Current location:style >>
VOX POPULI: Leadership skills of the past are missing in the politics of today
style29People have gathered around
IntroductionU.S. economist Joseph Dodge (1890-1964) arrived in occupied Japan in 1949 as the financial adviser t ...
U.S. economist Joseph Dodge (1890-1964) arrived in occupied Japan in 1949 as the financial adviser to the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.
Tasked with implementing postwar economic stabilization programs, which came to be known as the Dodge Line, he stated during a news conference on March 7 of 75 years ago that Japan’s economy had been standing on stilts.
Noting that the pair of stilts consisted of U.S. aid and Japanese government subsidies, Dodge called for a super-balanced budget policy.
In the immediate postwar era, Japan was supported by massive amounts of U.S. aid that far exceeded its own annual budget.
And Japanese government subsidies were used to pay the difference generated by export import controls.
Dodge insisted that the only way to curb Japan’s hyperinflation was to lop off those “stilts.”
This seriously alarmed the then-Democratic Liberal Party (Minshu Jiyu-to) Cabinet of Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida (1878-1967), who had just won the general election of January 1949 by a landslide after pledging massive tax cuts.
Implementing an austerity policy would constitute an outright breach of the party’s election pledge.
His finance minister, Hayato Ikeda (1899-1965), was in a bind.
He held repeated negotiations with Dodge, hoping, at least, to carry out partial tax cuts.
But the budget outlook could not have been more different from what the party had pledged, and intraparty dissatisfaction erupted.
At one point, Ikeda was said to have been prepared to step down.
Ultimately, Yoshida basically “shut everyone up and got the budget approved,” recalled former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa (1919-2007) in his memoir.
Miyazawa was Ikeda’s policy aide at the time.
The drastic budget-balancing “remedy” served to bring the nation’s hyperinflation under control, but it also caused severe side effects.
A great number of small and midsize enterprises went belly-up, and many workers were let go around the nation in what came to be called the “Dodge recession.”
In July 1950, the stock average plummeted to 85.25, the lowest level ever.
And on March 4 this year, the Nikkei stock average topped 40,000 for the first time.
The nation’s “stilts” economy is a thing of a long-past era, but I feel uneasy.
Perhaps that’s because I don’t see any politician today agonizing over the weight of their election pledge or asserting leadership to forge party unity.
--The Asahi Shimbun, March 5
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Culture Canvas news portal”。http://holyseevaticancity.soorot.com/news-7b599983.html
Related articles
The unstoppable duo of Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos
styleCANNES, France (AP) — Before a journalist has even lobbed a question, Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimo ...
【style】
Read moreEscape the ordinary: Top 10 irresistible spring travel tips, from sun
styleGet ready to explore hidden gems, uncover off-the-beaten-path treasures, and indulge in unforgettabl ...
【style】
Read moreFirst Chinese scientist to publish COVID
styleBEIJING (AP) — The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China said he was ...
【style】
Read more
Popular articles
- Russian theater director and playwright go on trial over a play authorities say justifies terrorism
- Escape the ordinary: Top 10 irresistible spring travel tips, from sun
- Darvish earns 1st win of season and Machado hits 3
- Eva Mendes gushes over 'my Cuban Papi' Ryan Gosling after he wears T
- Fresh heartache for cancer
- What to stream this week: Dua Lipa, Seinfeld’s ‘Unfrosted’ and ‘Welcome to Wrexham’
Latest articles
Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf is spotted on the streets of Gavin and Stacey's hometown Barry
Delaware judge refuses to fast
17th Chinese Bridge language competition held in Bulgaria
Stalking: State Of Fear review
Kevin Pillar gets 1,000th career hit in Angels' win at Texas
We shall slight them on the beaches! Cafe on Normandy's Omaha beach stormed by the Allies during D
LINKS
- The Piano review: This show's standout performer? A romantic OAP with dementia, writes ROLAND WHITE
- Jelly Roll rocks the stage during his Stagecoach debut and invites T
- Putin calls for de
- A Place in the Sun's Jasmine Harman still struggles to talk about her friend and co
- Hamas announces openness to any proposals for a permanent ceasefire
- China, Thailand to cooperate in lunar exploration missions
- Israeli FM says 'will suspend' Rafah operation if hostage deal reached: Media
- No casualties reported in Russian city of Orsk after dam breach
- China, Thailand to cooperate in lunar exploration missions
- Russia says Moscow terror attack suspects planned to flee to Kiev for reward