Kyuukoku thinks tank series
Author Mitsuru Kurayama（Chairman , Constitutional Historian）
Property Rights: The Foundation of Liberalism
Summary
In 2019, COVID-19 infections spread rapidly across the globe.
In response to the spread of infection, the Japanese government requested that the private sector, particularly the catering industry, reduce business hours and that people refrain from going out.
This book discusses the restrictions on freedom of business, especially the relationship between individual property rights and the Constitution of Japan, that the spread of this disease entailed.
It is imperative that free and open discussion be permitted and property rights be protected even in a state of emergency or military attack.
We at the Japanese private think tank Kyuukoku （National Salvation） Think Tank will continue to discuss political and social policies from the perspective of respecting individual property rights and freedoms.
Chapter 1: The Constitution of Japan provides for respect for human rights in Articles 11 and 97.
This chapter discusses the positive and negative aspects of the Japanese government’s infection control measures, particularly its restrictions on private-sector business activities, in terms of this respect for human rights.
Chapter 2: This chapter deals with constitutional law and government administration in emergencies. The spread of COVID-19 prompted the Japanese government to restrict the freedom of business in the catering industry and other sectors. Although the Japanese government provided various subsidies, it failed to compensate the victims legally. However, based on the main principle of the Constitution of Japan, the respect for property rights, the government should have provided such compensation.
Chapter 3: The Japanese government adopted the “theory of inherent constraint,” which stipulates that freedom is not unlimited and should be curtailed for public welfare. Its restriction at the time of freedom of business and other activities in response to the spread of the virus deviated from the conventional government view based on the “theory of intrinsic constraint.”
Chapter 4: This chapter introduces and analyzes the opinions of Mr. Baba Nobuyuki, Secretary General of the Japan Restoration Party, and Mr. Tamaki Yuichiro, Representative of the Democratic Party of Japan, leaders of the main opposition parties in Japan, during the Diet debate on the bill to amend the “Infectious Diseases Act” and the “Special Measures Act” (submitted to the Diet on January 22, 2021).
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～
『大国のハイブリッドストラグル』（総合教育出版・2022年）
“Hybrid Struggles of the Great Powers”
〈Introduction〉
This book is based on the transcript of a symposium held by Kyukoku think tank in 2022. Five leading experts discuss the military and geopolitics of the United States, China, and Russia. The authors include Yu Koizumi (the Russian military and security policy), Shinji Okuyama (geopolitics and strategic studies of Western countries), Naoaki Hidani (general security issues), Yuya Watase (international affairs analysis), Koji Nakagawa (organizational strategy theory).
（仮訳）
“Hybrid Struggles of Great Power,” 2022 New Year’s Kyuukoku Think Tank Forum
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～
Yuya Watase (Tax cut and deregulation director)
『税金下げろ、規制をなくせ 日本経済復活の処方箋』
Tax Reduction and Deregulation: A Remedy for Revitalizing Japan’s Economy (abstract)
This book aims to explain the importance of tax cuts in national development and proposes how they may be achieved in Japan, in accordance with the arguments of Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.
In the past, taxes in the United States were perpetually increasing.
However, the 1980s and 1990s saw a growing movement to abolish taxes and regulations, stimulating demand and increasing supply.
As a result, the US has produced some of the world’s largest corporations, most notably GAFA, and remains a dominant global hegemonic power.
Japan, however, languishes in a state of economic stagnation, having been plunged into a chronic recession due to the relentless increase of taxes and regulations since the collapse of the bubble economy in 1990.
This book compares the respective histories of Japan and the US over the past 30 years, suggesting how we might implement the regulatory reforms and tax cuts necessary for Japan to revive once again and grow economically.
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～
Ezaki Michio（Director,Policy analyst and researcher ）
Featured on the Mises Institute website.
“As proof, Ezaki Michio, a policy analyst and researcher who is a professed devotee of the free market and small government, published an op-ed earlier this month in the Sankei Shimbun—the newspaper of record for fiscal sanity and political clearheadedness—calling for strengthening the Japanese domestic economy and countering the perceived geopolitical threat posed by Japan’s communist neighbor on steroids China by…drumroll please…cutting taxes. Across the board. Touting the Trump tax cuts of 2017 and the deep and positive effect that those cuts had on the American economy, Ezaki advocated that Japan follow suit. This bucks the trend in Japan, to be sure. Just last year the consumption tax here was raised to 10 percent, and the outlays now moving through the political sausage-making machine to deal with the economic fallout of the Wuhan virus are surely going to translate to even higher taxes down the line. Pleading over that siren song, Ezaki says to cut taxes, and he also says to cut regulations and let businesses make money again. Hooah.“
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～
Koji Nakagawa ,Ph.D(Research Fellow)
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～
“Milton Friedman on Japanese economy”
Author Shingo Kakino（ Economist）
American economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006) is one of the greatest economists of the 20th century, whose libertarian ideas still influence the world today. However, his writings on the Japanese economy are almost entirely unknown. This book is the first analysis of his ideas about the Japanese economy. Contrary to popular wisdom, Friedman reveals that Japan is an excellent example of the great virtues of a free market economy rather than bureaucratic leadership. It was trade liberalization and innovative private enterprise that made possible the Japanese economic miracle. The Japanese economy grew in spite of industrial policy, not because of it. Friedman was also a relentless critic of discretionary monetary policy by the Bank of Japan. He predicted most of Japan’s economic crises, including the collapse of the bubble economy in the 1990s and deflation in the 2000s. Had Japan followed the solution he outlined -a free-market economy with stable money, the turmoil could have been avoided. It is time to heed Friedman’s forgotten advice to us. Japan must regain its strength through deregulation, tax cuts, and stable monetary policy.
“The Economics of Freedom and Growth”: Debunking the Myths of the Anthropocene &Degrowth Communism.
Author Shingo Kakino（ Economist）
This book provides a critical analysis of the “degrowth communism” advocated by Kohei Saito, a leading Marxist in Japan. In recent years, the anti-capitalist movement has gained momentum in Japan. According to Saito, capitalism inevitably leads to economic growth that destroys the environment. He argues that capitalism is the root of all evil, from climate change to pandemics. His book, Marx in the Anthropocene, which advocates “degrowth communism” as an alternative to capitalism, became a best-selling book in Japan.
However, Saito’s claims are not based on facts. History shows that it has been communist regimes that have caused the worst environmental destruction, including the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. This is no accident. Property rights are the best means of promoting efficient use of resources. It is no surprise that communist regimes that deny property rights inevitably destroy the environment.
Property rights are also essential for the protection of human rights. As Hayek and Friedman taught, economic freedom is inseparable from human freedom. Without property rights, there can be no independent media or democracy. This is why all communist regimes invariably violate human rights. Saito’s degrowth communism is no exception. Indeed, the regime proposed by Saito would be extremely repressive since it would deliberately impoverish the people.
Judging from history, it may be true that communism is the surest way to degrowth, but that merely means that communism makes people poor and desperate. It is the poor and minorities who suffer most as a result of degrowth. The right solution to environmental problems is not a regression to barbarism, but progress through innovation. Contrary to popular belief, it is economic growth under capitalism that has dramatically reduced the death toll from natural disasters and communicable diseases. Only capitalism can create breakthrough technologies that give hope for the future.
The Economics of Freedom and Growth is the third-place winner of the “Best Economic and Management Books of 2021” selected by The Oriental Economist (Toyo Keizai), a leading Japanese economic magazine.
～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～
【関連書籍】
Chapter 1: What is a “libertarian” — its classification and combination
Anarchist” libertarians–no state
Minimalist libertarian: a state with only justice, security, and defense
Classical Libertarianism: Autogenous Order, Negative Income Tax, Public Choice
Why not welfare and taxation?
Chapter 2: The Struggle for Each “Property Rights”
Everything is a “Property Right
Libertarians and Burkeans
Against Taxation — Against New Deal Policies
Chapter 3: Application of Libertarianism to Reality
The Japanese are essentially libertarians
It is more efficient to take care of one’s own affairs: Libertarians and realpolitik
Everything should be centralized in compensation, not criminal law
The emergence of virtual currency and libertarianism
Chapter 4 Libertarians in Japan
The Japanese are libertarian to begin with, and yet there are only left and right in the discourse
Privatization is Better – The Importance of Having a Choice
Protect your country by yourself
Chapter 5 Libertarian Ideas for the Future of Japan
Real estate registration and married couples’ surnames are also contracts between the parties
The True Meaning of Local Autonomy
Regulations on individuals related to the new Corona are in violation of the Constitution