mixture of economic policies with increase of spendings to provide governmental money into the market, depreciation of Japanese yen to encourage Japanese exporters and growth-oriented measures for business sector. Although Ministry of Finance (MOF) was reluctant to excessive spendings, concerning exacerbation of fiscal balance, Abe put priority on encouraging business which was preferable for METI.

 

Imai was an influential advisor for Abe to promote Abenomics. Abe’s position as a hardliner against MOF could have reflected rivalry between METI, which Imai had been affiliated to, and MOF. Imai was also involved in Abe’s diplomacy toward Russia, in which Japan tried to make progress in Northern Territory issue with leverage of economic cooperation. Based on that idea, Abe made a concession from returning four islands of the Northern Territory to two. The strategy taken beyond Ministry for Foreign Affairs failed with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denial of Japan‘s idea to return the Russian-occupied islands.

 

Takaichi’s pick may not mean revival of those economic and diplomatic policies. Different from the time of Abe administration, the problem of Japan is not about deflation, but price inflation. Caught in the war with Ukraine, Russia is not in a situation to have a negotiation with Japan. It is likely that Takaichi tried to rely on Imai’s skill to deal with relationship between ministries of the government.

 

Takaichi also appointed Keiichi Ichikawa to Secretary General of National Security Secretariat, replacing his predecessor with only nine-month appointment. Ichikawa is known as a coordinator in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on Abe’s diplomatic concept: Free and Open Asia-Pacific to counter China’s advance to the region. Takaichi overturned Ichikawa’s appointment to the Ambassador to Indonesia, even after the Emperor had approved that appointment.

 

Takaichi’s reliance on legacy of Abe indicates lack of self-confidence in running a government. She invited a staff of LDP headquarters, who had been the secretariat of her when she was LDP policy chief. The first Abe cabinet established in 2006 was called “Cabinet of Friends.” It is not sure, anyway, that Takaichi was forming her team with her friends with admiration for Abe.

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