Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has come under fire on his Facebook page for a 40,000 yen [approx. $400] shopping spree that was intended to demonstrate that he was still in touch with the concerns of the electorate following a 3% consumption tax rise.
Earlier this month, the government announced that consumption tax, which is generally low in Japan, would go up from 5% to 8%, meaning that for most ordinary people, the 100 Yen Shop will now charge you 108 yen per purchase. But it equally indicated that life would become more expensive, and thus it was –understandably — not a popular move.
When Abe posted about his spring stop-off at the Mitsukoshi department store, some Facebook commenters pointed out that what Abe spent in one day is what most people have to spend on food in a month, while others praised his attempts to really determine how the increase in consumption tax feels for Japanese consumers.
What do you think? Is Abe out of touch? Or is he doing all he can to stimulate the economy?
From Facebook:
安倍晋三[Abe Shinzo]:
Yesterday, enticed by the cherry blossoms and the weather, I went out shopping to Mitsukoshi in Nihonbashi for the first time in a while.
When the 3% consumption tax was introduced in the first year of Heisei [1989], Prime Minister Takeshita also went out to Mitsukoshi, and spent 15,000 yen on ties, paying 450 yen in consumption tax.
I spent 40,000 yen on shoes, books, tsukudani, and some yoghurt, and paid 2,958 yen in consumption tax.
Consumption tax has gone up a lot, from 3% back then, to 5% and now 8%. But the recent rise will be used to make support for those raising children a reality, as well as for the social security payments that are to be extended.
The books in the photo I posted are by the economists, who I met sometime ago, who I had extremely interesting conversations with. Therefore I purchase the books of the three whose work was available at the store (Shimanaka Yuji, Nagahama Toshihiro, and Harada Yutaka)
From Ameba News:
Debate Breaks Out On Prime Minister Abe’s Facebook Page After He Says He Spent 40,000 Yen
Abe Shinzo reported on Facebook that he had spent around 40,000 yen on shopping at the Mistukoshi department store in Nihonbashi, and had paid 2,958 yen in consumption tax. Mr. Abe mentioned that when the 3% consumption tax had been introduced, the then Prime Minister Takeshita Noboru had purchased a necktie for 15,000 yen. It appears that Mr. Abe himself bought shoes, books, tsukudani and yoghurt.
He bought three books, which were: “From Here On Japan’s Four Business Cycles Will Overlap”, “The Real Way To Use Economic Indicators As Taught By Economists”, and “Japan’s Economy Is Ignoring Its Young People”.
In response, a lot of comments were posted in the comment section beneath the Prime Minister’s status. The comments column was very active, and there were some who expressed anger, saying things like “Umm, 40,000 yen is usually about what we’d spend on food in an entire month…”. But there were also those who argued the opposite, saying things like “Because of a little 8% consumption tax, people are saying stuff like ‘life’s hard’ and ‘I can’t manage’, and it’s really difficult to see all these grudges and hard feelings from people just because the PM spent 40,000 yen on shopping”.
Comments from Ameba News:
はせっちさん:
These stupid politicians who ask a nation’s Prime Minister what the price of cup noodles are and how much a radish costs are just pathetic. What the hell kind of job do they think the leader of the cabinet is?
、さん:
They’re being so picky about a 40,000 yen shopping trip 笑
俊彦さん:
Actually, you rich bastards need to spend your money. The PM’s shopping is still pretty cheap.
うるふっち ♂さん:
He’s being slated for some cheap shopping, being slated because if you spend 40,000 yen on a shopping trip then that’s the same as you’d spend on a month’s food…would it be weirder if this country’s top people were only buying small things? To a certain extent by going shopping he can really feel for himself that the consumption tax has gone up, all that’s happened is that something that costs a hundred yen has gone up from 105 to 108 yen, the comments are pointless. I feel sorry for the Prime Minister of Japan.
AKLさん:
I wonder if these people with their whining fault-finding are longing for the days for the DPJ’s strong yen policies, that drove business away from Japan, saw salaries fall and work disappear? If the are, then they clearly have some issues with intelligence.
Zeldaさん:
The obligation of the rich is to use their money on general consumption. It’s not to use their money in financial investments and stuff like that. Because if they do use money for that, then it never directly circulates in the market. The money also doesn’t directly circulate in businesses just because their accounts fluctuate, either. If they’re selling share they own in a company, then it’s a different matter, but if they sell them in an unskillful way, then share prices will fall, the proportion of shares owned will fall, and then there’ll be the danger that they’ll be bought out. Well, no matter what, I personally think this kind of thing is not investment but gambling anyway.
貧乏暇無さん:
If I ever become the kind of person who can spend 40,000 yen on shopping, wouldn’t that be a good thing? Abe can’t just go out shopping whenever he wants, so didn’t he just go out and buy everything together when he had the time?
aero （指圧の心・母心ｗｗｗ）さん:
Stupid shitty media is bullying the PM www
陽太さん:
Well, he bought them with secret cabinet funds, so Abe’s pocket wasn’t hurt a bit! I guess he was attempting to appeal to the common people, but I suppose Abe just doesn’t get the fact that for some people 40,000 yen is all they have to spend in a month! If he wants to appeal to the common people, then he should listen to first-hand accounts from people in Tokyo’s Shitamachi shopping street and small/medium business owners!
てｌ－ださん:
If I had 40,000 yen, the first things I’d buy would be taiyaki and a dog kennel.
Takeshi，（アメパト仕様bigboss）さん:
I guess that those people who can only think of something to pick on Abe about get upset about the fact that the Prime Minister doesn’t live the same lives as common people, huh? It’s absurd ┐(￣ヘ￣）┌
魔導師さん:
Isn’t it great that he spent 40,000 yen? (・∀・) That’s exactly what a deflation strategy should be! As people spend money, the economy is stimulated, business profits increase, and in the end this links to an increase in our income. Those who criticise what the PM has bought should recognise that they are just spurring on a deepening deflation and the increasing poverty of the Japanese people. They should be ashamed of themselves.
オペラ座のエリックさん:
It’s only reasonable. And those who use Facebook make their comments after revealing their real names, so they have gravitas…
