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【止まらない円安】物価高を招く「円安加速内閣」!? 苦しむ一般市民と、笑う大企業 & ホクホク政府...混迷の日本に、中田敦彦が帰国し授業再開!貧しい日本に誰がした!? — Transcript

by 中田敦彦のYouTube大学 - NAKATA UNIVERSITY · 8,681 words · 1,325 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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  1. 0:00Hi, this is Nakata. All right, let's
  2. 0:02get right into it today. Extreme Modern
  3. 0:04Society. The unstoppable yen
  4. 0:05depreciation and the bold, flat economy
  5. 0:07. Japan is in trouble. So, here we are.
  6. 0:11Even as I say Japan is in trouble. Uh,
  7. 0:13I have recently returned to Japan from
  8. 0:15Singapore. I look forward to your
  9. 0:17support. Thank you. "Why did you come
  10. 0:20back?" you might ask. "You shouldn't
  11. 0:21have come back." Well, there might be
  12. 0:26such criticism from you all, but I
  13. 0:28intend to work and work and work and
  14. 0:30work and work and work here in Japan
  15. 0:32from now on, and I would like to do
  16. 0:33what I can for the sake of Japan, so
  17. 0:35today I'd really like to convey the
  18. 0:37current state, no, the tragic state of
  19. 0:39Japan to you all, which is why I'm here
  20. 0:41, so I hope you'll listen until the end
  21. 0:42. Yes, this is it. The unstoppable yen
  22. 0:48depreciation. "Nakata, you sure love
  23. 0:49talking about the weak yen." That said,
  24. 0:51I've been giving lessons on the weak
  25. 0:53yen for years now. They've been viewed
  26. 0:56millions of times, and although I think
  27. 0:58the causes have been conveyed to
  28. 1:00everyone, the voices of your anger are
  29. 1:01quiet. Why aren't the citizens angry, I
  30. 1:06wonder. It's because the mechanism is
  31. 1:09complex and hard to understand, right?
  32. 1:12You don't even know if you should be
  33. 1:13angry, or what's actually happening.
  34. 1:15But as a fact, yes. Just recently, on
  35. 1:19July 21st, 1 dollar finally hit 163 yen
  36. 1:22. "Oh, really?" At first we were
  37. 1:25surprised at the 150 yen range, but
  38. 1:27we've somehow gotten used to it. I
  39. 1:29don't know why, but it's something you
  40. 1:31just get used to. Yeah, you even get
  41. 1:32used to Singapore eventually. Oh, like
  42. 1:34there are pools in Singapore, right?
  43. 1:36Yeah. You stop swimming in them, don't
  44. 1:38you? Right, because you get used to it.
  45. 1:39Oh, it's just there. Like the pool. You
  46. 1:41stop swimming, you see. You swam at
  47. 1:43first, but then you stopped. You've
  48. 1:45gotten used to the dollar-yen rate
  49. 1:46being in the 150s, haven't you? Yeah. "
  50. 1:49Vegetables are expensive, rice is
  51. 1:50expensive, everything is expensive."
  52. 1:52You've just gotten used to it. But now,
  53. 1:54there’s news that it’s finally hit
  54. 1:57163 yen. What is happening here? I’d
  55. 2:00like to re-examine what exactly this "
  56. 2:02yen depreciation" means. So why is
  57. 2:04Nakata making such a fuss? It’s
  58. 2:07because when people say "yen value goes
  59. 2:09up or down," it’s hard to remember.
  60. 2:11So, I made a phrase to help you
  61. 2:12remember, using the words "yen" and "
  62. 2:14cheap." It means the value of the yen
  63. 2:16becomes cheap. That’s easy to
  64. 2:18remember, right? The value of the yen
  65. 2:20is getting cheaper. If the things you
  66. 2:22want become cheaper, you’d be happy,
  67. 2:24right? But you wouldn’t like it if
  68. 2:26the things you already own become
  69. 2:27cheaper, right? Like, "The house you
  70. 2:29bought has gone down in value." You
  71. 2:30wouldn't like that, would you? "The car
  72. 2:32you bought has gone down in value." You
  73. 2:34wouldn't like that, right? You’re
  74. 2:35happy when things you want to buy get
  75. 2:37cheaper. But it's frustrating when
  76. 2:38things you’ve already bought get
  77. 2:40cheaper. That happens, doesn’t it?
  78. 2:42Like, right after you buy a bag, you
  79. 2:43see the same one being sold at a 30%
  80. 2:45discount. That makes you angry, doesn't
  81. 2:47it? That’s the kind of thing that’s
  82. 2:49happening. You generally hold yen,
  83. 2:51right? When you open your wallet. Yeah.
  84. 2:53You don’t really have dollars or
  85. 2:55euros in there, do you? Because we
  86. 2:56don't usually use them; we use yen.
  87. 2:59Since the yen you have is losing value,
  88. 3:01that means we’re in a pinch. The
  89. 3:02house you own becomes cheaper. The land
  90. 3:04you own becomes cheaper. The bag you
  91. 3:06own becomes cheaper. That’s really
  92. 3:07painful, isn't it? That situation is
  93. 3:09happening right now. But still, there
  94. 3:12are influencers who say things like, "A
  95. 3:14weak yen is actually better, guys.""A
  96. 3:16weak yen is a plus for the Japanese
  97. 3:18economy." I don’t know about that.
  98. 3:20When you see people saying things like
  99. 3:21"Everyone else is an idiot," you start
  100. 3:23to wonder, "Wait, is that true?" But
  101. 3:24look, it’s not about whether it’s
  102. 3:26good or bad; the real way to think
  103. 3:28about it is who gains and who loses.
  104. 3:31This is the key point. A weak yen is
  105. 3:33actually profitable for certain people.
  106. 3:36And who would that be? Large companies
  107. 3:38that export products. It’s profitable
  108. 3:40for them. Because, you see, they sell a
  109. 3:43lot of things to foreigners. And then
  110. 3:46they get paid in the local currency.
  111. 3:48When you receive payment in dollars and
  112. 3:50then exchange those dollars for yen,
  113. 3:52yes. Instead of getting only 110 yen
  114. 3:55for one dollar, you get 163 yen, so for
  115. 3:58large export companies that earn
  116. 4:00dollars locally, they just can't stop
  117. 4:02smiling. They're thrilled. Also, for
  118. 4:07investors, people who are already
  119. 4:09retired and living off their
  120. 4:10investments, they mostly hold their
  121. 4:12assets in foreign stocks. They're
  122. 4:16living off their yields, you know?
  123. 4:20People who are basically FIRE, for them
  124. 4:22, since they hold foreign stocks and
  125. 4:24not Japanese yen, it's profitable. It's
  126. 4:29incredible, isn't it? So, who are the
  127. 4:31people left out? It's everyone who
  128. 4:33isn't in that group, yes. Everyone who
  129. 4:35isn't, raise your hands, that's
  130. 4:37everyone else. Yeah. When I say large
  131. 4:40export companies, I don't mean the
  132. 4:42employees. I mean the owners, you know.
  133. 4:45Yeah. There might be many people who
  134. 4:47work at Toyota. But if you say you "own
  135. 4:48" Toyota, people will ask, "Are you Mr.
  136. 4:51A?" Yeah. They'll ask if Mr. A is here
  137. 4:53today or if Mr. B is watching. Yeah. If
  138. 4:55you ask if anyone has bought Uniqlo,
  139. 4:57everyone has. But you don't "own"
  140. 4:58Uniqlo, do you? You just own a Uniqlo
  141. 5:00cut-and-sew shirt. You don't own the
  142. 5:02Uniqlo company. If you said you owned
  143. 5:03it, people would ask if you're Mr.
  144. 5:05Tadashi. Those people, like Mr. Tadashi
  145. 5:07or Mr. A, can't stop smiling. But for
  146. 5:10the vast majority of people who wear
  147. 5:12Uniqlo or drive a Toyota, the yen is
  148. 5:13getting weaker, so they're in a very
  149. 5:15tough situation. That's why when people
  150. 5:18talk about whether a weak yen or a
  151. 5:19strong yen is good, you have to ask:
  152. 5:21for whom? Please don't forget to ask "
  153. 5:23for whom" when we talk about whether a
  154. 5:25weak or strong yen is good. And the
  155. 5:28point is that these two groups are
  156. 5:30vastly different. When people say it's
  157. 5:34a plus for the Japanese economy,
  158. 5:35they're looking at this group here.
  159. 5:38When they say there are people who
  160. 5:39benefit, they're looking at this group.
  161. 5:41But the important discussion is that
  162. 5:43the majority of people belong to this
  163. 5:44group here, isn't it? The reason is
  164. 5:46that I didn't create YouTube University
  165. 5:48for people like Tadashi-san or Akio-san
  166. 5:50. If my subscribers were only Tadashi
  167. 5:52and Akio, my opinion would change. But
  168. 5:55it's clear as day that the vast
  169. 5:56majority of my 5 million-plus
  170. 5:58subscribers are on this side, so I'm
  171. 5:59going to speak to them—that’s the
  172. 6:01point. I’m just doing my own job,
  173. 6:04after all. Even Takaichi-san herself
  174. 6:07has said that she doesn't really
  175. 6:09understand which of these two is better
  176. 6:10. On January 31, 2026. When
  177. 6:15Takaichi-san gave a speech in Kawasaki,
  178. 6:17she said exactly that—that she
  179. 6:18doesn't know whether a strong yen or a
  180. 6:20weak yen is better. The Prime Minister
  181. 6:22herself is saying it, you see. Neither
  182. 6:24of us knows which one it is, right? On
  183. 6:26top of that. She's saying it’s a huge
  184. 6:28opportunity for export industries,
  185. 6:30right? So, for Takaichi-san, the point
  186. 6:32is that she wants to strengthen the
  187. 6:34Japanese economy, which is why she
  188. 6:35holds that opinion. Furthermore,
  189. 6:37you’ve heard people say that the
  190. 6:38Foreign Exchange Fund is "steaming hot"
  191. 6:40(making a profit), haven't you? That
  192. 6:41the Foreign Exchange Fund is "steaming
  193. 6:43hot." The only kind of "steaming"(
  194. 6:44hokuhoku) we know is a baked potato. "
  195. 6:46The Foreign Exchange Fund is steaming."
  196. 6:47My mom has never said anything like
  197. 6:49that before. That’s the first time
  198. 6:50I’ve ever heard that the Foreign
  199. 6:51Exchange Fund is steaming. I really
  200. 6:52don't want to be asked what this "
  201. 6:53Foreign Exchange Fund" is right now.
  202. 6:54Because I don't know. Because I don't
  203. 6:56want to look stupid. Exactly. The
  204. 6:58Foreign Exchange Fund is the foreign
  205. 7:00currency held by the government. In
  206. 7:02other words, the government is the one
  207. 7:04doing this. If you take the position of
  208. 7:07an investor, the government is making a
  209. 7:09killing. So, while the government as an
  210. 7:14economic operator might be "steaming"
  211. 7:16from an investor's perspective, none of
  212. 7:18us actually hold the Foreign Exchange
  213. 7:19Fund. If someone says "I have it," then
  214. 7:22the response is "Oh, you must be the
  215. 7:24government," but that’s not the case
  216. 7:25for any of us. In that case, this is a
  217. 7:27situation we really need to think about
  218. 7:29once. We’re starting to feel a sense
  219. 7:31of crisis, aren't we? "Oh, is that so?"
  220. 7:33"This is something I need to listen to.
  221. 7:35" The weak yen—if it stays like this,
  222. 7:36we're in trouble. So, what does a weak
  223. 7:38yen actually mean? It means, well, we
  224. 7:40can't buy iPhones. That dream of buying
  225. 7:42the latest iPhone every year has
  226. 7:44basically become a fairy tale. My old,
  227. 7:46old iPhone is cracked to pieces. But
  228. 7:48I'm still petting and obsessing over it
  229. 7:50just to keep using it. Yeah. And the
  230. 7:52reason is, the new ones aren't just
  231. 7:53white goods anymore. That's right. They
  232. 7:55cost hundreds of thousands of yen—I
  233. 7:57mean, what is this? Should I put it on
  234. 7:59display? Yeah. It’s like the iPhone
  235. 8:00has become some kind of gold bar.
  236. 8:02That’s exactly what’s happening. So
  237. 8:03, what’s the cause of this? If you
  238. 8:05ask me to explain, that’s where
  239. 8:06things get complicated. The cause is
  240. 8:08exactly what you'd think. The "Basic
  241. 8:12Policies" cabinet decision made just
  242. 8:14recently on July 21st is said to be the
  243. 8:16main culprit. Wait, hold on. I didn't
  244. 8:21understand a single word of that.
  245. 8:22That’s how it is, though. All I know
  246. 8:24is that it was in Japanese. The fact
  247. 8:26that the "Basic Policies" were decided
  248. 8:28by the cabinet. Honestly, I completely
  249. 8:31glossed over that. I was too busy
  250. 8:33chasing celebrity gossip. Like, hearing
  251. 8:36rumors about Onigoe Tomahawk fighting
  252. 8:38—you know, that kind of stuff. While
  253. 8:40we're busy asking if Ariyoshi is angry,
  254. 8:42these policies get passed and now we
  255. 8:44can't afford iPhones. That’s the kind
  256. 8:46of thing happening right now. I can't
  257. 8:48forgive the internet news for that. Why
  258. 8:49don't they have their priorities
  259. 8:51straight? Why does Yahoo News treat
  260. 8:53celebrity drama as more important than
  261. 8:55this? Isn't this more critical? Exactly
  262. 8:58. Yes. There are other opinions saying
  263. 9:01this cabinet decision isn't the main
  264. 9:02cause, though. Some explain that it's
  265. 9:07due to instability in the Middle East,
  266. 9:08leading to a "flight to the dollar"
  267. 9:10which drives the yen down. And what
  268. 9:14that means is, "the dollar in times of
  269. 9:16crisis"—crises like war, you know. So
  270. 9:19, for instance, if there’s a conflict
  271. 9:21in the Middle East and war breaks out,
  272. 9:23people around the world think, "It's
  273. 9:25dangerous, I don't know which country
  274. 9:27is safe, so let's buy the strongest
  275. 9:28currency in the world." They flock to
  276. 9:30the dollar, which is the most trusted.
  277. 9:32People in the Middle East or Europe
  278. 9:34think, "This is dangerous, I should buy
  279. 9:36dollars." That buying pressure drives
  280. 9:38up the dollar, which in turn makes the
  281. 9:40yen weaker. Some might argue it’s
  282. 9:43just relative, but I can explain why
  283. 9:45that’s not the case. What I mean is,
  284. 9:47you shouldn't just look at the
  285. 9:48dollar-yen pair. I think many of you
  286. 9:50are checking the dollar-yen rate,
  287. 9:51though. I'm telling you not to just
  288. 9:53look at the dollar-yen. You can look up
  289. 9:55the euro-yen, yuan-yen, or Singapore
  290. 9:57dollar-yen rates, right? If the
  291. 10:01euro-yen or yuan-yen are showing a
  292. 10:02stronger yen, then it’s the
  293. 10:03dollar’s fault. Yeah. It’s like,
  294. 10:08it's not that I'm falling, but everyone
  295. 10:10else is rising. You can only tell that
  296. 10:12if you look at your surroundings. Yeah.
  297. 10:14When that happens, you only think "is
  298. 10:15this an earthquake?" when everyone else
  299. 10:17is shaking too, right? Yeah. But then
  300. 10:19there are those times you think it's an
  301. 10:21earthquake, but it was just you being
  302. 10:22dizzy from alcohol. Yeah. That’s the
  303. 10:24situation we're in. For Japan, the yen
  304. 10:26is weakening all on its own. This is
  305. 10:29called the yen's independent decline,
  306. 10:31and since this state of the yen
  307. 10:33weakening alone has been continuing
  308. 10:35lately, it means the situation is
  309. 10:36domestic. And the thing that had the
  310. 10:40biggest impact domestically on July
  311. 10:4121st was the Cabinet decision on the "
  312. 10:43Basic Policies." The Cabinet decision
  313. 10:45on the Basic Policies—well, I barely
  314. 10:47understand what a Cabinet decision is.
  315. 10:49It means the Cabinet discusses and
  316. 10:50decides on something, right? And when
  317. 10:52they decide, what did the Cabinet
  318. 10:53decide? They decided on the "Basic
  319. 10:55Policies." You wouldn't want to be told
  320. 10:57, "You've got those Basic Policies,"
  321. 10:58would you? If someone told you, "You're
  322. 10:59taking the Basic Policies," you'd want
  323. 11:01to knock them out, right? I mean, I'm
  324. 11:02trying to lose weight here. It’s that
  325. 11:04kind of conversation, right? The "Basic
  326. 11:06Policies" are incredibly important.
  327. 11:08It’s a term you absolutely must
  328. 11:09remember. I want you to remember this
  329. 11:11when you become an adult. The "Basic
  330. 11:14Policies" have been issued every summer
  331. 11:16since 2001, starting under the Koizumi
  332. 11:18administration, as a major economic
  333. 11:20roadmap. This is the single most
  334. 11:24important document. Important for what?
  335. 11:26For budget compilation. In other words,
  336. 11:28deciding how to use the taxes collected
  337. 11:29from everyone in Japan—budgeting is
  338. 11:31the most crucial part, right? Yeah.
  339. 11:33Even in a household, when you're
  340. 11:35deciding what to spend money on—like
  341. 11:36whether to buy a car or maybe renovate
  342. 11:38or expand the house—Yeah. If your dad
  343. 11:40suddenly said, "I'm going to buy ten
  344. 11:42Rolexes!" you’d want to knock some
  345. 11:44sense into him. That’s why, for any
  346. 11:45group, a budget—how to use money—is
  347. 11:47the most important thing. Since the
  348. 11:50Basic Policies serve as the key
  349. 11:52document determining how that money is
  350. 11:54used, this major economic plan is
  351. 11:55apparently announced every year in June
  352. 11:57or July. Have you all been watching it?
  353. 12:01No, you haven't. Yeah. When people
  354. 12:03watch summer festivals like the Sumida
  355. 12:05River Fireworks, no one is out there
  356. 12:06asking, "Is the Basic Policies
  357. 12:07announcement out yet?" I mean,
  358. 12:09there’s no TV program where Hideki
  359. 12:10Takahashi and Masa are watching the
  360. 12:12Basic Policies together, is there?
  361. 12:13Because that’s the Sumida River
  362. 12:15Fireworks festival. Exactly. That's why
  363. 12:19we need to look at these Basic Policies
  364. 12:20. They talk about a "Basic Policies
  365. 12:29Shock," which actually happened on June
  366. 12:3130 th—a whole month before the July
  367. 12:3321st date—when the draft was leaked
  368. 12:35to the press. People were saying, "Oh,
  369. 12:42they're announcing the Basic Policies
  370. 12:44in July.""The Takaichi administration
  371. 12:45is finally going to announce its major
  372. 12:47strategy." Since it’s the first major
  373. 12:48policy plan for the Takaichi
  374. 12:50administration. "I wonder what it's
  375. 12:51going to be like; I'm looking forward
  376. 12:52to it." People in political circles and
  377. 12:54investors were all saying that. And in
  378. 12:57the midst of that, the prototype draft
  379. 12:59emerged. Since it was announced that a
  380. 13:02rough draft was coming out, the draft
  381. 13:04was reported in the news. And then, it
  382. 13:06hit everyone like a shock. Well, this
  383. 13:08was just too incredible. What was so
  384. 13:10incredible? There were three major
  385. 13:12government programs. What are they?
  386. 13:15First one. The five characters for "
  387. 13:18fiscal consolidation" were missing. Is
  388. 13:22it a surprise that they were missing?
  389. 13:23Why is this surprising? Because they've
  390. 13:25been doing this every year since 2001,
  391. 13:27right? This is a phrase that was always
  392. 13:30included every year since 2001. You've
  393. 13:33heard that Japan's deficit bonds are
  394. 13:35ballooning, right? Yeah. Deficit bonds
  395. 13:39are, you know, when we say "we're short
  396. 13:41on the budget, so let us borrow a
  397. 13:43little." Bonds are national debt, so
  398. 13:46the government issues them to raise
  399. 13:47funds. For a company, it's a corporate
  400. 13:50bond, and for an individual, it's just
  401. 13:52debt. That debt is expanding massively,
  402. 13:56and through things like Abenomics, the
  403. 13:58plan was to create a huge bubble to
  404. 14:00stimulate the economy and trigger
  405. 14:01trickle-down effects. We believed in
  406. 14:05that Abenomics dream, where even if we
  407. 14:07were in debt, it would stimulate
  408. 14:08everyone. We had those 12 years where
  409. 14:10we waited for the trickle-down,
  410. 14:12wondering why our throats were still
  411. 14:13bone-dry, tilting our heads in
  412. 14:15confusion. This struggle for fiscal
  413. 14:18consolidation has been going on for
  414. 14:20over 20 years. Every former Prime
  415. 14:24Minister and every Prime Minister
  416. 14:26before that all said they would do
  417. 14:27their best to consolidate the budget.
  418. 14:29What does that mean? It's like a father
  419. 14:32who is the most heavily indebted person
  420. 14:34in town declaring every New Year's Day:
  421. 14:36"I'll save money and pay back my debts
  422. 14:38this year." And we say, "Dad, you're
  423. 14:40saying that again?" Of course, he never
  424. 14:43finishes paying it back, and he
  425. 14:45actually keeps increasing his debt. But
  426. 14:48because he showed that enthusiasm every
  427. 14:50year, we thought, "Well, Dad says he's
  428. 14:52going to try hard this year, so..." But
  429. 14:54this year, despite the debt growing,
  430. 14:56that father was silent about it. "Wait,
  431. 14:59Dad, what happened?""Oh, this year's
  432. 15:01policy is over." It's over. No
  433. 15:04consolidation this year. That makes
  434. 15:07your heart skip a beat, doesn't it? As
  435. 15:09a family, you have to ask, "What's
  436. 15:11wrong, Dad?" That's what's making our
  437. 15:12hearts skip a beat. Instead, the old
  438. 15:15man has started suggesting that we all
  439. 15:17work hard on the debt-to-GDP ratio.
  440. 15:20What is that? I lost consciousness
  441. 15:23after four hours, so I was already
  442. 15:25asleep around this point, but this
  443. 15:27debt-to-GDP ratio is actually quite
  444. 15:29simple. Debt balance is comparing the
  445. 15:34total debt against the GDP. You learned
  446. 15:39about GDP, which is the economic
  447. 15:40activity generated, right? GDP, yeah.
  448. 15:43We studied things like Gross National
  449. 15:45Product and Gross Domestic Product,
  450. 15:46right? Yeah. With this GDP and the
  451. 15:51ratio of debt, the proposal is,
  452. 15:52wouldn't you be happy if that ratio
  453. 15:54went down? They’re changing the
  454. 15:57standards. You know the previous
  455. 16:00standard was a single-year primary
  456. 16:01balance surplus, right? I don't know it
  457. 16:04. What is that? Yeah. Being told about
  458. 16:08a single-year primary balance surplus
  459. 16:10is really unpleasant, isn't it? Yeah.
  460. 16:12The primary balance is, well, that
  461. 16:14financial balance. And that means we
  462. 16:17should think about it on a single-year
  463. 16:18basis. Instead of looking at a combined
  464. 16:21two or three years, the idea is to aim
  465. 16:23for a surplus by asking, "Did Japan
  466. 16:25make a profit this year or not?" Let's
  467. 16:28make this year a surplus. That's just a
  468. 16:30normal goal, right? Since a single-year
  469. 16:39surplus is quite strict, they started
  470. 16:41talking about the debt-to-GDP ratio;
  471. 16:43what they mean by this is, rather than
  472. 16:45repaying debt through austerity, why
  473. 16:47not lower the debt ratio by increasing
  474. 16:49GDP instead? They keep talking about
  475. 16:57debt, debt. Everyone, as a father, I've
  476. 17:00incurred debt, right? So, I've been
  477. 17:03turning off the lights and rationing
  478. 17:04water to save up and pay it back. I
  479. 17:07hate it. I'm sick of this kind of life.
  480. 17:10Instead, I want to live brightly, so I
  481. 17:12want to use electricity and turn on the
  482. 17:14faucets. And on top of that, I'm saying
  483. 17:17I'll work a lot more. Oh, I see. It's
  484. 17:20like that. So that's what's called
  485. 17:22active fiscal policy. To do that,
  486. 17:26everyone, please lend me lots of money.
  487. 17:29I'll take that and head to the
  488. 17:30racetrack. No, really, that's what it
  489. 17:34comes down to, doesn't it? The reason
  490. 17:36is, they're talking about this 370
  491. 17:38trillion yen public-private investment.
  492. 17:45They'll take 370 trillion yen from the
  493. 17:47government in taxes and from large
  494. 17:49private corporations, and by using that
  495. 17:51massive pool of capital, they hope to
  496. 17:53grow the economy so much that the debt
  497. 17:55won't seem as big anymore. I want to
  498. 18:01ask about that. Isn't it dangerous if
  499. 18:04it doesn't work out? That’s what I'm
  500. 18:05saying. It's like your dad borrowing
  501. 18:09money from the neighbors and taking all
  502. 18:11our pocket money and savings to the
  503. 18:13racetrack—it’s fine to go, but is
  504. 18:15there any guarantee he'll win? He
  505. 18:20doesn't want to save money to pay off
  506. 18:22the debt, so he collects money from
  507. 18:23everyone and says he's off to the races
  508. 18:25. That's essentially it. No, no, Nakata
  509. 18:29, don't compare Takaichi-san's
  510. 18:31investment to a horse race. It's a
  511. 18:33public-private investment. The Japanese
  512. 18:34people are going to get serious and
  513. 18:36invest, they say. Well, what has
  514. 18:37happened so far, really? That's the
  515. 18:39question. Yeah. We've had these before,
  516. 18:41right? Like the Cool Japan strategy and
  517. 18:43various organizations—we've created
  518. 18:45so many. If they were actually making a
  519. 18:46huge profit, we wouldn't be in this
  520. 18:48situation right now. Yeah. Things the
  521. 18:50government invests in don't always turn
  522. 18:51out to be winners. I'm not saying it's
  523. 18:54as unpredictable as a horse race. But
  524. 18:57regardless, there are uncertain factors
  525. 18:59involved. They're suggesting we change
  526. 19:04the standard and start thinking in a
  527. 19:05more positive direction. Huh, that's
  528. 19:08quite a profound way of putting it. I
  529. 19:11see. Instead of just cutting back,
  530. 19:15they're asking, "Can't you evaluate us
  531. 19:16based on diluting the debt through GDP
  532. 19:18growth?" That’s the first point;
  533. 19:22there are two or three more. The second
  534. 19:25point was language that felt like
  535. 19:26pressure on the Bank of Japan. They
  536. 19:30explicitly stated again that
  537. 19:32appropriate monetary policy management
  538. 19:34is necessary for a strong economy. What
  539. 19:38does this mean? For those who don't
  540. 19:39know, they’d just think, "Oh, I see,"
  541. 19:41and move on. But this is the key point.
  542. 19:44Monetary policy is not the government's
  543. 19:46job. Whose job is it? It's the Bank of
  544. 19:50Japan's job. Yes. The Bank of Japan
  545. 19:52handles monetary policy. The government
  546. 19:54handles fiscal policy. Yes. Monetary
  547. 19:56policy is about raising or lowering
  548. 19:58interest rates. Like bank interest
  549. 20:00rates. Ah, the interest rates for money
  550. 20:02everyone borrows are low right now,
  551. 20:03aren't they? They've been low ever
  552. 20:05since the days of Abenomics. They
  553. 20:07called it negative interest rates. It's
  554. 20:08called zero interest rates. The reason
  555. 20:10for that is that it's easier to borrow
  556. 20:12money to get the economy moving, but
  557. 20:14there are also negative side effects.
  558. 20:16If you have Japanese yen and you can't
  559. 20:18get any interest by lending it in Japan
  560. 20:20, you might think, "Maybe I should lend
  561. 20:22it in dollars instead." That's why
  562. 20:24people buy dollars. Low interest rates
  563. 20:27mean that, compared to other currencies
  564. 20:29, the yen becomes very weak. If you
  565. 20:33convert yen to dollars and hold them,
  566. 20:34it's more profitable to earn interest
  567. 20:36in dollars. This is called a carry
  568. 20:38trade. It’s a trade where you just
  569. 20:40carry the money over. So, low interest
  570. 20:41rates are good for stimulating the
  571. 20:43domestic economy, but when it comes to
  572. 20:45international competition, you can
  573. 20:46choose dollars. Or you can choose euros
  574. 20:48, which makes the yen weak. That's why
  575. 20:50Abenomics originally had a time limit.
  576. 20:52But it was "extraordinary" monetary
  577. 20:53easing, so the plan was to stimulate it
  578. 20:55with a big bang, and then tighten it up
  579. 20:57later. But since that didn't work out
  580. 20:59as planned, it just dragged on and on,
  581. 21:01and now they're stuck in this state
  582. 21:02where they can't back out. Well, zero
  583. 21:05interest rates have continued, but
  584. 21:06they’ve been raising them little by
  585. 21:08little recently. Governor Ueda at the
  586. 21:10BOJ is trying his best to raise them,
  587. 21:12right? And because he's raising them,
  588. 21:14he's getting glares from Mr. Takaichi
  589. 21:16and others. Why? Because they want the
  590. 21:18economy to boom. They want the economy
  591. 21:20to take off, but raising interest rates
  592. 21:22is the exact opposite of that. In other
  593. 21:24words, the reason the government and
  594. 21:26the BOJ are independent is because they
  595. 21:28are prone to conflict. The government
  596. 21:33is more popular with the public if they
  597. 21:35spend money freely, cut taxes left and
  598. 21:37right, and pursue aggressive fiscal
  599. 21:38policies. We didn't choose the Bank of
  600. 21:42Japan, did we? If there's anyone who
  601. 21:43says, "I voted for Mr. Ueda," well,
  602. 21:45that's a delusion. Where did you vote?
  603. 21:47Exactly, I didn't vote for Mr. Ueda.
  604. 21:49The people we choose are the
  605. 21:50politicians, the representatives of the
  606. 21:52nation, the members of parliament.
  607. 21:53Politicians always want to say things
  608. 21:55that are popular and pleasing to the
  609. 21:57public, but the Bank of Japan has a
  610. 21:59real job to do. That job is protecting
  611. 22:01the value of the yen. If you don't
  612. 22:02protect the value of the yen, people
  613. 22:03will say the dollar is better. Or that
  614. 22:05the euro is better. If people decide
  615. 22:06they don't want to hold yen anymore,
  616. 22:08its value will crash, and everyone will
  617. 22:09be in big trouble. That is why
  618. 22:10protecting the yen's value is their job
  619. 22:12. They are known as the guardians of
  620. 22:14the currency. This means the job of a
  621. 22:16currency guardian often conflicts with
  622. 22:17the job of running a government while
  623. 22:19seeking public popularity. That’s why
  624. 22:22they are independent, right? Or rather,
  625. 22:24what happens when that independence is
  626. 22:26lost? During World War II, the
  627. 22:27government wanted to print more and
  628. 22:29more money for the war, so they forced
  629. 22:31the Bank of Japan to do as they were
  630. 22:32told and print massive amounts of yen.
  631. 22:34As a result, the value of the yen
  632. 22:36crashed after the war. This is what you
  633. 22:38call hyperinflation. Regular, "good"
  634. 22:41inflation is a state where prices rise
  635. 22:43gradually, which is actually a healthy
  636. 22:45condition. Hyperinflation is when that
  637. 22:48process goes into overdrive—bread
  638. 22:51that cost 100 yen this morning becomes
  639. 22:531,000 yen by noon, and 10,000 yen by
  640. 22:55night. That’s why you see pictures in
  641. 22:57textbooks of people carrying bundles of
  642. 22:59cash just to buy vegetables; that’s
  643. 23:01hyperinflation, and the Bank of Japan
  644. 23:02is the final guardian to prevent that.
  645. 23:04The central bank and the government are
  646. 23:06supposed to be independent of each
  647. 23:07other. But in reality, they are in a
  648. 23:10weak position. The government holds
  649. 23:13more power and has the authority to
  650. 23:14make various appointments, so you can't
  651. 23:16help but feel they are walking on
  652. 23:18eggshells. Yeah. You never see Mr. Ueda
  653. 23:20acting aggressive and talking down to
  654. 23:21someone like Ms. Takaichi. He seems to
  655. 23:23be very careful with his words, doesn't
  656. 23:24he? That’s because, inevitably, there
  657. 23:26is a problem with their relative
  658. 23:27positions. When they tell the Bank of
  659. 23:30Japan that "appropriate monetary policy
  660. 23:32management is necessary," it's like a
  661. 23:34dad saying, "Hey, I'm about to go hit
  662. 23:36it big at the horse races.""It would be
  663. 23:41a problem if Mom kept all our money
  664. 23:43locked away in savings right now."
  665. 23:46It’s an approach of saying, "Give me
  666. 23:48my allowance appropriately." Deciding
  667. 23:52for them what is "appropriate" and
  668. 23:54saying it from the other side acts as a
  669. 23:56very strong form of pressure. That’s
  670. 24:00how the market read it. In short, this
  671. 24:03is the phrasing they are using. They
  672. 24:08are using this phrasing, but people are
  673. 24:10thinking this is a dangerous way to run
  674. 24:11things. Yes. It's not about what they
  675. 24:17intended to say, but how the recipients
  676. 24:19are reacting to it. People read it as,
  677. 24:25"Isn't Japan getting rid of its debt
  678. 24:27repayment funds, pressuring the Bank of
  679. 24:29Japan not to raise rates, and then
  680. 24:30trying to boost the economy by pumping
  681. 24:32out fiscal spending?" That's why I
  682. 24:37thought, "Oh, the yen's slide won't
  683. 24:39stop." Oh, so it's heading toward a
  684. 24:41weaker yen. Then, it makes more sense
  685. 24:43to sell yen to make a profit. Yes. The
  686. 24:45final straw is the expansion of
  687. 24:46spending with no funding source. That
  688. 24:48370 trillion yen in public-private
  689. 24:50investment I mentioned earlier is pure
  690. 24:52extravagance. It's like taking
  691. 24:54everyone's money and just going all in.
  692. 24:56It's the idea that, "Hey, if we bet on
  693. 24:57this horse and that horse, we'll
  694. 24:59probably win." I mean, exactly. There
  695. 25:01were news reports about that recently,
  696. 25:03right? About how much money they're
  697. 25:04giving to a certain game company. Is
  698. 25:05that game company really trustworthy?
  699. 25:07There was a debate about that, wasn't
  700. 25:09there? Yeah. It makes you worry that
  701. 25:10they're just handing out money to
  702. 25:12people who are close to the government.
  703. 25:14Because of things like that, this "
  704. 25:16extravagance" needs to be scrutinized
  705. 25:18extremely strictly, but this kind of
  706. 25:20rhetoric just makes people even more
  707. 25:22anxious. They aren't doing any
  708. 25:24cost-cutting for fiscal consolidation,
  709. 25:25are they? Aren't they putting pressure
  710. 25:27on the Bank of Japan? On top of that,
  711. 25:29the overspending isn't just about
  712. 25:30public-private investment. They're
  713. 25:32talking about consumption tax cuts.
  714. 25:33Cutting consumption tax on food, which
  715. 25:36is currently at 8%. Let's make that 1%.
  716. 25:39And even that remaining 1%, they say
  717. 25:41they'll make it effectively zero with
  718. 25:43handouts. It sounds good to the ears,
  719. 25:45doesn't it? It sounds pleasant.
  720. 25:47Politicians always tell us what we want
  721. 25:49to hear, but where is the distortion?
  722. 25:52Where is the fallout coming from? We'd
  723. 25:54be happy if they cut consumption taxes.
  724. 25:56We'd be happy if they hit the jackpot
  725. 25:58with public-private investments. We'd
  726. 26:00be happy if they worked well with the
  727. 26:02Bank of Japan. We'd be happy if they
  728. 26:03made a huge profit instead of being
  729. 26:05stingy and trying to balance the budget
  730. 26:06. That’s exactly it. Yeah. It’s
  731. 26:08happy news. But there’s no guarantee
  732. 26:10for it. And the question is, who is
  733. 26:13taking the hit? I mean, when you
  734. 26:16realize, "Hey, wait, is the money Dad
  735. 26:18is taking to the horse races actually
  736. 26:20our tuition?" you get a sudden jolt.
  737. 26:23Aren't we the ones suffering? Who is it
  738. 26:25? Who’s actually suffering? Is it big
  739. 26:28corporations? Investors? Or is it
  740. 26:31ordinary citizens? If it turns out
  741. 26:34we’re raising stock prices and lining
  742. 26:36investors 'pockets at the expense of
  743. 26:38ordinary citizens suffering, that’s
  744. 26:40just sad for us. That’s the narrative
  745. 26:44that investors—those people overseas
  746. 26:46—have seen through, and it’s why
  747. 26:48they’re issuing these warnings. But
  748. 26:51we’re just sad. What does that even
  749. 26:53mean? I don’t get it, so I can’t
  750. 26:56get angry. That’s why Nakata has
  751. 26:59returned from Singapore. I am
  752. 27:01explaining it. I’m saying that maybe
  753. 27:04you all should be getting a bit more
  754. 27:05angry. This is no time to be angry
  755. 27:08about "Why did Nakata come back?"
  756. 27:09Better to just leave a small fry like
  757. 27:11me alone. There are much bigger things
  758. 27:13happening in Japan. Don’t you think?
  759. 27:15Now, let’s talk about the trick that
  760. 27:17was seen through by the market. Why
  761. 27:18wasn’t it seen through until now? The
  762. 27:20approval ratings were incredibly high,
  763. 27:21weren't they? Yeah. The support was
  764. 27:23high, right? That’s because they were
  765. 27:25very careful with their choice of words
  766. 27:27to hedge their bets. And the reason is,
  767. 27:29there was a baptism of fire. Back in
  768. 27:322022, about four years ago, the Truss
  769. 27:34Shock happened in the UK. Four years
  770. 27:37before this "Honebuto" shock, the Truss
  771. 27:39Shock occurred, where a very popular
  772. 27:41female prime minister was elected in
  773. 27:43the UK, winning a massive majority. In
  774. 27:46parliament. And that woman said: "
  775. 27:47Everyone, everyone, I want to save you,
  776. 27:49so I’m going to implement massive tax
  777. 27:51cuts!" And everyone was like, "Wow, how
  778. 27:54happy!" And it’s the same, isn't it?
  779. 27:56"I’ll implement massive tax cuts.""
  780. 27:57I’ll do big, bold spending." And then
  781. 27:59, "Where’s the funding coming from?"
  782. 28:01That’s what happens. With what money?
  783. 28:03You want to throw a party, Dad, that's
  784. 28:05fine, but when you ask where the money
  785. 28:07comes from, the idea is that if you
  786. 28:09throw a party, everyone will get
  787. 28:10energized, work harder, and earn plenty
  788. 28:13of money. Do you see? Isn't it the same
  789. 28:15thing? If you throw a party, everyone
  790. 28:17gets energized. If you make an
  791. 28:18investment, it’s bound to pay off. So
  792. 28:20the idea is, why not just use that
  793. 28:21money so everyone can be prosperous?
  794. 28:23They already tried this. That’s the "
  795. 28:25Truss Shock." And what happened to Ms.
  796. 28:27Truss? Well, actually. Yes. She lost
  797. 28:29the trust of the market. The market,
  798. 28:31meaning the financial market. What the
  799. 28:33market is, is that countries have
  800. 28:35people buy their currencies—like the
  801. 28:36yen—and their government bonds. All
  802. 28:39over the world. The whole world is your
  803. 28:41customer. To buy yen, or not to buy.
  804. 28:43Whether to buy Japanese government
  805. 28:45bonds is open to people all around the
  806. 28:46globe. Those customers worldwide looked
  807. 28:48at the UK's stance and thought, "Oh,
  808. 28:50this person isn't thinking this through
  809. 28:52." Meaning, there’s no funding source
  810. 28:54. She’s just winging it. "Oh, if I
  811. 28:56keep dealing with this person, I'm
  812. 28:57going to lose money.""It's dangerous to
  813. 29:00hold British pounds.""British
  814. 29:02government bonds will become worthless.
  815. 29:03" Because of this, bonds were sold off
  816. 29:06and the currency was sold off. This
  817. 29:08double-dip of the currency and bonds
  818. 29:10hit hard, and she had to resign after
  819. 29:1245 days. They said, "This won't do, the
  820. 29:14British economy is being abandoned by
  821. 29:16the world; Ms. Truss, step down, step
  822. 29:18down." Knowing this, what did Sanae
  823. 29:20Takaichi say? She used the term "
  824. 29:22responsible aggressive fiscal policy."
  825. 29:24Remember that phrase? What does "
  826. 29:26responsible aggressive fiscal policy"
  827. 29:28actually mean? It's the aggressive
  828. 29:30fiscal policy she really wants to
  829. 29:32pursue. An aggressive fiscal policy is
  830. 29:34exactly that—splurging, throwing a
  831. 29:35party, and saying, "Get energized and
  832. 29:37go make some money." From the very
  833. 29:39beginning, people were suspicious that
  834. 29:41if she just said "aggressive fiscal
  835. 29:43policy," it would end up like that.
  836. 29:45Since Takaichi-san had been saying "
  837. 29:47let's do an aggressive fiscal policy"
  838. 29:48since the party leadership race, people
  839. 29:50were wondering if it would be okay, so
  840. 29:52she added that prefix. "Responsible
  841. 29:54aggressive fiscal policy"—a good
  842. 29:56phrase, isn't it? Yeah. It’s like "
  843. 29:58responsible horse racing." Responsible
  844. 30:00betting activities, you could say.
  845. 30:02Isn't that wonderful? I think it sounds
  846. 30:04kind of nice. Showing up in a suit and
  847. 30:06all. Yes. "I just really love that
  848. 30:08horse," you know. Ah, I really enjoy
  849. 30:10watching horses run, so I engage in
  850. 30:11horse racing activities with a sense of
  851. 30:13moderation. There's no reason to
  852. 30:15criticize that, right? It’s a legal
  853. 30:18form of gambling, you won’t get
  854. 30:19arrested for it, so if you have
  855. 30:21moderation, please enjoy it. There are
  856. 30:23horse racing programs, and there’s
  857. 30:25horse racing itself, too. Isn't that a
  858. 30:27good thing? It's just that they're
  859. 30:28afraid of losing their status or
  860. 30:29credibility, that's all. However, the "
  861. 30:31responsibility" part started to be
  862. 30:33questioned precisely on January 31st in
  863. 30:35Kawasaki, as I mentioned at the start.
  864. 30:37Right here. "I don't know if a strong
  865. 30:39yen or a weak yen is better." Wait a
  866. 30:41minute. Whether a weak yen or a strong
  867. 30:43yen is better depends on the entity and
  868. 30:45the timing. During Abenomics, there was
  869. 30:47indeed a very strong yen and deflation.
  870. 30:50That's why aggressive fiscal policy was
  871. 30:52called for back then. But what about
  872. 30:54now? It's become extremely weak yen,
  873. 30:56hasn't it? If so, you should correct
  874. 30:59that. We're scared if it's not you,
  875. 31:01Takaichi-san. Because we can't afford
  876. 31:03to buy iPhones. It's not about that,
  877. 31:04yet despite saying you don't know, you
  878. 31:06added that it's a huge opportunity for
  879. 31:07export industries. You started saying
  880. 31:09it's a report from an external advisory
  881. 31:11committee. Wait a second, you’re
  882. 31:13strongly favoring that side's opinion,
  883. 31:15but what about us? With that said, this
  884. 31:18was the main focus. The original draft.
  885. 31:21Finally, summer is here. We've had a
  886. 31:23lot happen. There was the Imperial
  887. 31:25House Law. Re-party, re-party, and
  888. 31:27various other things happened. "Is it
  889. 31:29now? Please, Yoshimura-san," that sort
  890. 31:31of thing happened, didn't it? Yeah.
  891. 31:33Amidst all that, the original draft is
  892. 31:35coming out. Why is this attracting
  893. 31:37attention? Because it's the most
  894. 31:38important document that influences
  895. 31:40budget compilation and is the major
  896. 31:42annual policy. This is the country's
  897. 31:44master plan. Alright, does Takaichi-san
  898. 31:46have responsibility? What does
  899. 31:47responsibility mean? This was the
  900. 31:49result of looking into that. Let's see.
  901. 31:52The market reacted to this. In other
  902. 31:54words, the people who were watching
  903. 31:56this while keeping an eye on the
  904. 31:58situation reacted, thinking, "Oh, so
  905. 32:00this is the original draft." That was
  906. 32:02July 1st, the very next day. The yen
  907. 32:05weakened to 162.84 per dollar, and five
  908. 32:08days later, the long-term government
  909. 32:11bond yield hit 2.830%. It went up.
  910. 32:14Long-term government bond yields have
  911. 32:16risen for the first time in decades.
  912. 32:18Yes. You don't really get what that
  913. 32:19means, right? It’s okay. I won’t
  914. 32:21leave you behind. What it means for
  915. 32:22long-term government bond yields to
  916. 32:24rise is that the country wants to
  917. 32:25borrow money. You buy government bonds
  918. 32:27to provide them with cash, you lend it
  919. 32:29to them, and they pay it back with
  920. 32:30interest—that’s what a government
  921. 32:32bond is. Unlike stocks, it’s a format
  922. 32:34where you get your money back with
  923. 32:36interest. When someone comes and asks
  924. 32:39to borrow money, saying they'll pay it
  925. 32:40back with interest—yes. If it's
  926. 32:42someone you really trust, you’d want
  927. 32:44to say you don’t need interest, right
  928. 32:45? They’re a close friend, after all.
  929. 32:47You’d think, "You’ll pay me back
  930. 32:48right away." Yeah. It’s fine, it’s
  931. 32:49fine. I mean, it's a long-time
  932. 32:51friendship, just keep it, keep it. Oh,
  933. 32:52they paid me back the very next day.
  934. 32:54You’d think, "You’re a solid person
  935. 32:55after all," right? However, if a flakey
  936. 32:57person comes and says, "Can you lend me
  937. 32:59money?" you'd think, "Oh, this guy is
  938. 33:00trouble." But what do you do when you
  939. 33:02can’t say no? You’d definitely want
  940. 33:04interest, right? Like, "Well, the
  941. 33:06interest will be high." This is it.
  942. 33:08Trust and interest rates are inversely
  943. 33:10related. That’s why you can only
  944. 33:12borrow from a bank if you’re working
  945. 33:13for a company that earns a substantial
  946. 33:15amount of money. "Oh, I see," you think
  947. 33:18. "How much is your mortgage, what’s
  948. 33:19your salary, what kind of company is it
  949. 33:21?" That’s how the bank decides to
  950. 33:23lend. Yeah. But sometimes the bank
  951. 33:25won't lend to you. And friends won't
  952. 33:26lend to you either. The people who end
  953. 33:28up going to places with exorbitant
  954. 33:29interest rates are those types of
  955. 33:30people. They end up in the world of
  956. 33:32loan sharks like*Ushijima the Loan
  957. 33:33Shark*. Yeah. In those shady,
  958. 33:34ridiculous places, they say things like
  959. 33:36, "It's the city, you know, it's the
  960. 33:37city." Charging 50%every ten days
  961. 33:39happens because there is no trust.
  962. 33:41Because there's no trust and you can't
  963. 33:42borrow otherwise, the interest rate
  964. 33:44goes up. In other words, since a
  965. 33:45country with high trust has bonds
  966. 33:47everyone wants to hold even if the
  967. 33:49profit is thin, the interest can be low
  968. 33:51. So, if government bond yields rise,
  969. 33:54it means the world is demanding higher
  970. 33:56interest from Japan when it borrows
  971. 33:58money. Got it? That’s what it means.
  972. 34:01Yes. Interest is rising. The yen is
  973. 34:03falling. The value of what you own is
  974. 34:05dropping. And the interest rate on the
  975. 34:07money you borrow is going up. In other
  976. 34:09words, Japan's credit is declining.
  977. 34:12This has finally emerged as a result of
  978. 34:14this draft. That is exactly why. They
  979. 34:18know how serious this issue is, which
  980. 34:20is why they announced they would revise
  981. 34:22the "bold" draft the day after, July
  982. 34:247th. Do you understand? They are
  983. 34:28revising the "bold" draft. Are you
  984. 34:30following? It's like saying they're
  985. 34:32going to bend the unshakeable main
  986. 34:33pillar of the house. The term "bold"(
  987. 34:36honebuto) comes from Kiichi Miyazawa,
  988. 34:38who was Finance Minister in 2001. He
  989. 34:41said, "Forget the trivial arguments;
  990. 34:43let's have a bold discussion so the
  991. 34:45public can easily understand where
  992. 34:47Japan is headed." That's why it's
  993. 34:49called "bold." That is exactly why it
  994. 34:51is meant to be an unchanging master
  995. 34:53plan. And yet, they've started talking
  996. 34:55about revising that "bold" plan. That
  997. 34:56means something serious is happening.
  998. 34:58Basically, they fear this trap more
  999. 35:00than anything, which is why they're
  1000. 35:01adding to it. What did they add? They
  1001. 35:03added some wording. It means "while
  1002. 35:06realizing a stable rise in prices."
  1003. 35:10Rest assured, it's about stable price
  1004. 35:12growth—in other words, they are
  1005. 35:13saying they won't let it become
  1006. 35:15hyperinflation. A stable rise in prices
  1007. 35:17is the best possible economic situation
  1008. 35:19, you see. They don't want to cause
  1009. 35:21hyperinflation, right? It’s like
  1010. 35:23saying, "We won't go bankrupt.""I’m
  1011. 35:25going gambling.""But I won't go
  1012. 35:27bankrupt," that's what they're saying.
  1013. 35:28They're saying, "We will keep it stable
  1014. 35:30." But, did you believe them after
  1015. 35:32hearing that? You didn't, did you? "
  1016. 35:33Dad's going to the horse races.""It'll
  1017. 35:35be fine.""Dad, your policy is worrying,
  1018. 35:37are you sure? The big gamble, is it
  1019. 35:39okay?""It's fine.""I won't go bankrupt.
  1020. 35:41""I won't cause trouble for everyone,
  1021. 35:42okay?" Hmm. Wait, just a moment ago...
  1022. 35:44The market reacted. Government
  1023. 35:46long-term interest rates. Yes. The next
  1024. 35:48day, it hit 2.870%; it went up again
  1025. 35:51from 0.830%. Even though they revised
  1026. 35:53it, it went up. Looking at Dad's
  1027. 35:55revision, the market said, "Yeah, I see
  1028. 35:56.""I'm going to raise it," it said.
  1029. 35:58It's a harsh market, isn't it? If I try
  1030. 36:00a little harder and bow my head, they
  1031. 36:01just raise the interest rates on me;
  1032. 36:03it’s tough, isn't it? On top of that,
  1033. 36:05it's getting dangerous. The next day,
  1034. 36:07it hit 2.9%, going up even further.
  1035. 36:09It's going up day by day, isn't it?
  1036. 36:12Ushijima is just too scary, so they're
  1037. 36:14revising it again on July 10th. They're
  1038. 36:17modifying the "Basic Policies," and
  1039. 36:18it's basically becoming a mess of
  1040. 36:20revisions. That's what it is. They're
  1041. 36:23saying that this final adjustment isn't
  1042. 36:24about putting pressure on the Bank of
  1043. 36:26Japan. They say they'll leave the
  1044. 36:30specific methods of monetary policy to
  1045. 36:32the Bank of Japan. They're saying it
  1046. 36:34properly all over again. But this is a
  1047. 36:36strange story. This is just a normal
  1048. 36:38thing decided by law. The fact that
  1049. 36:40they're saying it again means they know
  1050. 36:41they're being suspected of this. They
  1051. 36:43know, so that's why they're saying it.
  1052. 36:45They're explicitly saying that they'll
  1053. 36:47leave the methods up to the Bank of
  1054. 36:48Japan. And what's more. In addition,
  1055. 36:51there's Minister Katayama. Finance
  1056. 36:53Minister Katayama, that is. Yes. He
  1057. 36:57hinted that it's possible to support
  1058. 36:58government bonds using the GPIF. I
  1059. 37:02don't really get what this means. I'm
  1060. 37:03not going to leave you behind. You
  1061. 37:05might not know GPI. It sounds like IWGP
  1062. 37:07—Ikebukuro West Gate Park—which is
  1063. 37:09nostalgic for my generation. Kubozuka
  1064. 37:11is the best, but it's not GPI. GPIF is
  1065. 37:14the pension fund. In other words, it's
  1066. 37:17collecting pensions from everyone.
  1067. 37:19Everyone pays their pension, right?
  1068. 37:20You're paying it, right? What happens
  1069. 37:22to those pensions? It's not just about
  1070. 37:24saving them up and having Mr. Aso stare
  1071. 37:26at them blankly. It's not like Mr. Aso
  1072. 37:27is just sitting there smoking while
  1073. 37:29watching over the pension fund. They
  1074. 37:31invest what's collected to return the
  1075. 37:32profits to everyone and benefit the
  1076. 37:34nation. That's why it's the national
  1077. 37:38pension fund. Yes. This GPIF is said to
  1078. 37:41be the world's largest institutional
  1079. 37:43investor, collecting and investing
  1080. 37:44funds. What does it mean to support
  1081. 37:47government bonds with this GPIF? Yes.
  1082. 37:50GPIF should be used to maximize
  1083. 37:52everyone's benefits, right? But this is
  1084. 37:56saying they'll buy bonds so that
  1085. 37:57interest rates don't rise too much. Yes
  1086. 38:00. Do you get what that means? They're
  1087. 38:03using money collected from everyone to
  1088. 38:05keep unpopular products from falling in
  1089. 38:07price. Understand? They should use the
  1090. 38:09money collected from everyone to make a
  1091. 38:11profit. So I want them to say they're
  1092. 38:13going to buy popular assets instead.
  1093. 38:14Yeah. Snatching up everyone's popular
  1094. 38:16goods, right? "I'll go buy some popular
  1095. 38:18sweets.""Please go buy me some Mochurin
  1096. 38:20," you say. But it turns out, the guy
  1097. 38:21had a friend who ran a Japanese
  1098. 38:23confectionary shop. Yeah. And that shop
  1099. 38:25was about to go under. So it's like, "
  1100. 38:26Mochurin is fine and all, but I bought
  1101. 38:28you some ohagi instead." Don't buy
  1102. 38:30ohagi! We gave you the money because we
  1103. 38:32thought we were getting Mochurin. You'd
  1104. 38:35wonder if any country would actually
  1105. 38:37buy ohagi just to suit their own agenda
  1106. 38:39, right? Well, it's actually happened.
  1107. 38:42There's a historical precedent? Yes,
  1108. 38:45the UK right after World War II. The UK
  1109. 38:49at that time had spent so much on the
  1110. 38:50war, they were drowning in debt. Their
  1111. 38:54debt-to-GDP ratio was exactly 200%.
  1112. 38:57Since their debt was twice what they
  1113. 38:59earned, the Great British Empire lost
  1114. 39:02its status as the anchor currency, and
  1115. 39:04the post-WWII era became America's time
  1116. 39:06, right? The reason for that was
  1117. 39:08because the UK spent way too much money
  1118. 39:10on the war. They're starting to suggest
  1119. 39:13they might do what the UK did when it
  1120. 39:15was in that kind of pinch. You get it?
  1121. 39:19They're saying they'll use the money
  1122. 39:20collected from everyone to buy ohagi so
  1123. 39:22it doesn't lose its value—they're
  1124. 39:24actually going that far. This is a huge
  1125. 39:26deal, isn't it? Because of this
  1126. 39:28statement, the dollar pulled back from
  1127. 39:31162 yen to the 161 yen range. People
  1128. 39:35thought Katayama-san might be serious,
  1129. 39:37wondering if there was something to it,
  1130. 39:39so it pulled back to 161 yen. It made a
  1131. 39:42slight recovery. But at this stage,
  1132. 39:45it's just a draft. Even if it's the "
  1133. 39:47Basic Policy," it's just a draft. It
  1134. 39:49hasn't been officially decided by the
  1135. 39:51Cabinet yet, so please wait. Please
  1136. 39:53wait until the Cabinet decision is made
  1137. 39:54. Please wait for the official
  1138. 39:55announcement. When is the official
  1139. 39:57announcement? Four days after this. We
  1140. 39:59are planning for the 14th. However, it
  1141. 40:01went poorly. It's been delayed by a
  1142. 40:03week. Why? Because they're scared,
  1143. 40:05they're terrified. If they announce it,
  1144. 40:08no, that won't work. Then, the yen's
  1145. 40:11depreciation and the rise in long-term
  1146. 40:13bond yields didn't stop. That would be
  1147. 40:15a trap, wouldn't it? So they must have
  1148. 40:17been arguing back and forth. Are we
  1149. 40:18going with this? Do we go? Or not? What
  1150. 40:20do we do? I'm the "Basic Policy." It's
  1151. 40:22going to be nothing but bones.
  1152. 40:23They’re making such a huge fuss about
  1153. 40:24it. So it was delayed until the cabinet
  1154. 40:26decision on the 21st. Yes. Now you
  1155. 40:29finally understand the gravity of the
  1156. 40:31cabinet decision on the Basic Policies.
  1157. 40:33An annual master plan. It was a major
  1158. 40:36conflict. A final trick after two
  1159. 40:38revisions. They even mentioned what the
  1160. 40:41UK did after the war and made some
  1161. 40:43terrifying, drastic revisions before
  1162. 40:45the final decision. Everyone was paying
  1163. 40:48attention. They watched. Then, of
  1164. 40:50course, they added this. The specific
  1165. 40:52methods are left to the Bank of Japan.
  1166. 40:54Stable price increases, right. They say
  1167. 40:56they will strictly uphold that. However
  1168. 40:58, they also say this, yes. Basically,
  1169. 41:02the mention of fiscal consolidation was
  1170. 41:04gone, and it explicitly stated they are
  1171. 41:06determined to expand spending without a
  1172. 41:08funding source. What was the result of
  1173. 41:12that? Yes, let's go back to the first
  1174. 41:14news. Exactly, the dollar hit the 163-
  1175. 41:18yen range; we've entered an
  1176. 41:20unprecedented red zone. In other words,
  1177. 41:24it hasn't recovered. The master plan
  1178. 41:29finalized by the cabinet was met with a
  1179. 41:31"no" from the market today. Wow, that's
  1180. 41:37thrilling. What’s going to happen now
  1181. 41:40? Of course, there are many variables,
  1182. 41:42so you can't say for sure what will
  1183. 41:44happen with exchange rates. But there
  1184. 41:50is the fact that the yen's depreciation
  1185. 41:52hasn't stopped, the fact that there was
  1186. 41:54so much conflict, and the fact that
  1187. 41:55what they produced is causing these
  1188. 41:57results. What is happening here? In
  1189. 42:04short, the Japanese people now have to
  1190. 42:06compile a budget while being told "no"
  1191. 42:08by the market, which is called the "
  1192. 42:10final opposition party." A "no" from
  1193. 42:12the market. What does this "final
  1194. 42:14opposition party" mean? In the UK,
  1195. 42:17Truss was very popular. She had all the
  1196. 42:20seats. So the opposition was weak and
  1197. 42:21she could just brush them off. She was
  1198. 42:23popular with the public, too. Why?
  1199. 42:25Because she was handing out money. If
  1200. 42:26you give people money, they’ll stay
  1201. 42:28quiet. If the opposition doesn't have
  1202. 42:30enough seats, they stay quiet. So there
  1203. 42:32was nothing to fear. That's why Truss
  1204. 42:34made a bold announcement, but the "
  1205. 42:35final opposition party" cornered her.
  1206. 42:38That was the market. The market is
  1207. 42:40extremely severe; it's not about
  1208. 42:42emotional attachment or sentiment. It's
  1209. 42:45because they buy and sell based on
  1210. 42:47whether an entity has a future and
  1211. 42:48whether they can make a profit from it.
  1212. 42:51It operates on principles different
  1213. 42:53from ours. The opposition parties in
  1214. 42:55Japan today are far too weak, aren't
  1215. 42:57they? What even happened there? They
  1216. 42:59kept joining up and splitting apart,
  1217. 43:00didn't they? Is that name even
  1218. 43:02appropriate anymore? Yeah. There was an
  1219. 43:04opposition party that seemed to drift
  1220. 43:05away while we were wondering if they
  1221. 43:06were okay. There's a term called "Yu-to
  1222. 43:08," referring to a party that acts like
  1223. 43:09an opposition but leans toward the
  1224. 43:11ruling party. It's a clever dynamic
  1225. 43:12between the opposition and the ruling
  1226. 43:14party, isn't it? That "Yu-to" term
  1227. 43:16became a bit of a buzzword for a while.
  1228. 43:18I mean, they held the casting vote,
  1229. 43:20standing between the LDP which didn't
  1230. 43:21have a majority, acting like a bat that
  1231. 43:23changes sides, wondering, "Should I go
  1232. 43:25here, or should I go there?""If you
  1233. 43:27want me to join you, you have to accept
  1234. 43:28one of my conditions." It’s that kind
  1235. 43:30of strategy. The casting vote strategy
  1236. 43:32was in its prime because the LDP lacked
  1237. 43:34a majority. But that doesn't work
  1238. 43:37anymore. Why? Because the LDP won an
  1239. 43:39overwhelming majority. In other words,
  1240. 43:42they get absorbed— "We'll accept just
  1241. 43:44one condition, so come join us," they
  1242. 43:46say, like picking and choosing between
  1243. 43:47different people. "Should I pick Tamaki
  1244. 43:50or Yoshimura?" they wonder. Yeah. And
  1245. 43:52while they're debating that, the "Yu-to
  1246. 43:53" gets swallowed up. And in the end,
  1247. 43:55it’s the citizens who are left
  1248. 43:56completely bewildered. Yeah. I mean,
  1249. 43:58everyone actually believes the Prime
  1250. 43:59Minister when he says he doesn't know
  1251. 44:01if a weak yen or a strong yen is better
  1252. 44:02, right? They really think he doesn't
  1253. 44:04know. They believed it because they
  1254. 44:05didn't understand, didn't they? Since
  1255. 44:07they believe it, that's what happens.
  1256. 44:08They're just blowing smoke. I mean,
  1257. 44:10isn't that obvious? If you can't even
  1258. 44:11afford an iPhone, why would a weak yen
  1259. 44:13be good? You can't even buy a basic
  1260. 44:14iPhone. Did you go on an overseas trip?
  1261. 44:16Yeah. I pushed myself to go to Hawaii,
  1262. 44:18but...Hearing the reports from people
  1263. 44:19coming back with bloody noses, saying,
  1264. 44:21"Breakfast cost 4,000 yen," just like
  1265. 44:22the Survey Corps. We were crying,
  1266. 44:24weren't we? You gathered the courage to
  1267. 44:25go to Hawaii, and yet. Charged for a
  1268. 44:27single pancake. It’s a rip-off. You
  1269. 44:29got caught in a tourist trap, right?
  1270. 44:30Just tell me that. No, it was just a
  1271. 44:32regular pancake. Everyone else was
  1272. 44:33paying it. The other people were just
  1273. 44:35the Japanese folks. I came back shocked
  1274. 44:37. If you hear this and feel happy about
  1275. 44:39it, then please keep quiet, that's what
  1276. 44:41it comes down to. But this is tough. I
  1277. 44:46want to travel to Hawaii or Korea like
  1278. 44:48back in the day. For those of you
  1279. 44:51saying you want to buy an iPhone too,
  1280. 44:52there are things you need to consider.
  1281. 44:55I’ve returned to talk about those
  1282. 44:56very things. I want to teach lessons in
  1283. 44:58Japan. I want to keep sharing this kind
  1284. 45:00of information from now on. Of course,
  1285. 45:02there are many different ways of
  1286. 45:03thinking. There’s the argument that
  1287. 45:05there's another perspective, and that
  1288. 45:06if the Japanese economy recovers, it
  1289. 45:08might truly become vibrant again. Talk
  1290. 45:10about what happens if things go well,
  1291. 45:11too. That might also be a possibility.
  1292. 45:15But for me, it's precisely because
  1293. 45:16things are moving in that direction
  1294. 45:18that I feel I must teach you about this
  1295. 45:20other side. Please let me give you more
  1296. 45:23informational lessons. I’d really
  1297. 45:25like to teach. I'm not a politician.
  1298. 45:28And comedians don't even think I'm a
  1299. 45:30comedian anymore. Nobody knows what I
  1300. 45:32am. That’s exactly why there are
  1301. 45:33things I can say. I have no position
  1302. 45:35and nothing to gain. I don’t belong
  1303. 45:37to any political party. Since I’m a
  1304. 45:39lonely, independent YouTuber not
  1305. 45:40affiliated with any agency, there are
  1306. 45:42things I can say—so if you find this
  1307. 45:44interesting or learned something,
  1308. 45:45please subscribe to my channel.
  1309. 45:48That’s how I feel. Furthermore, if
  1310. 45:50there’s anyone who wants to come see
  1311. 45:51my lessons live......I would really
  1312. 45:55love for you to sign up for membership.
  1313. 45:58You want to hear Nakata’s lessons
  1314. 45:59live. With membership, you can listen
  1315. 46:01to Nakata’s thoughts via daily
  1316. 46:02weekday live streams. On top of that,
  1317. 46:04you can come watch the lessons in
  1318. 46:06person. And then, we can become friends
  1319. 46:07and hold meetups. Let’s go camping,
  1320. 46:09too. It’ll be fun. Please come. I,
  1321. 46:13Atsuhiko Nakata, will keep working,
  1322. 46:16working, working, working, and working.
  1323. 46:18Until the day Japanese people can
  1324. 46:20afford iPhones again. See you next time
  1325. 46:22.

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This page contains the full transcript of 【止まらない円安】物価高を招く「円安加速内閣」!? 苦しむ一般市民と、笑う大企業 & ホクホク政府...混迷の日本に、中田敦彦が帰国し授業再開!貧しい日本に誰がした!? by 中田敦彦のYouTube大学 - NAKATA UNIVERSITY, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 8,681 words across 1,325 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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