VOA慢速英语2021--Candidates Seek Pathway to Become Japan’s Next Prime Minister

Several Japanese politicians have announced their decisions to seek the leadership of the country's ruling party. The winner will likely become Japan's next prime minister.

Fumio Kishida announced his decision to seek the position this week. Kishida presented his economic policies to the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP. The party leads the lower house of Japan's legislature.

Kishida is a former foreign minister. He said Japan should aim for a new form of capitalism¹ to reduce disparity in pay between high paying jobs and low paying ones. He notes that the disparity has worsened during the COVID-19 health emergency.

The race for leadership of the LDP began last week after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced his decision not to seek reelection as party leader.

Former internal minister Sanae Takaichi joined Kishida in announcing her candidacy. She proposed conservative policies. Takaichi would become Japan's first female leader if she is elected.

Coronavirus vaccination² minister Taro³ Kono has also met party leaders and is seeking the office.

Kishida said removal of financial restrictions⁴ during the reform period in the early 2000s increased the gap between people with and without wealth. He said that the economic policies under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, known as "Abenomics," increased growth. But, he said, it did not result in improvements for poor people.

Abe supported policies that aimed to fix Japan's financial problems by pushing higher growth and raising taxes.

Without "distribution" of wealth, there will not be a rise in spending and demand, Kishida said at a Tokyo presentation Wednesday.

He said Abenomics had brought growth but it did not provide money to the poor.

Kishida repeated a call for government spending and stated again his support for the Bank of Japan's two percent inflation target.

Kishida called for setting up a $90 billion university fund to push science and renewable energy. He also wants to keep nuclear energy technology.

Takaichi joins the race

Takaichi launched her candidacy on policies to strengthen security and help fix damage to the economy caused by the coronavirus crisis.

She became the first female internal affairs minister in the second Abe administration in 2014. Local media said Abe supported her campaign. That helped her get the support of 20 lawmakers, which she needed to formally enter the race.

The vote for the leader of the ruling LDP is set for September 29. The lower house of Japan's legislature will hold elections not long after that. So having a popular candidate will be important for the party leader who follows Suga.

Takaichi called for policies to prevent leaks of advanced technologies out of Japan. And she said she would delay the goal of balancing the government's main budget until the Bank of Japan's two percent inflation target was met.

She said she would use economic policies such as increasing bank lending and government spending to reach the inflation target. Japan's economy has long faced low demand which hurts prices for producers of goods.

Words in This Story

disparity –n. a noticeable and often unfair difference between people or things

gap –n. a difference between people or groups

distribution –n. the act of giving something out to people

fund –n. an amount of money to be used for a special or specific purpose

shrine⁵ –n. a place connected with a holy person or event where people go to worship

advanced –adj. having or using new and modern methods

1 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

2 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

3 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。