If you want to be rich, build roads first, and have fewer children and more trees, this "Sutra for getting rich" that was once widely circulated in rural China has now been widely recognized by the Japanese people.

If you want to get rich, build roads first, and have fewer children and more trees. This "Getting Rich" saying that was once widely circulated in rural areas of China has now been widely recognized by the Japanese people. When this country, which has been in a state of "American governance" for a long time and has an aging population and a low birthrate, is once again facing the impact of economic inflation and the new crown epidemic, the people of the island country have also reached a situation where they "cannot afford to have children." However, even when the people at home are in dire straits, the Japanese government, which has long become a loyal hawk of the Americans, still puts raising taxes and expanding armaments on the agenda. This has become the fundamental reason why the Kishida government currently has low opinion polls and is unpopular.

According to the latest news from Western media, in order to cater to the United States' anti-China and anti-Russian Indo-Pacific strategy , the Japanese government officially adopted the "National Security Protection Plan" including basic foreign and defense policies last Friday (December 16). Three major security-related documents, including the Defense Strategy, clearly state that Japan will maintain preemptive "hostile base attack capabilities" and strengthen the attack firepower of long-range ballistic missiles. The mid- to long-term includes a sequential increase in defense expenses within five years starting from 2023, totaling approximately 43 trillion yen (equivalent to approximately US$320 billion). However, regarding the government's ambitious "militarism revival plan", the domestic people have expressed the opposite view. Some people even expressed their views directly to the media: Why fight if we can't even afford to have children?

1. Japan may become the "third largest military spender". China, Russia and North Korea are not afraid of the Japanese people.

A moth flies into the flame and commits suicide. The current Japanese government is just a moth eager to get rid of its status as a defeated nation in World War II and the shackles of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. It will eventually be burned black and blue and torn to pieces in the "wildfire" of the revival of militarism. This time, the Japanese government announced the largest military spending plan since World War II, directly making it the "third largest military spender." This is obviously a dream for the Biden administration, which attempts to curb the influence of China, Russia, and North Korea in the Asia-Pacific through Japan's "militarization."

After all, although these military construction plans are "suspected of being unconstitutional ", they do not go against the interests of the United States. The Japanese government is willing to increase national defense construction "at its own expense", which can also relieve the pressure on the US military stationed in Japan to a large extent. Especially after Japan and the United States reached an agreement on December 21 last year on the sharing of funds for the U.S. military stationed in Japan in the next five years, stipulating that the "protection fees payable" will only increase but not decrease, the United States is very willing to return Japan a "favor" by "loosening ties" and chooses to turn a blind eye to Japan's attempt to become a "military power."

According to the agreement between the United States and Japan at the time, Japan's funding for the U.S. military stationed in Japan from 2022 to 2026 will be 1.0551 trillion yen (approximately 9.278 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 75 billion yen (approximately 660 million U.S. dollars) compared with the fiscal year 2016 to 2020, plus the current 3200 With a US$100 million military construction plan, Japan is determined to "arm itself to the teeth" this time, upgrading from "Hachiko" to "Metal Garurumon" in one go. But what is surprising is that before they have completed the transformation to their "ultimate form", they have encountered direct opposition from most people in the country. According to the latest poll launched by Kyodo News on December 18, nearly 65% ​​of the respondents opposed raising taxes on military expenditures, and 87% said Kishida’s explanation of the necessity of tax increases was not sufficient. The survey also showed that the Kishida government's approval rating was the same as a month ago, at 33.1%, the lowest since he took office in October last year.

Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it, and now the Japanese Kishida government, which has boarded the "American black ship", has become the opposite of the domestic people, dedicating the taxes they have worked so hard to provide to the government to the "American colonists".

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was also convinced by Americans that he had betrayed his country and sought glory. He used the name "national security" to say that Japan was "deeply anxious" due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the North Korean nuclear issue and the rise of China. It spent huge sums of money to build a missile system that could pre-emptively strike, and was also preparing for "continuous conflicts" that may break out in the future.

At the same time, the Kishida government also clearly stated in the national security document: "Russia's 'special military operation' against Ukraine seriously violated the law prohibiting the use of force and shook the foundation of the international order. The strategic challenge posed by China is even more serious for Japan." The biggest challenge in history. "If the essence of human beings is the repeater, Japan's identity is the "mouthpiece." In order to satisfy its own "security", it must make all surrounding countries "insecure" and vigorously promote the "threat theory of other countries" in order to implement militarization and implement constitutional amendments. This behavior is exactly the same as that of their "big brother" the United States. However, as the saying goes, wool grows on the sheep. Every penny the Japanese government spends on the U.S. military stationed in Japan and the Indo-Pacific strategy comes from the hard-earned money of its own citizens.

As if aware of the dissatisfaction of the people, the Kishida government also deliberately used a "delay strategy", adding in the statement: "Japan is at a 'historical turning point', and arms expansion through cost cutting and tax increase is the government's response to various 'security challenges' faced by Japan. But the government will not do so in 2 The increase in taxes for the next fiscal year starting on April 1, 2023 will only be done in stages before fiscal year 2027 to ensure sufficient funds to fund the defense budget. "Obviously, the Japanese government's militarism is not only an exploitation of Japanese people, but also a threat to neighboring countries in the Asia-Pacific. Even the people of this country can't stand Fumio Kishida's "double standards" behavior on national security and militarization issues.

2. In order to deal with the "threat of war" in the future, Japan decided to use "Fukuzawa Yukichi" to let the people "have children".

As the saying goes, the economic foundation determines the superstructure . Whether it is domestic affairs or foreign affairs, whoever has "money power" has the right to speak. In order to persuade the Japanese people to prepare for the so-called "World War III", the Kishida government also increased exorbitant taxes and stated that it would provide 8 "Fukuzawa Yukichi" to Japanese families with newborns as a one-time government subsidy.

The new subsidy program will be implemented at the beginning of the next fiscal year, that is, April 1, 2023. This means that after next year's "April Fool's Day", those Japanese young people who do not want to have children will become the country's leading "fools". While providing the government with a steady stream of military spending, they will also give "New Year's money" to other people's children who are about to have children.

According to a research report in the medical journal "The Lancet", Japan's population will be 125.7 million in 2021, a decrease from the peak of 128 million in 2017. Before the outbreak of the new coronavirus, Japan's total population would shrink to 53 million by the end of this century. In recent decades, the Japanese have chosen to marry later and have children later, a conscious decision largely driven by economic considerations. Coupled with the difficulties caused by the epidemic and the impact of the war in Ukraine on the global economy, this figure already looks considerable.

According to data released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in mid-September, only 384,942 babies were born in the first six months of this year, a 5% decrease from the same period last year. The department expects the total number of births this year to be lower than last year's 811,604 and almost certainly below 800,000 for the first time since the central government began collecting and publishing data in 1899.However, in order to prevent the sharp decline in the birth rate of in the country, the Japanese government only provides 80,000 yen (about 592 US dollars) for newborn women. This is a drop in the bucket under the "death spiral" of severe economic inflation, soaring prices and stagnant incomes in Japan. It is not enough to convince people to have children.

From giving birth to a large number of children and having fewer children and good children, countries around the world have realized one thing in the economic development and transformation, that is, the society's demand for human resources has changed from extensive to labor-intensive and technologically-oriented. This has led to young people not only considering their children's food, clothing, housing and transportation when facing the issue of having children, but also taking into account their children's education issues.

In Japan, higher education usually lasts for four years, which is also the main period of consumption of family resources. Even if children work part-time and study, they will not make ends meet. If your child cannot win at the starting line from the moment he enters school, he will inevitably face "unemployment" after graduation, and then become the " hiding hiding " and " hiding " in society. In Japan, where competition is particularly fierce, the huge social pressure caused by not finding a job has also led to a high suicide rate among young people and created a series of "suicide holy places" such as Aokihara Kishihira .

It can be seen from this that the biggest threat faced by the Japanese people is not from neighboring countries, but from the Japanese government. Today's Kishida government only regards young people as "taxpayers" and "reserves" and is necessary to cater to the United States Indo-Pacific strategy and expand its military scale. However, the Japanese people also have their own considerations. Even if they choose not to have children, they are unwilling to make them "objects of exploitation" and "cheap cannon fodder" of the government. If the Japanese government's domestic economic and livelihood problems are not effectively solved and cannot create a stable and happy domestic environment for the people, even if they use the "money ability", they will not buy it.

In response to this, Ayako, a housewife from Tokyo, said in an interview with reporters: "When my son was born, the money given to us was definitely helpful, we are grateful, but it is still not enough to cover all my hospitalization costs. We have discussed having another child and we want to do that, but at the moment my husband and I concluded that this is really impossible. What I want to say is that 80,000 yen would be useful, but this is now How long can I manage it? Babies need clothes and food. And they grow up quickly and need more things. I took leave to take care of my children, which affected our income. Although my husband has a stable job and his income is the same as before the epidemic, the cost of daily food and fuel has been rising sharply in recent months. "According to the " Daily News ", the average cost of having a baby in Japan is around 473,000 yen, which has accounted for more than half of the government subsidies. However, Japan's national and local governments have not introduced any other effective policies to alleviate the actual pressure faced by young people.

Japanese people voted against the "militarization" of their own country. What kind of war does the children "can't afford to give birth"? The Kishida government has recently vigorously advocated the "China threat theory", with the fundamental purpose of diverting domestic people's dissatisfaction with the government's unfavorable governance, and "legalizing" its own behavior to cater to the US Indo-Pacific strategy and revive the militarist path. But the facts have proved that their strategy of copying the US authorities' "blaming" China cannot be bought by the domestic people at present.

Regarding Japan's dangerous move to engage in military expansion, Mao Ning, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded at a regular press conference as early as December, saying: "In recent years, Japan's defense budget has grown for 10 consecutive years. Japan has also frequently exaggerated regional tensions in order to seek a breakthrough in its own military strength. This trend is very dangerous. It has to make Asian neighbors and the international community strongly question whether Japan can maintain a special defense and adhere to the path of peaceful development. Japan should seriously reflect on the history of aggression, respect the security concerns of Asian neighbors, be cautious in words and actions in the field of military security, and do more things that are conducive to maintaining regional peace and stability."

At the same time, analyst and economics professor Hama Noriko of Doshisha University in Kyoto also believe that "conscription and preparation for war" while ignoring Japan's declining birthrate is a short-sighted measure that fails to solve today's problems. The broader problems facing Japanese society. Hama Noriko said: "The real cause of Japan's 'destruction' may not be war but low birthrate. Even throwing money cannot effectively solve the problem of having more children. This is a problem of weak social infrastructure, and people do not feel safe enough to have children." Currently, people are dissatisfied with their childcare environment, and unless this situation improves, birth rates will not recover. "