Abenomics und die japanische Sozialpolitik

Zusammenfassung

In December 2012, Shinzo Abe was elected Prime Minister and started his second term of office. A few years later, he has lost much of his popularity. Even the spokesperson of his cabinet can’t help but admit that Abe’s economic policy (Abenomics) has failed to end the deflation. The number of employed workers has risen, but at the same time poverty has also increased. The article discusses how the social policy of Abenomics has influenced recent developments. It starts with a sketch of Abenomics and its criticism in the (rather conservative) mass media, followed by a short description of the trickle-down theory which serves as the premise for Abenomics. The subsequent paragraphs analyze recent changes in income and the labor market as well as developments in poverty. It concludes that the social policy of the Abe cabinet has turned out to be quite ineffective. Nonetheless, there is some hope for a gradual change in society, since people have started to realize that they can’t expect help from the government, and that they have to look for alternative measures to stop inequalities and poverty from growing.