国际英语新闻:Japan's ruling LDP to push forward "Abenomics", eyeing constitution revision

TOKYO, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) pledged Tuesday to push forward Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies dubbed "Abenomics" and to continue efforts to revise the country's pacifist Constitution, according to its manifesto for the general election around the corner.

The LDP, which is headed by Abe, emphasized in the pledge that "Abenomics" is the only way that can lead Japan to the path of economic recovery, saying the policies have boosted employment and wage hike in Japan.

"We have come up with a set of realistic goals as a responsible ruling party," LDP's policy chief Tomomi Inada said in a press briefing, adding the LDP "will take all kinds of steps for Japan's economic recovery."

The manifesto said that the postponement of the planned second sales tax hike aims at avoiding its negative effects that may weigh on vulnerable trends of economic recovery, adding the party will seek a balance between economy revival and finance restoration.

Recent government data on Japan's economy growth said the country has slipped in economy recession since Abe carried out the first round of consumption tax hike in April.

A separated report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday also said Japan slid into economic retreat and cut its forecasts on Japan's economy growth for 2014 from 0.9 percent to 0.4 percent and that for 2015 from 1.1 percent to 0.8 percent.

The LDP vowed to achieve the goal to turn its financial deficit to black by 2020 and will map out the plan in summer, also saying to revitalize regional economy and to improve women's social involvement, amid criticism that the "Abenomics" only benefited large enterprises and big cities.

However, a priority bill for Abe's government to empower women failed to pass during Diet session as the lower house was dissolved by Abe last week. While only half of Japan's 47 prefectures have set numerical targets for the promotion of Abe's "womenomics", according to a poll on Monday.

The political platform said the LDP will try to gain more understandings and support from the Japanese public so as to revise the country's pacifist war-renouncing Constitution.

The party said it will follow Abe's "active pacifism" so as to pave legitimate way to exercise rights to collective self-defense that grant Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to engage combat overseas. However, Japan's Constitution bans the SDF to fight outside its territory.

Meanwhile, the LDP also aims at restarting nuclear power plants that are offline after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant meltdown on March 11, 2011, triggered by quake-caused tsunami, adding it will make a responsible energy policy and will address snowballing expenditure on energy imports partially due to the fast retreating yen, a by effect of "Abenomics."

Abe dissolved Japan's lower house of the parliament last Friday in a move to delay second sales tax hike planned in October 2015 and called a snap election on Dec. 14. The Abe-led LDP ousted Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) from power in last general election in December 2012, putting an end to DPJ's three-year rule.

According to the latest poll, the LDP gained about 37 percent of support, ranking the first, while the DPJ only got about 11 percent of supports, ranking after the LDP. Abe said he would step down if the LDP and its partner, the Komeito Party, could not win the poll.

The DPJ, Japan's main opposition party, unveiled its manifesto for the upcoming general election Monday, eyeing to challenge " Abenomics" and retracting the cabinet bill on rights to collective self-defense.

"If 'Abenomics' continues as it is now, a range of people from workers, students to pensioners, as well as small and medium-sized companies will suffer more," said DPJ leader Banri Kaieda on Monday. "We have to change this trend," he said.

The DPJ aims to woo unaffiliated voters by saying the party stands at a viewpoint of "ordinary citizen" so as to curb the LDP from securing the majority in the lower house election.