政治の停滞は粗悪な政策を通じて長期的停滞を招く：2024年6月16日（日）
日本の第213回通常国会は今年の1月26日に召集された。会期は残り1週間となり，6月23日で終わる予定である。150日間である。私は，政府を擁護して生業とする御用学者ではないし，反政府の学者でもない。距離を置いて，バイアスが掛からないように，なるべく中立の学問的立場を意識して，私個人の意見を率直に述べさせていただきたい。
1. 岸田政権の強みは外交政策につきる。国際政治における日本のプレゼンスは，ようやく日本の経済力に見合う程度になった。これは，ひとえに岸田首相・政権閣僚と首脳陣の力量によるところが大きい。
２．国際政治における日本のプレゼンスの挽回は，逆に，日本の国力を超えた貢献を狙うがあまり，日本の国益に無関係な外交政策のアジェンダが増えた。さらに，国際政治において覇権を弱めた米国への隷属化がいっそう顕著である。
３．日本国内の経済財政金融政策は支離滅裂である。代表的な例を挙げると次の点である。円安放置の金利為替政策，石油元売り会社への脱炭素業態転換のための実質的な資金援助であるガソリン補助金の出口戦略のない継続放置，電力料金の補助金縮小・再エネ賦課金値上げ，意味のない定額減税，賃上げが進む大企業と賃上げができない中小企業との所得格差拡大と社会全体の実質賃金の低下，本質的問題の無検討と具体的対策なしで，言葉遊びで対処しようとする少子化対策，教育無償化を進める自治体と教育無償化を進めることのできない自治体との地域格差の拡大，などなどである。
４．岸田政権では，政治とカネの問題を解決できず，国民の政治不信と諦めが決定的な状況となっている。大多数の国民が政治資金規正法の改正の内容に唖然としている。
国民の政治不信と政治への無関心は，いまの通常国会で決まった粗悪な政策を通じて，日本の経済社会への悪影響を長期的に与えることとなり，長期的停滞の元凶となる可能性すらあることを申し述べておきたい。
Political Stagnation Leads to Long-Term Stagnation Through Poor Policy：June 16th (Sunday)
Japan's 213th Ordinary Diet Session was convened on January 26 of this year, and with one week remaining, it is scheduled to end on June 23. It lasts for 150 days. I am neither a government-supporting scholar who makes a living by defending the government nor an anti-government scholar. Keeping my distance and striving to remain unbiased, I would like to express my personal opinion as frankly as possible from a neutral academic standpoint.
The strength of the Kishida administration lies solely in its foreign policy. Japan's presence in international politics has finally risen to a level commensurate with its economic power. This is largely due to the capabilities of Prime Minister Kishida, his cabinet ministers, and their leadership team.
However, the regained presence of Japan in international politics has, conversely, led to an increase in diplomatic agenda items unrelated to Japan's national interests, as Japan aims to contribute beyond its national power. Furthermore, Japan's subservience to the United States, whose hegemony has weakened in international politics, has become even more pronounced.
Japan's domestic economic, fiscal, and financial policies are incoherent. Representative examples include the following points: the laissez-faire interest rate and exchange rate policy leading to yen depreciation, the ongoing and unstrategized continuation of gasoline subsidies, which are essentially financial aid for the decarbonization transformation of petroleum wholesalers, the reduction of electricity subsidies and the increase of renewable energy surcharges, meaningless flat-rate tax cuts, the widening income gap between large corporations that can raise wages and small and medium-sized enterprises that cannot, resulting in an overall decline in real wages across society, superficial and rhetoric-based measures for addressing the declining birthrate without examining the fundamental issues and without concrete strategies, and the widening regional disparities between municipalities that can promote free education and those that cannot, among others.
Under the Kishida administration, the issue of money in politics remains unresolved, leading to a decisive situation of public distrust and disillusionment with politics. The majority of the public is astonished by the content of the amendments to the Political Funds Control Act.
I would like to point out that the public's distrust and apathy towards politics will, through the poor policies decided in this current Ordinary Diet Session, have long-term negative impacts on Japan's economic and social spheres, potentially becoming the root cause of long-term stagnation.