Welcome President Obama to the Philippines, we need more investments & trade, not just arms & alms

Welcome Pres. Obama, we need more investments & trade, not just arms & alms

I'm inspired by the people I meet in my travels--hearing their stories, seeing the hardships they overcome, their fundamental optimism and decency…They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. --- Barack Obama

            Welcome to the intellectually brilliant, eloquent and well-intentioned U.S. President Barack Obama to Asia’s most fun-loving country the Philippines. I urge Obama to please prioritize promoting more American investments, trade and tourism here, not just rosy speeches and effusive photo-ops, not just free U.S. military access to our archipelago, not just aid, not just more sales of military weapons.

It is sad that not many of our politicians realize that the true bulwark of national security and the best foundation for our democracy is a vibrant, self-reliant and globally-competitive Philippine economy, not just more new warplanes or ships.

Image above of President Barack Obama sourced from en.wikipedia.org

            President Obama’s desire for a strategic pivot (or “rebalance”, as the White House has seemingly renamed it after supposed panic and complaints from close allies in the Middle East and Europe) to Asia should hopefully be more vigorous economically, not just on the diplomatic, military and political aspects.

Help nudge our leaders to push economic democracy

I hope pro-poor President Obama can nudge our political leaders to push more decisive socio-economic reforms such as a Theodore Roosevelt-style anti-trust law and Senator Grace Poe’s Freedom of Information (FOI) bill. How can our economy be truly dynamic if it is agriculturally semi-feudal and industrially oligopolistic?

Also, on April 22---Earth Day, ecological champion Senator Loren Legarda and director Brillante Mendoza launched a riveting documentary on the destruction of the priceless marine biodiversity in our many coastal areas where millions of the rural poor live. I urge Obama to give technological and financial aid to our environmental projects, especially since logging, mining and other huge extraction of our natural resources grew under U.S. colonial rule and mostly by the multinationals.

Despite the gitzy malls and many new condominiums in our cities, we in Philippine society still have a long way to go economically. True, we’re politically an American-style constitutional democracy, but not yet an economic democracy.

In fact, it was a tragedy that U.S. colonizers had failed to implement agrarian reform and end feudalism in the Philippines the same way they did in postwar Japan under General Douglas MacArthur. I recall reading that MacArthur once even said that if he were a Filipino, he’d most likely have been a Huk rebel in the 1950s.

True, we’ve enjoyed investment-grade ratings upgrades and high economic growth rates, but the benefits have not yet trickled down fast enough. The small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) are still not yet very energized. I hope the civil libertarian Obama can nudge our leaders to push inclusive economic growth and help make the Philippines a true economic democracy with a broad-based middle-class.

U.S. once helped build up Philippine economy to No. 2 in Asia

Image above of USA and Philippine flags sourced from finestflags.com

Before at the residence of then U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney, I told her that in our ethnic Chinese family’s over two centuries here in the Philippines---including the Spanish colonial era, the brief interlude of Japanese military occupation and the post-war decades of independence---family elders say that the half-century American colonial period witnessed the rise of the Philippines into Asia’s second richest and most developed economy. Can the U.S. again more vigorously support the Philippine economy with preferential import tariffs, more investments and tourism?

            This need for stronger U.S. economic engagement with Asia should hopefully be uppermost in the agenda and priorities of Obama during his trip. We in the Philippines have received the least amount of economic aid, investments and trade from the U.S. compared to the three Asian countries Obama is visiting such as America’s former World War II foe Japan, South Korea and even Malaysia which used to be led by harsh U.S. critic ex-Prime Minister Mahathir.

More USA investments & trade with ex-foe Vietnam than ally Philippines

Image above of overlapping USA and Vietnam flags sourced from flamenkitaviajera.com

Even Vietnam, another war foe which even dealt the United States its first ever military defeat in history, has in recent years amazingly received more American investments, aid, trade and tourists than we here in the Philippines despite our “special relations”, our being the only former U.S. colony in Asia, our being staunchest U.S. ally since World War II, our fluency in American-style English as well as our having better U.S.-style legal and accounting systems here.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Manila: “The United States is among the Philippines’ top trading partners, and it traditionally has been the Philippines’ largest foreign investor… The stock of U.S. foreign direct investment in the Philippines exceeded $5 billion.”

In January this year, a firm identified with America’s prominent Rockefeller family announced a massive new investment in Vietnam. Rose Rock Group, a Rockefeller family-backed alternative investment management firm, said it shall help develop a $2.5 billion residential and hotel project in on the south-central coast of Vietnam.

This Vung Ro Bay development shall cover 200,000 square meters (2.15 million square feet) and to be developed with Vung Ro Petroleum Co. This huge undertaking will include 350 marina berths, hotels of over 760 rooms, 4,300 residential apartments, 100 townhouses and retail shops.

            On bilateral trade, the U.S. Embassy in Manila said: “The Philippines was the United States’ 33rd largest export market in 2012 and its 35th largest supplier. Goods exports totalled $8.1 billion; goods imports totalled $9.6 billion.” Two-way trade between theU.S. and the Philippines totalled US$17.6 billion. In comparison, bilateral trade volume between former enemies U.S. and Vietnam in the same year 2012 totalled US$ 24.890 billion dollars.

            President Barack Obama, let us substantially expand bilateral economic relations between the Philippines and the U.S. and help in our war against poverty.

Shameless & continuous corruption! Archbishop Soc Villegas correct in criticizing immoral, corrupt mis-use of "pork barrel" by our many politicians in the Philippines!

I admire Archbishop Socrates "Soc" B. Villegas and his courageous stand against the shameless misuse of the "pork barrel" by many of our politicians in the Philippines, not only now, but ever since before.

When will systemic, institutional, cultural and far-reaching reforms happen beyond rhetoric, nice speeches?

Image below of Arhbishop Soc Villegas, sourced from lingayen-dagupan.org

 

Let us read the public statement issues by Archbishop Villegas just today, July 29, 2013 and share to others via social media?

PORK BARREL, STEWARDSHIP AND THE POOR
The Morality of the Pork Barrel

Many of you, our Catholic faithful, have come to us your pastors seeking our moral guidance on the issue of the pork barrel. It is the object of an ongoing investigation due to accusations of corruption being hurled against some of our public officials. But even before the recent expose, the pork barrel has long had a bad reputation. How many traditional politicians have run and overspent and even killed for the sake of millions they will get as pork barrel once elected?

We your Church pastors are not politicians. We are not lawyers. We are not socio-economic planners and strategists. Our realm is religious and the arena where we operate is spiritual and moral. From the ethical and moral perspectives, therefore, we offer you these guidelines.

The separation of Church and State does not prohibit moral ethical values from influencing public policies. If governance were conducted from a platform that disregards ethics and morality, we only expose our nation to greater peril. We have only ourselves to blame and we make ourselves the victims of our own amoral conduct.

PRO POOR OR PRO POLITICIAN…

In theory, the Priority Development Assistance Fund is an attempt to make government projects available to the poor and the marginalized sectors of society who are not sufficiently attended to when the national priorities are defined. In theory it is pro-poor and pro-marginalized. Its goal is to alleviate poverty and to bring about a redistribution of public money for the benefit of the poor. And we would like to affirm those who have indeed used every peso entrusted to them to support genuine projects for the poor, even to the point of spending their own money to respond to the needy. 

In reality, however, the pork barrel has been used by some elected representatives in Congress to prove to their constituents that they are concretely doing something for their welfare. In fact, it is not uncommon to refer to projects funded from the pork barrel fund as “Projects of Congressman X” giving the impression that this is personal money and not public fund. Epal has become so common that some of us are not disturbed by those billboards anymore.  

In many instances, the pork barrel has become like a “discretionary fund” of elected Representatives. In theory, it is for the development of the poor and the far. In reality, it has served to strengthen the clutch of politicians to power. 

But before we rush to pass judgment on our legislators who avail of the pork barrel, it would be opportune for us citizens to search our souls and ask “What have I done to contribute to this?”

In reality, we ordinary citizens partake of the bounty of the “discretionary funds” by asking our government officials to help our personal needs, family concerns, barangay projects or even Church fiestas.

Let us make it our rule of life when we relate to politicians “Walang hihingi!” Every time we ask our politicians for monetary help, we tempt them to dig into the pork barrel coffers or jueteng chests to accommodate our request.

STEWARDSHIP NOT PATRONAGE…

Public service is public trust. When we elect our Representatives in Congress, we elect them to make laws to make our nation a better nation. The task that we entrust to the legislators is clearly legislation. They are trustees of the citizens for lawmaking. 

The task of building infrastructure and providing social services is the responsibility of the executive branch of government. Its stewardship function is infrastructure building and social services. In theory, the Chief Executive has control of the disposition of these funds. In law and practice, the Chief Executive controls the release of the pork barrel to legislators. The consequence is the President can put pressure on legislators to toe his political line. The independence of Congress is compromised. 

Filipino voters become “grateful” beneficiaries of legislators whom they expect to give them something when they need. Legislators in turn become “thankful” recipients of the largess of pork barrel whose release the Executive has control. Politics of patronage not stewardship cascades from top to bottom.

Public governance is stewardship but the pork barrel has made public governance a system of patronage. Stewardship liberates and uplifts. Patronage enslaves and insults.

One of the basic rules that make stewardship functional is transparency and accountability. Under no circumstances must transparency be excused and accountability ignored.
OUR MORAL OPTIONS…

For the Church… Church based organizations and institutions must make it our mantra in relation to politicians “Walang hihingi!” 

We in Church can contribute to the corruption by grabbing a piece of the pie through our solicitations from government officials—from candles to basketball uniforms to bags of cement to government bulldozers. We tempt the public officials to get money from jueteng or the pork barrel in order to accommodate us. Walang hihingi!

We who are stewards of the materials goods of the Church must be transparent in our fund raising projects. We must prepare our accounting reports of how Church funds are disbursed insuring all the time that the principle of accountability is observed. When we are less than transparent in our accounting, we hurt the truth. Ang sinungaling ay kapatid ng magnanakaw.

For the Government…

On the part of government, for the sake of sound stewardship of public money, it is imperative that those who approve the budget are distinct and separate from those who implement the projects. The present system is very vulnerable to conflict of interest, parochialism and corruption in the selection of suppliers and the bidding of contracts.

Let the legislators legislate and the executives execute. 

In order to protect the national and local executives from the temptation of corrupting public money, the Commission on Audit must do its mandated duty with strength of will, vigilance and diligence. This is ethical public service.

On its part, the legislators must strengthen their oversight, monitoring and evaluation functions with the public participation of the Church, business and civil society groups like what PPCRV and Namfrel do together during elections. 

Man does not live on bread alone, the good Lord taught us; but man does not need pork to go with bread.  It is integrity that must go with bread. Let integrity flow in our beloved land for “He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out (Proverbs 10:9).
From the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Dagupan City, July 29, 2013 Memorial Day of Saint Martha 

 +SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS 
Archbishop  of Lingayen Dagupan


Archbishop Soc Villegas image below, sourced from flickr.com

Interesting Greenpeace ship "Esperanza" in Manila Bay, Philippines, open to public for visit. Last day July 28, 2013, Sunday!

I just came from an interesting visit tonight, July 27, 2013, of the Greenpeace ship "Esperanza"---the name comes from the Spanish word for "hope". Fascinating, educational, very interesting!

Tomorrow Sunday, July 28, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. in the morning to 3 p.m. in the afternoon, this ship Esperanza is open to the public to visit. It is docked at Pier 15, which is just nearest the back of the Manila Hotel, Manila City, the Philippines.

Image below of the ship "Esperanza", sourced from greenpeace.org.au



I encourage everyone interested in oceans, seas, the environment or ships in general to visit this former Russian fire-fighting vessel during its last day.

It sailed here from Dumaguete port to Sorsogon province in Bicol and then now to Manila Bay in its mission to campaign for protecting our oceans against three major threats of---climate change, overfishing and pollution.

Photo below (from Facebook page of Greenpeace Philippines) shows divers from Silliman University, Coastal Conservation and Education foundation, and Greenpeace on July 10, 2013 surveying the massive coral damage in Apo Island of the Philippines. The documentation of the reef check in Apo Island is part of the activities around the visit of the Greenpeace ship "Esperanza" which is now in Manila Bay, the Philippines.





Greenpeace is an international environmental organization which does not accept donations or financial help from businessses or governments, just small donations from over three million supporters worldwide and international volunteers.

Go to the website of Greenpeace Philippines to support this outstabnding group.

Let us support Greenpeace and help save our environment!

The beautiful image below is of Apo Island in the Philippines which is described as "ray of hope' for oceans according to Greenpeace. Image sourced from greenpeace.org

Image below of the ocean's natural beauty, sourced from durianpost.com




Some of the diverse creatures of the ocean which nourish us, and which we should also protect by saving our oceans from destruction, image below sourced from Facebook page of Greenpeace Philippines about the visit now of their ship "Esperanza".

 

Among the Philippine leaders and celebrities who have expressed support for Greenpeace and its ship "Esperanza" on its visit to the Philippines include Senator Loren Legarda, presidential adviser on the environment Neric Acosta, actor Cesar Montano and Parokya ni Edgar band member Buhawi Meneses.

I personally met the talented Meneses and his wife tonight during a tour of the ship by a young female German volunteer of Greenpeace along with their other volunteers.


Senator Loren Legarda is a lifelong environmentalist, image below sourced from liberalparty.org.ph




Secretary Neric Acosta's image below, sourced from facebook.com




Actor Cesar Montano once starred in an environmtalist movie Muro Ami, image below sourced from ph.omg.yahoo.com





Buhawi Meneses of the popular and long-lasting Parokya ni Edgar band, image below sourced from
flickr.com

Why our Philippine sovereign claim to Spratleys totally different from the Senkaku/Diaoyu isles dispute of Japan/China

I think the territorial disputes of the Philippines and Japan versus China are totally different cases, and shouldn’t be lumped together as the same or even similar?

Japan Prme Minister Abe meeting Philippine President Aquino in Manila, image below sourced from interaksyon.com

I think it is in the best national interest of the Philippines to pursue our sovereignty claims on their own merits and not to mix them altogether with the controversial Senkaku/Diaoyu isles dispute between Japan and China which has totally different historical and political dynamics?

I believe our Philippine territorial claim is stronger and has better chances than Japan's historically controversial claim, and that we in the Philippines can still have much better economic as well diplomatic ties with our traditional friend China than Japan can have with its traditional historic foe China too. 

Why?

First, I believe the territorial claims of both China and the Philippines---also those of Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam---are only recent or modern-day claims in the 20th century only?

In China’s case, their Nine-Dash Line claim was---I think---formulated a century ago by then Republic of China (ROC) regime? We in the Philippines have made our territorial claims to the inhabited isles of the Spratleys first with Admiral Tomas Cloma’s personal and private claims of "Freedomland" or what is now called Pag-Asa which President Marcos got from Cloma for the Philippines?

China's Nine-Dash Line claim was done in the early 20th century, the 1898 Treaty of Paris with Spain selling the Philippines to the United States, and our 1935 Philippine Constitution doesn't indicate the Spratleys, so my point is, these uninhabited isles in Spratleys are modern-era claims by the different claimants of Asia and considered by almost all as “disputed territories”?

Admiral Cloma commemorative postage stamp, imaged sourced from philippinephilatelist.net

Image below is Admiral Cloma's flag for his self-proclaimed "Free Territory of Freedomland", sourced from en.wikipedia.com

Second, in the case of Japan’s claim on Senkaku isles, those were deemed historically part of China during the Qing Dynasty which Japanese military war and colonization annexed in the late 19th century along with its takeover of Taiwan in 1895, so historically in the perspective of the Chinese nation, those isles are the Diaoyu isles which they believe rightfully belong to China. 

The issue of the Diaoyu/Senkaku territorial dispute is sensitive due to the history of Japanese military aggression in China which climaxed during World War II, and therefore it is prudent, wise and better for us in the Philippines to not lump ourselves and our own Spratleys sovereignty claims together with the age-old wartime grudges and conflicts between Japan and China, especially that Japan is now led by a hawkish political leader?

New York Times columnist and 2-time Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas D. Kristof wrote on September 19, 2012: "I’ve had a longstanding interest in the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands, the subject of a dangerous territorial dispute  between Japan and China. The United States claims to be neutral but in effect is siding with Japan, and we could be drawn in if a war ever arose. Let me clear that I deplore the violence in the recent anti-Japan protests in China:  the violence is reprehensible and makes China look like an irrational bully. China’s government should rein in this volatile nationalism rather than feed it. This is a dispute that both sides should refer to the International Court of Justice, rather than allow to boil over in the streets. That said, when I look at the underlying question of who has the best claim, I’m sympathetic to China’s position. I don’t think it is 100 percent clear, partly because China seemed to acquiesce to Japanese sovereignty between 1945 and 1970, but on balance I find the evidence for Chinese sovereignty quite compelling. The most interesting evidence is emerging from old Japanese government documents and suggests that Japan in effect stole the islands from China in 1895 as booty of war. This article by Han-Yi Shaw, a scholar from Taiwan, explores those documents. I invite any Japanese scholars to make the contrary legal case." Below is a link to his blog on this issue

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/the-inconvenient-truth-behind-the-diaoyusenkaku-islands/?_r=0

We have had over 1,000 years of friendly relations between the Philippines and China, therefore any territorial disputes can be a disagreement between old friends? On the other hand, China---similar to the Korean nation---has age-old and bitter war memories with Japan which therefore complicates their territorial disputes on a totally different level and dimension, so their territorial dispute is a disagreement between former enemies?

Isn't it strategically prudent, pragmatic and wiser for the benefit of our immediate and long-term national interests in the Philippines to not be lumped together or in the same light as Japan, in the consciousness of China's leaders and people?

Image below of the disputed Diaoyu or Senkaku isles between China and Japan, sourced from cananewslibre.com

I am posting these ideas here, in response to the news today, which I am sharing below:

 

Philippines, Japan leaders hold talks over China disputes

By MYNARDO MACARAIG   July 27, 2013 11:10am

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met President Benigno Aquino on Saturday as the Philippines sought to boost cooperation over growing territorial disputes with regional rival China.

The meeting comes as tensions have steadily risen between China and Japan, which accuses its growing neighbour of sending an increasing number of ships to exert its claim over unpopulated Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea.

The Philippines has also charged that China has used assertive means to exert claims in the conflict-riven South China Sea.

The first visit to Manila by a Japanese leader since December 2006 highlights the growing strategic partnership between the two Asian nations who were bitter enemies in the World War II era, officials said.

"Japan is one of our two strategic partners (besides the United States). Certainly, it (Abe trip) would be a significant visit from a strategic partner," Aquino's spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters ahead of Abe's arrival late Friday.

Foreign Department spokesman Raul Hernandez said the territorial disputes will be discussed by the leaders.

Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera, who visited the Philippines last month, said the two countries would cooperate "in terms of the defence of remote islands... as well as protection of maritime interests".

Political scientist Rene de Castro of Manila's De La Salle University said the growing proximity was helping both nations overcome bitter World War II memories.

"As a liberal democracy, we recognise that Japan right now, is totally different from the Japan of World War II" when it occupied the Philippines, de Castro told AFP.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, in an interview with the Financial Times last year said Japan would be a "welcome" counterbalance to China's rise.

The hawkish Abe has pledged to loosen limits on the military in Japan's pacifist, post-war constitution and stand up to China over their East China Sea dispute.

Abe's government pledged in February to provide 10 patrol boats to the Philippines, which is rushing to upgrade its antiquated navy and coast guard.

China seized the Scarborough Shoal, a South China Sea outcrop just 230 kilometres (140 miles) east of the main Philippine island of Luzon, last year after Manila backed down from a lengthy stand-off.

This year the Philippines has complained about the presence of Chinese navy vessels near Filipino-held Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly islands. - Agence France-Presse

Philippine President Noynoy Aquino's new challenges in last 3 years in power

Philippine President Noynoy Aquino's new challenges in last 3 years in power are the following:

Image below of President Noynoy Aquino, sourced from asiasociety.org



1. Spread the fruits or benefits of fast economic growth to the poor masses, the middle-class, to small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs)

2. Structural and even constitutional reforms to really woo substantial direct foreign investments to the Philippines

3. Accelerate infrastructure projects, especially the horrible airports

4. Institutionalize anti-corruption efforts and reforms

5. Stabilize and enhance Philippine foreign relations beyond just being traditional and strategic ally of the United States and Japan, in order to boost and diversify Philippine diplomatic and economic ties with other nations most specially ASEAN neighbors, the rising new economic superpower China, and other countries.

Iage below of Philippine map, sourced from mlit.go.jp

Okinawa independence from Japan, a legitimate cause?

Is the clamor for reclaiming the independence of Okinawa from Japan a legitimate cause? Okinawa used to be an independent kingdom in Asia known as the Kingdom of Ryukyus, until it was conquered and colonized by Japan. Is their situation similar to that of East Timor or even Korea (which Japan colonized at the same time as the Rukyus or Okinawa)?

Maybe it's time for leaders of Japan to treat Okinawa and its people better, give them more economic and other support, since Okinawa is now still the poorest area in Japan?

Perhaps Japan should consider to quickly move out the American military bases from Okinawa and into other isles of Japan, out of respect for the wishes of the Okinawa people?

I pondered on these and other questions after reading this article below:




The map of Okinawa above, sourced from en.wikipedia.org




The image above of Okinawa, sourced from deshow.net




New York Times article: In Okinawa, Talk of Break From Japan Turns Serious

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

 

Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence Party, last month. “Independence is an idea whose time has come,” he said.

By Martin Fackler

Published July 5, 2013

NAHA, Japan — In a windowless room in a corner of a bustling market where stalls displayed severed pigs’ heads and bolts of kimono silk, Okinawans gathered to learn about a political idea that until recently few had dared to take seriously: declaring their island chain’s political independence from Japan.

About two dozen people of all ages listened as speakers challenged the official view of Okinawa as inherently part of homogeneous Japan, arguing instead that Okinawans are a different ethnic group whose once-independent tropical islands were forcibly seized by Japan in 1879. Then, to lighten the mood, the organizers showed “Sayonara, Japan!”, a comedy about a fictional Okinawan island that becomes its own little republic.

“Until now, you were mocked if you spoke of independence,” said one speaker, Kobun Higa, 71, a retired journalist whose book on the history of the tiny independence movement has become a hot seller online. “But independence may be the only real way to free ourselves from the American bases.”

Mr. Higa and other advocates admit that few islanders would actually seek independence for Okinawa, the southernmost Japanese island chain, which is home to 1.4 million residents and more than half of the 50,000 American troops and sailors based in Japan. But discontent with the heavy American presence and a growing perception that the central government is ignoring Okinawans’ pleas to reduce it have made an increasing number of islanders willing to at least flirt publicly with the idea of breaking apart in a way that local politicians and scholars say they have not seen in decades.

In May, a newly formed group led by Okinawan university professors held a symposium on independence that drew 250 people. A tiny political party that advocates separation from Japan through peaceful means has been revived after decades of dormancy, though its candidates have fared poorly in recent elections.

And on his blog, a member of Parliament from Okinawa recently went so far as to post an entry titled “Okinawa, It’s Finally Time for Independence From Yamato,” using the Okinawan word for the rest of Japan.

“Before, independence was just something we philosophized about over drinks,” said Masahide Ota, a former governor of Okinawa, who is not a member of the movement.

“Now, it is being taken much more seriously.”

The independence movement remains nascent, with a few hundred active adherents at most. But Mr. Ota and others say it still has the potential to complicate Japan’s unfolding contest with China for influence in the region.

That struggle expanded recently to include what appears to be a semiofficial campaign in China to question Japanese rule of Okinawa. Some analysts see the campaign as a ploy to strengthen China’s hand in a dispute over a smaller group of islands that has captured international headlines in recent months. Some Chinese scholars have called for exploiting the independence movement to say there are splits even in Japan over the legitimate ownership of islands annexed during Japan’s imperial expansion in the late 19th century, as Okinawa and the smaller island group were.

Okinawa has long looked and felt different from the rest of Japan, with the islands’ tropical climate, vibrant musical culture and lower average incomes setting it apart. Strategically situated in the center of East Asia, the islands, once known as the Kingdom of the Ryukyus, have had a tortured history with Japan since the takeover, including the forced suicides of Okinawan civilians by Japanese troops during World War II and the imposition of American bases after the war.

For years, Okinawans directed much of their ire over the bases at the United States. But that changed four years ago when the Japanese prime minister at the time, Yukio Hatoyama, reneged on campaign pledges to move the bustling Marine air base at Futenma off Okinawa, rather than to a less populated site on the island as previous governments had approved. After that, many Okinawans shifted much of their anger toward the rest of Japan, which wants the United States military presence to offset China’s growing power, but is unwilling to shoulder more of the burden of bases for fear of crime, noise and accidents.

Local leaders and scholars say the last time Okinawans spoke so openly of independence was during a period of sometimes violent unrest against American control before the United States ended its postwar occupation of the islands in 1972.

“There is a growing feeling that Okinawans just exchanged one colonial master in Washington for another one in Tokyo,” said Shinako Oyakawa, 32, a doctoral student at the University of the Ryukyus and a co-founder of Okinawan Studies 107, a group promoting research into Ryukyuan ethnic identity.

Such discontent has helped nurture groups like hers, which seek to promote the idea that the islanders form a distinct ethnic group. It has also led to the creation of places like Ryukyu Hall, a privately run school that opened last year and offers classes on Okinawan language and culture.

On a recent weekend, about 30 people gathered at the school, a small, sparsely furnished two-story building, to hear accounts in the Ryukyuan language by survivors of the American invasion of Okinawa in 1945.

“Regaining our identity is the first step toward regaining independence,” said Midori Teruya, 41, a co-founder of the school in Ginowan, the site of the Futenma air base.

The talk of independence has grown enough that it is being heard in Tokyo, where some conservative newspapers have begun calling the Okinawan independence activists “pawns” of China.

Whether or not the activists are pawns, there is certainly some discussion in China about using the independence movement. Recently, an editorial in The Global Times, a state-run Chinese newspaper, said China could pressure Japan by “fostering forces in Okinawa that seek the restoration of the independence of the Ryukyu chain.”

Few believe China is about to pursue ownership of Okinawa. But Japanese analysts see the informal campaign as the latest gambit in China’s attempts to take over the smaller group of islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, by essentially warning that China could expand its claims beyond those islands if Japan ignores its arguments.

“It will create problems for us if the Chinese government tries to use this issue,” said Masaki Tomochi, a professor at Okinawa International University who helped organize the symposium on independence in May.

Mr. Tomochi and other activists said that in the remote event that Okinawa became independent, they felt little fear of a Chinese takeover because the Ryukyus had held friendly ties with China for centuries before the Japanese takeover.

Mr. Tomochi’s group is planning a second symposium to present research on how Pacific island nations like Palau could serve as a model for a future Ryukyu republic. The idea is to try to overcome what he sees as the main challenge his movement faces: winning over Okinawans who seem content with their Japanese-style living standards.

“People are talking independence now, but how realistic is it?” asked Yoshinao Hiyane, 22, an economics major at Okinawa International University. “My generation has grown up Japanese.”

At the movie screening in the market, independence supporters tried to bolster the notion that their idea is more than a fantasy by handing out color-copied “currency” of a Ryukyu republic. They stood before a blue banner with three stars that the organizer, Chosuke Yara, called its flag.

“Recently, the interests of the Japanese people and the Ryukyu people have clearly diverged,” said Mr. Yara, 61, the head of the tiny Ryukyu Independence Party. “Independence is an idea whose time has come.”

Naha Shuri Castle in Okinawa, image below sourced from en.wkipedia.org

In our democracy in the Philippines, we should hear the other side of the truth and not just the propaganda of the Malaysia politicians and government. True democracy is free debate and free flow of informations. Let us listen to the Princess Jacel Kiram, daughter of the Sulu Sultan and their claim to Sabah in behalf also of the Philippines too.

Let us listen and tell others about this TV interview by Boy Abunda, details below.





(Image below of Princess Jacel Kiram talking to media in front of a photo of her father the ailing Sultan of Sulu, sourced from todayonline.com)



I received this news from ABS CBN Broadcasting Corporation on Pricess Jacel Kiram to be interviewed by TV host Boy Abunda:

PRINCESS JACEL KIRAM SPEAKS UP ON SABAH STANDOFF IN "BOTTOMLINE."

Amid the much heated battle between the camp of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and the Malaysian government for the ownership of Sabah, Kiram's daughter Princess Jacel will bravely take the spotlight this Saturday (March 9) in "The Bottomline With Boy Abunda" as she shares her thoughts and opinion about their fight for their rights on the land that they call home.

What is the truth behind the allegations that someone is providing them funds for the standoff?

Why did they not follow President Noynoy Aquino's call to come back in the Philippines to talk about the problem?

Are they ready for the possible outcomes of their plan to conquer Sabah?

Don't miss the 2012 Golden Screen TV Awards Outstanding Celebrity Talk Program "The Bottomline With Boy Abunda" this Saturday, 11:30 pm, after "Banana Split."

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(Image below of Princess Jacel Kiram and her father the besieged and ailing Sulltan of Sulu, sourced from globalbalita.com)

KARAPATAN NG PILIPINAS SA SABAH, TATALAKAYIN NI PRINCESS JACEL KIRAM SA "BOTTOMLINE."

Sa gitna ng lalong umiinit na alitan sa pagitan ng kampo ng Sultan ng Sulu na si Jamalul Kiram III at ng gobyerno ng Malaysia kaugnay ng isyu ng pagmamay-ari ng Sabah, matapang na haharap ngayong Sabado (Marso 9) sa "The Bottomline With Boy Abunda" ang anak ni Kiram na si Princess Jacel upang ibahagi ang kanyang saloobin kaugnay ng ipinaglalaban nilang karapatan sa lupang na itinuturing nilang tahanan.

Ano nga ba ang katotohanan sa mga paratang na may nagbibigay ng pondo sa kanilang pagpunta sa Malaysia?

Bakit nga ba hindi nila pinakinggan ang panawagan ni Pangulong Noynoy Aquino na bumalik ng Pilipinas upang pag-usapan ang problema?

Handa na nga ba sila sa mga maaaring mangyari sa kanilang planong pagsakop sa Sabah? Makiaalam sa mga isyung panlipunan at huwag palampasin ang 2012 Golden Screen TV Awards Outstanding Celebrity Talk Program na "The Bottomline With Boy Abunda" ngayong Sabado, 11:30 ng gabi, pagkatapos ng "Banana Split."

Good News! Scholarships in modern, clean, orderly, world-class garden city-state of Singapore! SHARE!

Singapore embassy in Manila, the Philippines is accepting until February 19 applications for the Dr. Goh Keng Swee Scholarships, which provide living, travel and school expenses to qualified applicants to pursue in the Lion City undergraduate studies "relevant to the financial sector."

More details, as well as application forms, are available at www.pscscholarships.gov.sg.

APPLY NOW, or at least SHARE this GOOD NEWS to others. Spread the news...

(Image below of Singapore sourced from collegescholarships.org)




(Image below sourced from app.www.sg)




(Image below of beautiful & orderly Singapore sourced from nexttriptouris.com)

Bloomberg News columnist William Pesek has added to the increasing skepticism about the policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to revive the stagnant and ailing Japan economy.

When shall real substantial and bold structural reforms be pushed, so that Asia's second biggest economy can be saved, in order for the future and long-term stability of Asia and the world to become better?


(This image below sourced  from fedupusa.org)




(Image of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe below sourced from guardian.co.uk)





(Image below sourced from cnbc.com)






(Image below sourced from politicallyillustrated.com)





Here is the thought-provoking analysis of William Pesek of Bloomberg News:

Paul Krugman’s Worn-Out Ideas for Japan

By William Pesek Jan 25, 2013 6:00 AM GMT+0800

 

Let’s get over this honeymoon for Japan’s new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, and do a reality check on his idea that the economy is about to boom now that voters have returned him to office.

At first, I wondered if I had lost my bearings. Was I just hopelessly cynical after 11 years in Tokyo, watching a numbing parade of inept leaders come and go as the Liberal Democratic Party pledged change that never arrived? The steps Abe has taken in the first few weeks of his latest premiership restored my faith in the merits of skepticism.

 

William Pesek is based in Tokyo and writes on economics, markets and politics throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Abe’s big idea, the one that has investors feeling the most bullish on Japan since 2009, is fiscal pump-priming and getting the Bank of Japan to do more to stimulate growth. About 21 percent of respondents to a Bloomberg poll now see Japan as offering the best opportunities over the next year. The same poll showed 54 percent are more optimistic than pessimistic about what some are calling Abenomics.

Those numbers are hard to ignore on two scores. First, I only hope that those in charge of managing my retirement accounts aren’t among the Japan-bulls-come-lately. The second is how short memories can be. Abe, remember, failed miserably in his first term as prime minister in 2006-2007.

Walker Economy

Abe’s LDP spent almost 20 years building bridges, roads, tunnels, dams and airports to nowhere and forcing the central bank to add liquidity to the banking system to end deflation. And what did those unimaginative policies leave Japan’s 126 million people with? The easy answer is the world’s highest ratio of debt to gross domestic product. The harder one: Japan has become a nation that can’t proceed without the economic equivalent of a walker.

That image takes on a deeper meaning when you consider Japan’s awful demographics and the dearth of ideas to cope with them. Take Finance Minister Taro Aso, who this week said elderly people should “hurry up and die” to relieve pressure on the government to pay for health care.

So is it really plausible that with just one more try of the same old remedies, Abe’s team will get the economy to walk on its own and then sprint ahead? Seriously?

No economist could formulate a credible list of every shot of stimulus and every dose of monetary steroids that officials have pumped into the economy since the early 1990s. There have been too many overlapping treatments to document. None of them, not a single one, achieved what investors are betting Abe will do this time: make a Japanese recovery self-sustaining.

Fooling Investors

Deflation won’t end until Japanese consumers believe it will. Companies won’t hire until they think households will boost spending. Banks won’t lend until they assume loans won’t go bad. Wages won’t rise, supporting the expectations of these three pillars of the economy, until there is genuine confidence that 2013 or 2014 will be better than 2012.

This gambit may fool some investors, and it even got a plug from Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman. It is true that Japan probably will get a quick GDP jolt. The yen is down and stocks are up. Japanese have seen this movie before, though, and suffered through sequel after sequel.

Abe isn’t offering anything new. Aside from a weaker yen, does he have a plan to make Japan more competitive to take on China or halt Sony Corp.’s slide toward irrelevance? How about ideas to make the labor force more flexible and international, starting with a new immigration policy? Or a strategy that inspires young Japanese to start new companies or families? What about freer trade? Increasing women’s role in politics and business? Even an energy plan that champions something other than the nuclear reactors Japanese fear amid earthquake risks? ]

None of the above. What Abe’s party fails to grasp is that Japan’s challenge is structural, not financial.

Surely that’s the message BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa was aiming for this week. Abe talked about browbeating the central bank into a 2 percent inflation target. Shirakawa’s response? Yeah, maybe in a year. By then, Abe will have replaced Shirakawa, whose term expires in April, with a more agreeable official. But the BOJ’s smackdown is a reminder that monetary policy only goes so far when an economy is hobbled by dysfunction.

The LDP’s policies are like a religion with a fixed set of beliefs that have little utility in today’s world. The party’s dogma was fine before 1964, the year the Tokyo Olympics wowed a world that thought Japan couldn’t rise so quickly from the wreckage of World War II. The policy obsolescence became obvious once the bubble economy of the 1980s crashed.

Things are changing all around Japan. Yet officials in Tokyo refuse to embrace the world of 2013, assuming that the canon that delivered Japan the highest per-capita incomes in Asia is still viable. This faith that Japan is just one huge spending package away from bliss is becoming more detrimental with each passing year and credit downgrade. Abenomics really is more religion than reality.

Thanks goodness, this will NEVER (?) happen here in the Philippines! For better for for worse, we have freedom of expression here in the Philippines as one of the foundations of our vibrant political democracy. I'm not taking any sides and do not know the truth behind this particular case, but a Thai comedian Yossawaris Chuklom being punished for criticizing the alleged political act of an unnamed powerful person, allegedly alluding to their monarch? This can, thankfully, never happen in our truly democratic society of the Philippines!

Here in the Philippines, a lot of us openly criticize even the bishops and primates of the Roman Catholic Church! No sacred cows here in our society, especially if you're yourselves delving into the temporal field of politics!

Pardon my lack of understanding on this issue, but sometimes I recall the words of Joker in the Batman films from Hollywood: "Why so serious?"

Our former queen---my former Ateneo economics professor and ex-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo---was often parodied by me in my newspaper columns. I also poked fun at then President Joseph "Erap" Estrada and also then President Fidel V. Ramos during their terms in power. Now, with our new king, the more innocuous President Noynoy C. Aquino, I've done a few humor pieces at his expense but not too much (yet).

(Images below of Thai comedian Yossawaris Chuklom sourced from bangkokpost.com)











Here's the news report I just read:

Thai Government Adviser Jailed for Two Years for Insulting King

By Daniel Ten Kate & Anuchit Nguyen - Jan 17, 2013 1:56 PM GMT+0800 Bloomberg News

A Thai court today sentenced a ministerial adviser, who helped lead protests in 2010 against former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, to two years in prison for insulting the royal family.

Yossawaris Chuklom, a comedian who goes by the name Jeng Dokjik, received the sentence for comments made in a speech to protesters that implied King Bhumibol Adulyadej influenced Abhisit’s decision not to dissolve the parliament, according to a court statement. Yossawaris is seeking bail and plans to appeal, his lawyer Thamrong Lakdaen said.

“His statement falsely accused the king of political interference and opposing the defendant and his group,” the court said. “His statement that his speech didn’t mean he was referring to the king is groundless.”

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who replaced Abhisit in 2011 after her party won a parliamentary majority, appointed Yossawaris in November as an adviser to the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry. Yossawaris helped lead protests by the Red Shirts, a group calling for an election that was backed by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s brother.

Yossawaris joins at least seven others detained in Thailand under the lese-majeste law, which mandates jail sentences as long as 15 years for defaming, insulting or threatening the king, queen, heir apparent or regent. The United Nations has criticized the law for curbing free speech as calls grow within Thailand to amend the statute.

Bhumibol, 85, assumed the throne in 1946 and serves as head of state. Thailand’s Constitution says the king “shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated.”

Yossawaris told Red Shirt protesters that Abhisit refused to dissolve parliament in 2010 on the orders of an unidentified person with more power than both him and Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, the king’s top adviser, according to the court. The speech apparently made people believe that Yossawaris was referring to the king, the court said.

More than 90 people died in the 2010 protests, which spanned 10 weeks and ended with a military crackdown. Abhisit, now the opposition leader after his party lost an election the following year, faces murder charges for his role in the dispersal.

Many international experts like Citigroup, Inc. of U.S.A. are increasingly skeptical and wary of the huge, populist and seemingly unsustainable, unwise stimulus program of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the ailing Japan economy. What is worrisome is that even Japanese experts like Takeshi Fujimaki, a former adviser to billionaire investor George Soros, predicts possible Japanese economic collapse as a result of this stimulus plan by Abe. Read the two news reports below on these dire forecasts. Let us hope for the best always, but be wary of, keenly aware of and prepare for the worst too!

Japan is still the world's third biggest economy, and its possible collapse or even nonstop stagnation has negative implications for all of us.

I believe there are other bitter pills and real reforms needed to revive the stagnating Japanese economy.



(This graphic image of Japan's economic meltdown, for the past three decades, sourced from fedupusa.org)




(This image below sourced from npr.org)




Here's a worrisome but realistic possible Japan scenario which we should all prepare for:

Abe’s Stimulus May Trigger Japan Default, Fujimaki Says

By Monami Yui & Yumi Ikeda - Jan 15, 2013 4:27 PM GMT+0800

• 
  

  Q

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s fiscal and monetary stimulus measures may trigger a collapse of Japan’s economy as early as this year, according to Takeshi Fujimaki, a former adviser to billionaire investor George Soros.

The yen has slumped 6 percent since elections last month returned power to the Liberal Democratic Party run by Abe, who’s demanded that the Bank of Japan (8301) undertake unlimited cash infusions to end deflation. The premier also unveiled 10.3 trillion yen ($116 billion) in extra spending last week, a step that will add to public debt that’s already more than double the size of the nation’s economy.

Enlarge image

Fujimaki Japan Inc. President Takeshi Fujimaki

Fujimaki Japan Inc. President Takeshi Fujimaki. Fujimaki Japan Inc. via Bloomberg

Fujimaki Japan Inc. President Takeshi Fujimaki. Fujimaki Japan Inc. via Bloomberg

“Large-scale spending is ridiculous given the amount of debt Japan has accumulated, while I think highly of Abe in regards to his intention to weaken the yen to support growth,” the president of Fujimaki Japan, an investment advising company in Tokyo, said in an interview on Jan. 11. “Abe’s policies would have worked some 10 years ago, but now they will only accelerate an economic collapse.”

Fujimaki said in an interview last June that Japan may default on its debt within five years and the yen could weaken to as much as 400-500 per dollar. He advised Japanese investors then to hold assets in foreign currencies such as the greenback, Swiss franc, U.K. pound and the Australian and Canadian dollars.

Borrowing in yen and investing in those currencies would have returned an annualized 32 percent as of yesterday, Bloomberg data show.

Nikkei Surge

The BOJ, scheduled to hold a policy meeting on Jan. 21-22, is poised to adopt the 2 percent inflation target advocated by Abe, doubling its existing goal of 1 percent, according to people familiar with BOJ officials’ discussions. Central bank Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said today the economy remains weak and the BOJ will pursue “powerful monetary easing.”

The yen’s drop and the government’s spending plan have helped drive the Nikkei 225 Stock Average of domestic shares up 12 percent since the election. A weaker yen makes Japanese-made products more competitive overseas and boosts the value of repatriated earnings.

Fujimaki joined the Tokyo office of Morgan Guarantee Trust Co., which merged into JPMorgan Chase & Co., in 1985 and later served as managing director and treasurer. He was hired by Soros Fund Management, once the world’s biggest hedge fund group, in 2000 and stayed less than a year, saying to Bloomberg News at the time that he failed to read the Japanese bond market correctly.

Yen Weakness

He has since lectured at Waseda University and Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, and written more than 20 books, including a title due for release this month that translates to “A Vulnerable Japan: Objections to Baseless Optimism.”

Japan will issue an additional 8 trillion yen in bonds to finance the supplementary budget for the fiscal year ending March 31. The nation’s outstanding debt will swell to 245 percent of gross domestic product in 2013, the most in the world and twice the debt-to-GDP ratio for the U.S., according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund.

“The government won’t be able to get enough funding if the Japanese withdraw their bank deposits to buy foreign-currency assets in fear of further yen weakness,” said Fujimaki. “Japan’s fiscal collapse could happen even tomorrow.”

So far, the market for Japanese government bonds hasn’t signaled any concern about an impending collapse. Benchmark 10- year securities sank four basis points to 0.77 percent today, the least this year and the third-lowest level globally. Persistent deflation has supported domestic demand for JGBs, which are 91 percent owned in country.

Young People

The yen may weaken beyond 400 per dollar should the BOJ print money to absorb the nation’s debt, according to Fujimaki, describing a process known as monetization. The yen reached 89.67 per dollar yesterday, the weakest since June 2010, before rallying to 88.81 as of 5:20 p.m. in Tokyo today.

“I prefer to see a crash of Japan’s debt sooner than later because there’s no other way to revive Japan’s economy,” said Fujimaki. “The biggest merit for that is we won’t have to repay debt that we can never repay. Otherwise, young people will have to work like coach horses just to pay tax.”

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Here is a report by journalist Mayumi Otsuma for Bloomberg news:

Abe Stimulus Risks Fizzling as Citigroup Sees Japan Job Gap

By Mayumi Otsuma - Jan 17, 2013 1:53 PM GMT+0800

Japan’s 10.3 trillion yen ($117 billion) fiscal stimulus may add less than a quarter of the jobs the government predicts, casting doubt on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe engineering a sustained recovery.

Even with more central bank easing, most of the impact of Abe’s spending won’t spread far beyond public works projects, Citigroup Inc. (C) says. It estimates that 100,000 jobs will be created, compared with the government’s figure of 600,000. BNP Paribas SA (BNP) says 150,000.

Enlarge image

Abe Stimulus Risks Fizzling as Citigroup Sees Japan Job Deficit

Akio Kon/Bloomberg

University students attend a job fair in Tokyo. While the unemployment rate fell to a four-year low of 4.1 percent in November, the rate among those aged 15-24 was 6.5 percent.

University students attend a job fair in Tokyo. While the unemployment rate fell to a four-year low of 4.1 percent in November, the rate among those aged 15-24 was 6.5 percent. Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg

Enlarge image

Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe

Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg

Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, announces the government's fiscal stimulus package in Tokyo on Jan. 11, 2013.

Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, announces the government's fiscal stimulus package in Tokyo on Jan.

11, 2013. Photographer: Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg

Enlarge image

Abe Stimulus Risks Fizzling as Citigroup Sees Japan Job Deficit

Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

“So far, Abe has presented no concrete remedies to reverse the southbound trend of Japan’s job-market,” said Takuji Okubo, chief economist at Japan Macro Advisors. “We can’t help but be skeptical about the employment outlook.”

“So far, Abe has presented no concrete remedies to reverse the southbound trend of Japan’s job-market,” said Takuji Okubo, chief economist at Japan Macro Advisors. “We can’t help but be skeptical about the employment outlook.” Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

Abe is returning to a strategy that failed to end Japan’s stagnation over the last two decades even as the nation’s debt burden nearly tripled and extra stimulus spending totaled 80 trillion yen, according to BNP Paribas. Another failure may deepen voter apathy in a political system that has produced seven prime ministers in six years, while adding to the risk of a surge in bond yields.

“Fiscal stimulus is like morphine, because if you want to maintain the same level of effect you have to keep upping the dose,” said Azusa Kato, an economist at BNP Paribas in Tokyo. “Japan has failed to achieve a sustainable economic expansion, and the country’s record proves the strategy is wrong.”

The yen remained higher after a two-day rally as investors weigh the likelihood of more easing by the Bank of Japan (8301) next week. The currency was at 88.39 per dollar as of 2:49 p.m, up 1.4 percent from this week’s low on Jan. 14. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) fell 0.4 percent after sliding yesterday by the most in eight months.

Bond Yields

Yields on the 10-year government bond touched 0.73 percent, the lowest since Dec. 17. The benchmark sovereign debt yield is the lowest in the world after Hong Kong and Switzerland.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said today it sees Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda as the main candidate to replace BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa in April. Opposition leader Yoshimi Watanabe said in an interview yesterday that the next BOJ chief shouldn’t be a former central bank bureaucrat.

The Japanese government poured 33.8 trillion yen into stimulus measures in the 1990s, with 45 trillion yen added in the 2000s, according to estimates from BNP Paribas based on Finance Ministry data.

The average economic growth rate decelerated from 4.6 percent in the 1980s to 1.1 percent in the 1990s and 0.8 percent in the following decade, according to the brokerage.

More than a third of the spending package announced last week will go to disaster prevention and reconstruction after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Extra spending will boost gross domestic product by about 2 percentage points, the government said.

Public Works

“There’ll be a positive effect on construction, but it won’t ripple out to other industries,” said Kiichi Murashima, Citigroup’s chief economist in Tokyo. “Companies are hesitant to expand payrolls until they’re sure demand will improve.’

Low unemployment may be masking challenges as older workers exit the labor force and wages stagnate in a nation struggling to emerge from a third recession in five years.

Panasonic Corp. (6752) eliminated more than 38,800 jobs in the year ended September and said last week it may close some businesses. Renesas Electronics Corp. said today it will cut more than 3,000 jobs.

‘‘At stake is whether wages will rise,” said Hiroaki Muto, senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management. “Abe will probably keep stimulating the economy through yen depreciation and fiscal spending, but that won’t induce a rebound in fundamentals that are crucial for jobs.”

Employment Downturn

The jobs-to-applicants ratio, a barometer of supply and demand, peaked in August and looks set for a cyclical downturn, according to Takuji Okubo, chief economist at Japan Macro Advisors and formerly of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Wages have failed to rise for nine of the past 12 months.

“So far, Abe has presented no concrete remedies to reverse the southbound trend of Japan’s job-market,” Okubo said. “We can’t help but be skeptical about the employment outlook.”

Citigroup predicts that economic growth will rise to 2.2 percent in the fiscal year from April before falling to 0.3 percent the year after. Nomura Securities Co. says growth will be 1.8 percent in the year from April and at 0.3 percent in the following 12 months.

Japan’s government debt probably climbed to 237 percent of annual economic output last year, the most in the world, according to International Monetary Fund estimates.

While the unemployment rate fell to a four-year low of 4.1 percent in November, the rate among those aged 15-24 was 6.5 percent.

“Companies won’t increase hiring unless they’re convinced that the economy will keep improving for two, three or four years,” said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at the Daiichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo. “Growth expectations have weakened so much and it’s hard to change perceptions.”