The 47th general election of the Japanese House of Representatives was held December 14 and led to the re-election of the Liberal Democratic Party-led (LDP) administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Ahead of the election, the ruling LDP set out its policies around economic revitalization for Japan’s cities and regions, which are detailed below:
Growth Strategy
Further expansion of the positive economic cycle to every community by swift implementation of the Japan Revitalization Strategy:
• Corporate tax reform: reducing the corporate tax rate to 20s in several years
• Creation of environment toward private-led economy: drilling the bedrock regulations in two years and expansion of the National Strategic Special Zones
• Legal support to real estate industry, stimulation of investment, promotion of residential reform and used-housing industry
• Enhancement of corporate governance
• Construction of no.1 monetary market in Asia
• Necessary measures to be considered and taken on growth money and safety net money
• Comprehensive measures to stimulate industrial metabolism and acceleration of ventures
• R&D enhancement, human resource, matching of industry-university-government, etc.
• Tourism, Cool Japan strategy, International Relations
• Disaster-resilience
• Formation of high-speed railway networks including Shinkansen and linear car, container ports, enhancement of the Haneda and Narita airports, etc.
• Local revitalization in which local governments play the main role (decentralization reform, correction of financial gaps, compact city, etc.)
• Local revitalization through regulatory reform, creation of local employment and industry
• Revitalization of agriculture emphasizing local originalities and resources
• Comprehensive support to management of construction, transport and shipbuilding industries which carry out the local economy
• Agriculture to be transformed to growth industry, doubling income of farmers and villages through deceasing production cost and expanding size, utilization of robots and computers, branding, etc.
(source: https://special.jimin.jp/political_promise/bank/index.html)
The Government of Japan has since published proposals for the revitalization of regional areas, following two Acts passed in November to promote regional revitalization and guard against over-concentration of populations in metropolitan areas.
