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Minister Keizo Obuchi returned information from Moscow that he was in Moscow negotiating with the Russians and mentioned that the project of developing the Far East too much was too joint. Pen ~ fun ~ Cabinet www.biquge.info Soviet Foreign Minister Shevardnadze tried to persuade Minister Keizo Obuchi to join the project of the development of the Far East, what do you think, Minister Hiroshi Mitsuka. ”

As Minister of Finance Hiroshi Mitsuka, who served as Hashimoto's second cabinet, his reply made Hashimoto Ryutaro a little puzzled, "Wait, wait." From the announcement of the Soviet Union's Far East development project to the present, it has only been a verbal exposition, and there has been no further practical operation. ”

Hiroshi Mitsuka pushed the tea in front of him in front of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and said to him, "The current Soviet Union is like this cup of tea, it looks very perfect, but in fact? Until you drink this cup of tea, you never know what it's like. But ......"

Hiroshi Mitsuka picked up the tea in the cup, brought it to his mouth and blew it gently, and then said, "When the other party drinks it, we will generally know the result." Whether the Far Eastern Plan is a hoax or a real win-win project depends on what the Soviet Union does next. The Japanese government is not a big wrongdoer, and it will not suffer such a loss for no reason. ”

"Is the Minister of Finance saying to wait and see?" Ryutaro Hashimoto asked.

"Yes, wait and see. Because we don't yet know where the Soviet development project will go, and when they officially announce the start of the project, it will be the best chance for Japan to participate in the integration. "Hiroshi Mitsuka's advice to Ryutaro Hashimoto is to wait and not be in too much of a hurry. He took out another document and handed it to Ryutaro Hashimoto, which was the real purpose of his visit.

"I hope Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will think twice about raising the consumption tax, because it is about our current cabinet." Hiroshi Mitsuka held the document and hesitated. This is the fiscal situation of the Japanese government in this quarter, and the widening of the fiscal deficit and the weakness of the Japanese economy have made Ryutaro Hashimoto a little anxious.

Ryutaro Hashimoto sighed, of course, he knew that it was easy to cut taxes and it was difficult to raise taxes, "Raising the consumption tax is a helpless move, and it is difficult to make up for the deficit gap." In fact, raising the consumption tax is a last resort to improve Japan's poor fiscal situation. The baby boom has passed, and Japan has begun to gradually age, with the proportion of the elderly population over 65 years old gradually increasing, and the burden of social security such as pension and medical care is becoming increasingly heavy. Japan's public debt is catching up with GDP. For a long time, our government's national debt has been mainly purchased and absorbed by national household savings. In other words, it would be unwise for the government to borrow money from ordinary people to get by, although the goal of balancing payments is to expand the source of tax revenue. Japan's consumption tax rate is low compared to major developed countries. ”

Hiroshi Mitsuka retorted, "But the prime minister should not choose this time when the economy has recovered on a certain scale before raising taxes." ”

Japan must meet three conditions to achieve fiscal balance: first, the economy must achieve high-level economic growth; the second is to drastically reduce fiscal expenditures; Third, the consumption tax rate will be raised to about 10%. And in the realistic socio-economic conditions of Japan, this is almost impossible to achieve. Therefore, it is almost impossible for Japan to make up for the predicament caused by the original economic bubble.

"In order to achieve high-speed economic growth, we can only take one last gamble." Ryutaro Hashimoto said, "There are two markets, China and the Soviet Union, and this is Japan's last choice. ”

"So you still have to cooperate with the Soviet Union?" Hiroshi Mitsuka lowered his eyes, he hoped that Japan could wait a little longer, but the reality was that Ryutaro Hashimoto couldn't wait.

"Yes, just after the end of the problem of oil pipeline transportation." Ryutaro Hashimoto said.

Even as Japan's top leaders negotiate a development project in the Far East, the Kremlin is planning a new round of action. Yanayev's two cards have already been played, one is to encourage Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto to invest in the Far East. The second insurance card was to instill in Keizo Obuchi the false impression that the Soviet Union urgently needed cooperation with Japan. In two months' time, Ryutaro Hashimoto will be removed from the position of prime minister of Japan because of the consumption tax, and when Keizo Obuchi takes over the mess of Ryutaro Hashimoto, he will realize what the Soviets mean by cooperation. This time, Yanayev did not use any conspiracy, but openly exploited Japan's real problems to make the world economy bow to him.

Pavlov and Ryzhkov expressed no objection to Yanayev's decision, and that pulling Japan into the water was a goal that the Soviet Union had always wanted to achieve, and the entire Soviet leadership was working on this aspect.

"The trap has been laid, but Keizo Obuchi doesn't seem to be too cold, do we need to add another chip to stimulate or force Japan?" Pavlov asked.

Yanayev waved his hand, signaling that there was no need to go through such a big effort, "For us, Japan is nothing more than a giant with a weak economy, and although it seems to have a huge structure, in fact, the most critical core has begun to slowly decline. His pride is built on economic success, and once the building blocks collapse, a series of chain reactions will cause Japan to become acutely ill. When the time comes, will Japan have any other way than to join our Far East development strategy? ”

"I'm just a little curious, why did you choose Japan over China?" Pavlov's original suggestion was to drag China into the water, but Yanayev refused to do so.

Yanayev shook his head, "Japan still has money, and even a collapsed financial behemoth can get a big piece of the pie from them." The Chinese side is not a fool, it is now in a period of rapid domestic economic development, and its huge market has not yet been digested, how can it still have extra energy to think about the Soviet Union? ”

His words refuted Pavlov's suggestion that the issue of economic cooperation between China and the Soviet Union should be resolved by the next leader. What Yanayev is trying to do now is to ensure economic and political cooperation on all fronts, and to keep the interference of Moscow's political hawks at bay.

There are not many people like Marshal Ogarkov who think all day long about taking China after the strength is restored, but there are also many of them. It's just that Yanayev squeezed them all out of the political core.

If the Soviet Union and China were on the bar, Americans would be able to laugh out loud in their dreams.

"One more thing, the Far East development project has already provoked some pesky flies, and it would be better to get rid of them all before they interfere with the Far East development plan."

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) seems to be aware of the Soviet Union's ambitions to develop gas and oil, so this week it officially announced an increase in oil production in order to bring down international oil prices. This did not bode well for the Soviet Union, and lower oil prices would mean that the pipeline initiative would be pushed in favor of China and Japan, who had better options.

If it is impossible for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to be behind the flames without the Americans fanning the flames, Yanayev can expect the worst-case scenario, with the United States borrowing money from the Japanese government to help them through their current economic woes. As a result, it is possible that the Far East development plan will eventually have to be postponed or cancelled.

Defeating the Soviet Union on this issue would be Mario's greatest achievement.

"One ring after another, I really wonder if Mario's guy is starting to get anxious too? Maybe you want to get me in the last two years? Yanayev said to Ryzhkov, "What should we do if the United States asks Japan to sever cooperation with the Soviet Union on the grounds of economic aid?" Or what should we prepare in advance? ”

Ryzhkov's answer was very simple: "Then take the lead in sowing discord between Japan and the United States, so that the United States will have a grudge against Japan, and although it cannot guarantee the smooth progress of the Far East plan 100 percent, it can cut off American economic aid to Japan." The United States is not going to help a country they don't trust. ”

"Then I know what to do." Yanayev had a plan in his mind.

A program dedicated to small American actions. (To be continued.) )