A growing deficit, a spat with Washington, a campaign finance investigation and broken promises: Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s first 100 days in office in Japan have been anything but smooth.
Four months after a landslide election victory swept aside a half-century of virtual one-party rule, Mr. Hatoyama’s agenda for a new Japan is under threat amid policy missteps and the harsh realities facing Japan, which has the world’s second largest economy. Further complicating his work is a vocal fringe party in his coalition that is at odds with Mr. Hatoyama over government spending plans and debt.
“Mr. Hatoyama needs to regain control. He is letting the tail wag the dog,” said Noriko Hama, professor of economics at the Doshisha Graduate School of Business in Kyoto. “Japan’s economy could backslide.”
Mr. Hatoyama’s Democratic Party rode to power on a promise to end pork-barrel spending on public works projects championed by the long-ruling Liberal Democrats and divert the money to tax cuts and subsidies that would bolster household incomes.
Read Full Article »