Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has bold ambitions. She wants to put Japan¡¯s moribund economy back on a permanent, stable growth path. She wants to complete the international rejuvenation project for the country that was promoted by her mentor, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. And she wants to build an enduring political coalition that will allow her and her ruling Liberal Democratic Party to stay in power and accomplish those goals and more.
The prime minister is a hard worker and has won plaudits for her efforts. Nevertheless, she has been frustrated in the realization of those objectives, and her domestic approval is falling. She has been impeded by developments domestic and foreign, many of which she can little affect, but that is the fate of all national leaders. More troubling are her priorities; she has focused in recent weeks on issues that are secondary to her main goals and for which she was not elected. The prime minister must reassess her agenda and return to the issues that won her support.
Japanese, like citizens around the world, are being hammered by rising energy prices, which fuel inflation more generally throughout the economy. The government acknowledges the pain that is being imposed and says that relief is a priority. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara explained that ¡°we will do everything possible in our economic and fiscal management to ensure that (the situation in the Middle East) does not adversely affect people¡¯s livelihoods or economic activity.¡±
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