Nuclear Civilian Ships initiative.
This is an interesting proposal. And could have massive ramifications in our effort to potentially 'greenise' our economy in the future. Our Civilian fleet of Cargo Ships, Ferries, and Cruise ships currently operate on Bunker Fuel. An incredibly dirty source of energy that has long-term health ramifications if we continue pumping their emissions into the Atmosphere. The proposal essentially entails creating a proof of concept cargo ship, put it on a tour across the world, and potentially mandating that all shipping companies based in Japan ought to have a fleet of 100% nuclear-powered civilian ships sometime in the future.
The Navy will help design a safe and secure nuclear reactor that is fit for Civilian use, as will the Universities and Zaibatsus too. But the largest component of this law entails the increased safety standards for Nuclear Engineers stationed in the ships, as well as coordinating with other CPS nations to allow such a potentially massive fleet of Civilian Nuclear vessels to enter their port and do regular business as an oil-powered ship would do.
Create the Japan Defense Cooperation Agency.
There is a growing problem within the Japanese military industry, especially with the most recent projects. We have some members of the House of Commons silently demanding that, perhaps, some factories ought to be located in their Prefecture rather than located in the most optimal location. While this is an acceptable 'drag' for now, there is an increased risk that such trends could lead to longer lead times for our weapons development, and stifle future military development.
Creating this Agency, called JADCA for short, should give us the ability to streamline military production matters. JADCA's responsibility entails creating a comprehensive defense strategy every five years, with the start point being the conception of the agency, and presenting it as a bill for both houses to vote yes/ no on. Such a defense strategy would include how many equipments would be purchased, and where they would be produced as well. Essentially reducing the Parliament's ability to a yes/ no vote, completely sidelining the lawmaker's ability to create personal 'recommendations' of where Mitsubishi/ Kawasaki/ Sumitomo should place their next tank factory in. However, the parliament would still have the ability to decide on the military's budget and also have hearings with the JADCA director/ employees if there are visible issues with the defense strategy being proposed.
GIDC Project: The Caucasus Chains
With the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty, our caucasus members are proposing a series of road and rail networks that can criss-cross the caucasus mountains, perhaps bringing travel times down to a matter of hours in some areas. This project does have a military angle to it, allowing the rapid deployment of Middle Eastern CPS members into Russia, and Vice Versa should the big war happen. But it also serves a purpose of further linking the Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia into the wider CPS economic network, boosting their economies as a result.
Shall we do it?
End the Death penalty
There has been a lot of societal movement regarding the matter of the death penalty. With an increasing number of Japanese citizens wanting the ultimate punishment to be completely abolished. This is a serious proposal and opinions on the diet and in the public are divided on the issue, but the support for such a move is slowly growing in Japan, and perhaps, considering the merits of ending the death penalty is something that we should start right now. There are potential cases where a person could be wrongfully convicted after all, with new evidence and prejudices clouding the judgment of the courts. So a discussion with the people advocating for such a move is the least we can do. With full on abolishment being considered after all arguments are heard in full.
Reevaluate the Iron Triangle
A political concept popularized by the German Elite during the era of the Kaiserreich. It generally states that Big Business Conglomerates, the Bureaucracy, and the Government all have an overriding interest in reinforcing their power structures at the expense of everyone not inside of it. The practice of this concept was refined to a T during the glory days of the Kaiserreich, but was shattered when French tanks broke through the Siegfried line and outflanked the Germans in Alsace-Lorraine.
And we don't wanna end up like the Germans now do we?
This will be a gigantic effort, and will take years, if not decades, you're not even sure if you wanna go forward with this. But should you want it, passing a series of labour reforms, strengthening workers rights, create antitrust legislation (will be a first in Japan), and make Japan more Democratic is a surefire way to prevent the self-reinforcing power structures in the Triangle from going too far.
The Seikan Tunnel Project
This is a pretty straightforward infrastructure project, the Seikan tunnel will effectively connect the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido together, and will ensure a faster travel time from the capital of Tokyo to the northern cities of Hakodate and Sapporo. And while preliminary work has been done with local prefectural-level governments, the timeline for such a project will be completed effectively in the 2020s if left to their own devices, we will fund this project with Central Government money, and hopefully boost the timeline to the 1980s at the earliest. There are also plans to connect this tunnel with the planned Tohoku Shinkansen, effectively creating a Shinkansen line and a tunnel connecting Honshu and Hokkaido in one move.
GIDC Project: Trans Russia-China-Korea Pipeline
This is a GIDC project that is very special and backed by a LOT of commercial interests in Japan, Korea, China and East Russia. The project is straightforward enough, create a series of pipelines that will transfer gas and oil from the Ural oilfields into the ports of Northern China, Northern Korea, and the Russian Far East, and then it could be used for export into Japan proper, or used to power up the domestic economies of Korea, China, or East Russia. All three countries are all in for this project, since the economic benefits are incredibly massive, and the economies of China and Korea, in particular, need a lot of energy to grow and develop. The thing is, should we get our share of the pie as well? While we are busy in the process of diversifying our energy sources, this is not necessarily a project that we can just ignore, considering it involves all three of our closest neighbors.
Kyushu, Tohoku, Hokkaido, and Taiwan Shinkansen
Under current plans. The state owned JNR would slowly expand it's service into Kyushu and Tohoku by the mid 1980s, and potentially build a
Hokuriku and
Hokkaido Shinkansen by the end of the Millenium. It is certianly a workable plan, but there are growing voices in Japan that argues that such a protracted developmental path could lead to 'economic drag', and proposed significantly more funding so that not only the Kyushu, Tohoku, and Hokkaido Shinkansen be opened by the late 80s, but a newly built Taiwan Shinkansen would also be opened as well.
This is quite the ambitious proposal, and would need a lot of compromise in other areas, but the Shinkansen is one area the Japanese populace far and wide generally love, and expanding the network rapidly, even at the cost of short term funds, is worth it politically speaking. Shall we implement this plan Prime Minister?
National Shipbuilding Support law
There has been a lot of talk concerning our shipbuilding capabilities in recent years. While we remain as the world's No.1 Shipbuilding nation for both Civilian and Military ships. There are now growing concerns that the economic growth of China, Korea, Insulindia, the Philippines, and India could slowly erode our institutional knowledge within the industry, and also potentially endanger our military shipbuilding capability if we need a surge of new ships to be built ASAP. The National Shipbuilding Support law would not only subsidize Shipyards that are becoming uncompetitive, with certain preset conditions that they invest in new equipment and training for their workers to make them competitive again, but more radical solutions, such as ensuring the finances of military shipyards, guaranteed employment for any worker working in a military shipyard, and other benefits such as better mortgage conditions and rent relief for the workers within these military shipyards, should be able to maintain our shipbuilding capability in the near future. It is up to you, however, to support the passage of the simpler, or the more comprehensive law should you choose to put it into a vote.
White Collar Union promotion law
As Japan slowly advances to become richer and richer, the nature of work itself has been changing. Gone are the days where the average Japanese has to get a factory job where they could literally lose life and limb just to get a decent life. A University education at a decent University is more than enough to get you a comfortable job shuffling papers at some company office in Tokyo or Osaka. But this type of work is slowly becoming the majority in the Japanese economy, and with these working conditions, the impetus to form a union is significantly lessened, as the working conditions are much more lenient and comparatively less dangerous than working in a factory. The Union Density rate in Japan has been slowly decreasing from 1975 onwards, not to an alarming degree, but to a degree that warrants attention. A national effort to promote unions in these White Collar spaces must become a priority, especially if we are under a Socialist government, to maintain the primacy of unions in the workplace and to safeguard the rights of the worker no matter what space they occupy!
