Despite repeated warnings that Japanese politics is sliding further to the right, it seems that the newly-installed Shinzo Abe administration has no interest in accommodating such concerns. At the very beginning of 2013, reports came that Tokyo might seek to revise two official statements issued in the 1990s meant as apologies to victims of Japan's wartime atrocities. The Kono Statement, which acknowledged the Japanese Imperial Army's role in forcing thousands of captured women into sex slavery, and the Murayama Danwa, a broader apology issued by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama over war atrocities, have long been considered rare examples of Tokyo's self reflection. On the heels of the worrying turn of events, Japan's Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, in a high-profile trip to Myanmar, paid tribute to Japan's fallen soldiers buried there during WWII, in total disregard of the feelings of people that had suffered bitterly under the Japanese aggression. Yet the most substantial effort of Tokyo toward the right is to try to upgrade its Self Defense Force into a full military force, starting with planned increase in defense budget in fiscal 2013, the first time in 11 years. The prospect of reviving militarism in Japan evokes bitter memories among Asian countries which had endured brutal Japanese aggression and could eventually inflict a heavy toll on Japan's diplomacy. Many observers have predicted the political orientation of the Abe administration upon the release of the list of cabinet ministers, most of whom were widely seen as "radical nationalists." Japanese politicians have to bear in mind that any attempt to whitewash aggression would backfire and any endeavor by Tokyo to alter the post-war world order would land the country in massive trouble. To become a future-oriented "normal country," Japan should put the brakes on right-leaning politics. Source: Xinhua

Source: tp.longhoo.net

A web user recently posted a photo of a twisted building in the suburb of Beijing, calling it “Tower of Large Intestine”. (Photo/chinapic.people.com.cn) A web user recently posted a photo of a twisted building in the suburb of Beijing, calling it “Tower of Large Intestine”. (Photo/chinapic.people.com.cn) A web user recently posted a photo of a twisted building in the suburb of Beijing, calling it “Tower of Large Intestine”. (Photo/chinapic.people.com.cn) A web user recently posted a photo of a twisted building in the suburb of Beijing, calling it “Tower of Large Intestine”. (Photo/chinapic.people.com.cn) A web user recently posted a photo of a twisted building in the suburb of Beijing, calling it “Tower of Large Intestine”. (Photo/chinapic.people.com.cn)

A glimpse of Taiwan.(Xinhua Photo) The number of mainland tourists traveling to Taiwan last year reached 2.2 million, among which 1.7 million traveled with a tour group. As the number of travelers to the island has increased, so have complaints about travel agencies. Many complain that there is too much shopping time and not enough sightseeing activities in the itinerary, saying that most island-circling tours promoted by travel agencies have ended up as shopping tours. An eight-day island-circling group tour in Taiwan is one of the most popular trips among mainland travelers. It covers a total distance of 1,600 kilometers and includes must-see sights, such as the Taipei Palace Museum, Ali Mountain and Sun Moon Lake. Although tourists must travel this long distance in only eight days, their tour guides still arrange as much shopping time as possible. Yang Caiying is a tour guide from a local travel agency in Taiwan. "Pineapple cakes and tea are very popular local products among travelers. Also, there are other special products in Taiwan such as coral and Taiwan jade."Mr. Li is a mainland traveler. He says he has spent a lot of money during his trip to Taiwan. "I just bought red coral on which I spent about 98,000 new Taiwan dollars. Besides, I also got some local snacks and souvenirs when shopping here. Altogether, I have spent about 40,000 yuan during my trip in Taiwan."According to a Taiwan tourism website, the minimum cost of an eight-day island-circling tour costs about 14,400 new Taiwan dollars, including local transportation, accommodations, meals, tickets to scenic spots and tour guides. But the actual prices quoted by some local travel agencies were only about 4,200 Taiwan dollars. That is to say, these travel agencies will make a loss of more than 10,000 dollars on each customer. Therefore, they have to find other ways to cover the loss. Yao Daguang, the head of a local tourism association in Taiwan, explains. "These low-cost tour groups don't mean that tourists can live on 20 to 30 U.S. dollars a day in Taiwan, as that's impossible. Certainly, there have to be some other kinds of commission from the tourists' shopping to cover the cost."Adding more shopping sites, extending more time for shopping, and misleading tourists to spend money—these are widely known as common tactics travel agencies use to increase income, Xu Yongyu, head of a travel agency in Taiwan, says. A glimpse of Taiwan.(Xinhua Photo) "Many tour groups are scheduled to visit eight shopping sites during their eight days in Taiwan. Sometimes, extra shopping sites that provide agricultural products are also added to the itinerary of these tour groups. That is to say, there are more than eight shopping sites during eight days, so that should cover the cost."According to media reports, local tourism authorities in Taiwan issued guidelines at the end of 2012 to improve the shopping environment for mainland tourists traveling to the island.The local sightseeing bureau says it is coordinating with the mainland to discuss the guidelines and has called on Taiwanese authorities to guarantee the rights of mainland tourists. It said stores that mislead or cheat customers will have their names published, and tour guides who do the same will be punished as well.Taiwan tourism authorities also stress they will continue to promote permanent travel activities, encourage mainland tourists to visit scenic areas and make efforts to promote in-depth tours. Source: CRI Online

(People's Daily Overseas Edition) For Chinese families, the relationship most prone to conflict is that between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. Chinese women married to American men tend to quarrel with their mothers-in-law due to different cultural and language backgrounds. American parents attach great importance to the independence of their adult children. A Chinese woman surnamed Zhang lived in San Diego, California with her American husband, who was fired by his company in May 2012. Given the sluggish local job market, the couple moved to the house of her mother-in-law in Long Island, New York, and her husband soon started looking for a job there. After living there for just half a month, Zhang could not help but complain to her husband that the mother-in-law had asked her such questions since the second week as whether they had rented a house outside, when they could move out, and how they would split water and electricity bills. Zhang could not understand why the mother-in-law, who has a four-story house, wanted her only son to move out at a time when he lost his job. Most Chinese parents wish to live with their sons and daughters-in-law, and some may even use their pensions to help financially difficult children. However, Zhang’s husband thought that they had indeed disturbed the life of his mother, and it was inappropriate to live in his mother’s house for a long time. Two weeks later, they moved out after renting a house in the city, and her husband even paid his mother a month’s rent and utility fees. Another Chinese woman surnamed Wang who married an American man in early 2012 also finds it hard to adapt to the American-style family life. Wang and her mother-in-law live in Southern and Northern California respectively, and seldom meet each other, let alone quarrel. Last year, Wang stayed in Northern California for four days to spend Thanksgiving Day with the close relatives of her husband for the first time. When she talked to her mother-in-law over the phone before setting out, the mother-in-law asked her twice whether they had booked a hotel room. She felt “odd,” and wondered why they could not live in the house of the mother-in-law for just a few days. (Xinhua Photo) Only after arriving at Northern California did Ms. Wang find out that the two half-blooded sisters of her husband were also staying outside in a hotel. In strong contrast, when the couple went to visit Ms. Wang's parents in China before the wedding, "no matter how squeezed the house is, my parents would never let us move out and live in a hotel. And they always want us to stay longer." It is an indispensable part of the later life of Chinese parents to help their children to look after their children. But this is not the case for American mothers-in-law, either. Casey is an ethnic Chinese. The first baby of her and her husband is already three years old. But through the child's birth to growth, "My mother-in-law can never be counted on. The burden falls completely on my mother, who runs back and forth from China to America to look after the baby for me," she said. “When my mother-in-law comes to see her grandson, she would only hold the baby and fiddle for a few minutes, and say ‘You are so cute’ before putting him down and minding her own business. “What disturbed Casey the most is that in 2011, when she was in Florida on business for three days and her husband was in Japan due to work; her mother's visa expired and need to go back to China. Under such circumstance, she could only ask her mother-in-law to look after the baby. But she readily refused and said: "The baby would disturb my sleeping. You can take him with you." Casey could not restrain her anger, "As if this is not her grandson at all."When Casey talked with some of her Chinese girlfriends who also married Americans, one of her friend complained about her similar experience with her American mother-in-law. It was the wedding anniversary for her and her husband and they wanted to relive the past romance. But the mother-in-law refused to help for her son and daughter-in-law looking after the child for the excuse that she had made appointment with someone to play bingo. In the end they had no choice but pay the daughter of their neighbor 60 dollars to look after the kid for them. "I still cannot understand such family relations in the United States even till now."The misreading and misunderstanding because of the language difference can also turn Chinese daughters-in-law on against their American mother-in-law. Ms. Xu lives in the South Bay. At the weekend, she went to the mother-in-law's house to wrap Christmas presents together. Her mother looked at the label when wrapping one of the toys and suddenly said to Ms. Xu, "Oh, Made in China".Ms. Xu thought her mother-in-law meant things "made in China" are all cheap and of poor quality, so she immediately retorted: "No one is forcing you to buy Made-in-China. You can buy Made-in-America." The mother-in-law froze for a moment and explained right away that she was just joking. At dinner, the mother-in-law again reiterated to Ms. Xu that her words were just a joke and asked her not to be serious about it. But the atmosphere of the family gathering was inevitably embarrassing throughout the night. Another Chinese daughter-in-law, Jasmine, who just gave birth to a hybrid daughter in October 2012, also nearly started a war against her mother-in-law due to language misunderstandings. Jasmine said, when her mother-in-law came to visit the granddaughter, she called herself "mama". When Jasmine heard this, she strongly protested and said "You are the grandma. I'm the mama!" But her American mother-in-law insisted that "mama" is indeed an intimate way to address "grandma". The relationship between the mother- and daughter-in-law immediately turned a bit unpleasant. After Jasmine searched on the Internet and found out that "mama" is really the nickname some Americans call the grandma, she immediately went and apologized to her mother-in-law. Source: People's Daily Online

At Fine Yoga, Li Jing demonstrates the eagle pose to students of a hot yoga class. (Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/William Wang) Beijing winters are dreaded by many for their chill that digs into the bones, causing many Beijingers to spend hours on the couch buried under blankets. But the impulse to stay active and fit need not be smothered by sub-zero temperatures, when hot yoga studios around the city are roasting away, just waiting to open up some pores. Fine Yoga has two downtown studios, both offering daily hot yoga classes. Drop-in prices are standard at 150 yuan. The hot classes are held at temperatures up to 42 degrees, the heat serving to relax muscles, loosen joints and encourage detoxification through sweating. Electric heaters line the perimeter of the mirrored studio, and today's instructor Li Jing dutifully checks on the temperature several times. Li teaches several yogic disciplines at Fine Yoga, but admits that she particularly enjoys teaching hot yoga. "Ashtanga yoga can help your body to sweat and detox as well," she explains, "but the feeling for hot yoga is much more intense."The student body of today's afternoon class is half men and half women, a particularly surprising balance for Beijing, or pretty much any yoga studio in the world. Two of the students are new to hot yoga, and Li checks in with them before starting class. Hot yoga has its critics, as it is more risky than conventional forms of yoga. Excessive sweating from the combination of heat and exercise can lead to dehydration or hyperthermia (overheating of the body). Pragmatically, Li insists on setting the thermostat at 38 degrees, "the lowest temperature for hot yoga," apparently. Students do their best to mimic the postures that Li's svelte body so naturally assumes. After a quick warm up, the first beads of sweat appear on students' brows, soon followed by more as they quickly progress through a series of poses. It's clear that the heat increases students' flexibility, but when it comes to balance, everyone's on their own. Li wraps fingers around her left ankle behind her, stretches her right arm out forward, and lithely leans forward into a ballerina-esque pose. Her left toes effortlessly point toward the sky. Student approximations are somewhat less graceful, but impressive nonetheless. "Ok, take a minute to drink some water and wipe off," Li allows. Fine Yoga graciously provides complimentary bottles of water and towels. Li studies one of the new students, before informing her that she's not drinking enough. The temperature is definitely hot, but is surprisingly comfortable. Everyone is sweating, but not profusely. Today, the idea of hot yoga being dangerous seems remote, if not bizarre. "A very professional teacher can teach a class safely," Li explains. "From the first class, the teacher interacts with students to be aware of student health and capabilities. Students shouldn't need to worry about pushing themselves too hard."Yuan Wei wipes her face and neck with a damp towel, having just completed her first hot yoga class. "I think trying different styles of yoga is good," she says between breaths. "Different styles of yoga feel totally different so I want to keep exploring." Fine Yoga's instructor Li Jing eases new students through some basic hot yoga poses. (Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/William Wang) Ren Peng has been coming to Fine Yoga's classes for two years, mostly taking hot yoga classes. "I've been to other places a few times, but I think the environment here is better and the teachers are really good and sincere."Hot yoga suits me best," Ren adds. "It helps my body unwind and in the end everybody feels more relaxed."Fine Yoga's Central Business District location just opened up last year, and is reputed to have more intimately sized classes and a more spacious environment. The nearby original studio at Blue Castle International Centre has more devotees and larger class sizes. Both studios have multiple rooms used for different classes. Source: CRI Online

Ma la hot pot which involves various Sichuan chillies and hot peppers, is an exhilarating culinary experience that uniquely challenges diners' senses. (Shanghai Daily) I first experienced ma la (literally numb and spicy) hot pot about 25 years ago and, like many lovers of this Sichuan treasure, my culinary life was forever changed. For the uninitiated, it's hard to describe the unique and addictive qualities of this special meal. Much more than a dish, ma la hot pot is an exhilarating communal culinary experience that uniquely challenges your senses. Ma la hot pot is also a bonding experience and an essential rite of passage for lovers of spicy foods. During my frequent wine travels abroad, the first week away from home I happily savor all the local ingredients and dishes, then sometime during the second week I start craving the flavors of China. The first night back I rush to a local eatery to experience real Chinese food. A ma la restaurant is often my first stop. Wine and ma la pairingThe topic of pairing wines with spicy foods always creates controversy. Many food and wine pairing traditions emanate from Western wine connoisseurs who resolutely claim that wine is too delicate for spicy foods. They counsel either beer or tea as more suitable solutions. I don't buy this thinking for two reasons. First, most Western wine connoisseurs neither know nor like spicy Chinese cooking, regardless of what beverage accompanies the dishes. Secondly, the predominant influence on food and wine pairing rules were made with traditional French wines like Bordeaux and Burgundy in mind. While these regions make some of the greatest wines in the world, they are not the most flexible in food pairing and certainly not the most appropriate for spicy foods. Picking beer to accompany a ma la hot pot is an easy yet imperfect compromise as beer, even at its best, is merely a neutral companion to spicy foods, never an embellisher like the appropriate wine. (File photo) Pepper corns and chilliesThere are many things in a ma la hot pot that make it a challenge for wines, but the two major issues are the Sichuan pepper corns and red chili peppers. The art of food and wine pairing, among other factors, necessitates a fairly detailed understanding of ingredients. Since Sichuan pepper corns and chili peppers are the greatest challenges to wines, let's take a closer look at these beloved foods. The Sichuan pepper corn is derived from the zanthoxylum genus and in fact is more closely related to the citrus family than the black or white pepper families. They are an important ingredient in western and northern Chinese cooking. The Chinese name, hua jiao, literally means flower pepper. Coming from a rather scrubby-looking short tree or bush, the seeds are discarded and the skins or husks are used to create the finished pepper corns. The best pepper corns come from Hanyuan County in Sichuan Province. The key quality or sensation these peppers impart to foods is a numbing quality on the palate that's been described as a combination of spearmint and Novocain. Contrary to the popular conception that they dull the flavors of food, in fact, recent studies indicate that they stimulate the receptors on your tongue and sharpen your ability to differentiate the flavors and textures of foods. In the case of ma la, this means that despite the numb feeling in your mouth the natural flavors of the chilies and ingredients cooked in the pot are accentuated. Your ability to sense fruit, acidity and tannins in wines is also heightened. My Sichuan friends are nonplussed when told that chili peppers are not an ancient or historic part of Sichuan cuisine. Now synonymous with Sichuan cooking, chili peppers didn't actually arrive in Sichuan until the late 16th century. In 1493 Diego Alvarez Chanca, a doctor on the second voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World, was the first to bring chili peppers to Europe. These fiery treats were then introduced to Asia by Portuguese and Arab spice traders. Despite their relatively late introduction, by the 17th century chili peppers had already been popular in Sichuan and several other regional Chinese cuisines. Their unique and delicious way to provide fire and flavor elements to a dish now make them an essential ingredient in many Sichuan dishes including ma la hot pot.Capsaicin and related chemicals called capsaicinoids give chili peppers their heat. These fiery little creatures bind to the pain receptors on your tongue and mouth sending messages of heat and pain to your brain. A good way to offset these sensations is to drink a boldly fruity and slightly sweet red wine. (File photo)Wine solutionsThe spiciness of ma la hot pots varies and therefore so do the ideal wine solutions. At many restaurants, you have an option to pick the spiciness of your hot pot, from "small" hot to "large" hot. Therefore, I'll choose the best wines for moderately spicy hot pots and very spicy hot pots. When I enjoy a moderately spicy ma la hot pot, I often serve a big Ausi Shiraz from Barossa or an Amarone wine from Veneto. Both red wines have super ripe dark fruit flavors with a touch of sweetness and soft tannins. These attributes are perfect for a moderately spicy ma la hot pot as the combination of fruit and sweetness assuages the sensations of heat and numbness while the supple tannins of the wines help cleanse your palate of any greasiness.As both wines are somewhat high in alcohol, about 14 to 16.5 percent, it is important to chill the wines before serving. With ma la hot pot, I suggest serving the wines at about 14-15 degrees Celsius.The lower temperature will further comfort your palate. Two wines I've had great success in pairing with moderately spicy ma la hot pots are the Italian Masi Costasera Amarone Classico DOC and Ausi Torbrech Woodcutter's Shiraz. Very spicy ma la hot pots border on the realm of extreme eating and require personal fortitude and in my opinion, a fortified wine. I suggest a semi-sweet to sweet Sherry or sweet port. These fortified wines feature a flavor intensity and bold character that's not overwhelmed by very spicy foods and they have the requisite sweetness to counteract the heat and numbness of a very spicy ma la hot pot. It's essential to serve these fortified wines well-chilled, at about 10-12 degrees Celsius, so the sensations of alcohol are mitigated. Some ideal partners with the most fiery and numbing ma la hot pots are the semi-sweet Williams & Humbert Dry Sack Medium Sherry or the sweet Lustau East India Solera Sherry. If you're a Port lover, then I suggest a straight forward fruity Ruby Port from Dow's, Taylor or Grahams. As a rather sad footnote to this story, unfortunately I have yet to find an enjoyable and authentic ma la experience in Shanghai. If you know of one, please let me know.Source: Shanghai Daily

(Xinhua/Wang Ying) The kindly "Chinese Fortune Grandpa" wearing Han Chinese clothing and holding a fortune bag debuted at the Imperial Ancestral Shrine in Beijing on the day after Christmas. The final image of the Chinese gift-giver was selected through a global design competition that cost millions of yuan. Its debut seems to be a sign of competition against "Santa Claus", according to a report by Guangming Daily. Many Chinese cities have been filled with Christmas neon lights, Christmas songs, Christmas trees, and the images of "Santa Claus" in recent days, and the business of hotels and restaurants has been exceptionally brisk. As a matter of fact, foreign festivals are becoming more popular than certain traditional Chinese festivals among the Chinese people, particularly the youth. "Certain traditional festivals have died out because people have forgotten their spiritual connotations," said noted writer Feng Jicai. More and more Chinese people are beginning to exchange gifts on Valentine's Day and Christmas. However, many of them know nothing about Chinese New Year pictures or sugarcoated figurines, have never heard suona music, and cannot recognize wormwood or calami. Certain folk customs on the Dragon Boat Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, and other traditional festivals have gradually disappeared. Under such circumstances, even the "Chinese Fortune Grandpa" is unlikely to defeat "Santa Claus". (File photo)However, it is not a bad thing to some extent. It constantly reminds people to restore the "true face" of traditional festivals. China has listed traditional Tomb Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival as legal holidays, which brings more paid leaves to the public, and is conducive to awaken the public awareness of traditional festivals. Obviously, this method cannot truly root traditional festivals in the hearts of people and their charm has turned into an empty shell of culture.In modern society, festival is a carrier of culture and its meaning and connotation largely depend on their understandings and usages by people. Compared with foreign festivals, traditional Chinese festivals are not inferior in cultural connotation, but lack of fashionable elements pursued by modern people. If people do not appreciate the historical culture contained by traditional festivals, and only take pleasure-seeking as the essence, the significance of traditional festivals will fade away and the inheritance of fine traditional culture will be cut off. In this sense, the figure of "Chinese Fortune Grandpa" is a cultural logo, showing Chinese people's understanding and expectations of traditional culture and demonstrating the tolerance and strength of modern civilization. The creative combination will award marks for the "Chinese Fortune Grandpa" in its "contest" with "Santa Claus".In fact, any traditional culture cannot be self-enclosed in the era of global village. Nowadays, some of Chinese people are keen on celebrating foreign festivals while foreigners more like to celebrate traditional Chinese festivals. In the face of cultural conflict and integration, we should dig the tradition as well as tolerate diversified choices. Noted sociologist Fei Xiaotong had said that as one of the major powers with ancient civilizations, China should have broad breadth of mind and cultural ambition. Therefore, the "Chinese Fortune Grandpa" should coexist with "Santa Claus" and jointly bring joy to people.Source: People's Daily Online

A new TV program in central China's Hubei Province is forcing government officials to respond to public complaints under the glare of studio lighting and the unblinking eye of the camera.During a Dec. 17 broadcast, Yang Zefa, director of the food and drug administration of the provincial capital of Wuhan, apologized to the audience after a video clip depicting an illegal food production facility was played before them.Yang then demanded that more than 50 law enforcement officers were dispatched to inspect and close the facility that very evening.The program was created by the Wuhan municipal government in order to improve local officials' work and create a new way for the public to supervise the government."We collect stories regarding the public's top concerns, secretly film the stories and broadcast them live," said program staffer Liu Zhiming."The directors of relevant government departments are invited to come on the show to take questions and be assessed by representatives of the public, as well as our commentators. None of them know what will be played on the show before it airs," Liu said.The program, like the microblog accounts that many officials have opened in recent months, allows the public to interact and participate in government affairs."These officials show another side to the public when they're on the show. They get embarrassed and sweat when they encounter unexpected questions," wrote a netizen using the screenname "Guo Wenjing."Television and the Internet have brought government officials and the general public closer by providing new ways to communicate, said Shen Yang, a professor at Wuhan University's school of information management.Pang Yanping, a teacher from Wuhan who has contributed stories to the program, said the show has given the public greater opportunities to voice their opinions and report problems to the government.The government has made great efforts to promote information transparency and created conditions for the public to supervise the government work in recent years.In order to encourage more public participation in government supervision, the government should integrate both traditional and modern complaint channels in order to solicit more advice from the public.Does TV show provide an effective way for public supervision in China? What's your opinion:>?

Photo taken on on Nov. 26 shows Shinzo Abe, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. (Xinhua/Ma Ping) In the just concluded election of the House of Representatives, the Liberal Democratic Party headed by Shinzo Abe won over the Democratic Party with overwhelming advantages. The Liberal Democratic Party would unite with the New Clean Government Party to form the new cabinet and returned back to the political arena. After the Liberal Democratic Party became the ruling party, it is urgent for the Party to clear the "domestic and international troubles" left by the Noda Cabinet. Reviving the economy is the main issue for the Abe Cabinet to soothe the Japanese people and ease the contradictions from various parties."Printing more money" is not a good way to deal with deflation.The Three drives (consumption, investment, and exports) for boosting the economy are not efficient for the Japanese economy to obtain the growth momentum in a short period. Meanwhile, due to the appreciation of the yen after the earthquake disaster and the impact of the domestic recession, Japanese companies began a new round of overseas production transfer; industrial hollowing-out began to show up in Japan, with the unemployment rate reaching 10 percent among the young people. The priority for reviving the Japanese economy is to resolve the deflation and the yen's appreciation.During the election campaign, Abe proposed that inflation must be created to address the deflation issue, and he has set the "321" goal (the nominal GDP growth rate is 3 percent, the inflation rate 2 percent and the real GDP growth rate 1 percent) for economic recovery.On December 20 after the election, the Bank of Japan soon announced to issue 10 trillion yen for the purchase of Japanese government bonds, implementing a new round of loose monetary policy. However, as the Bank of Japan announced it after the election, the traditional functions of the Bank of Japan in price stability and its independence from political interference began to be widely questioned. In addition, its issuance date coincided with loose monetary measures announced by the United States and the Europe, which further increased the risk of a new round of crisis resulting from global liquidity floods.In addition, debt monetization may also shift the burden of the public debt of the government to the financial institutions and the majority of people in Japan. Therefore, in the future, the policy considerations of the Abe Cabinet for the formulation of the inflation goal may have potential risks for a next round of economic crisis.Depreciation of the yen may have a "side effect".Logically, Abe's inflation target plan is in consistence with his attempt to lower the exchange rate of Japanese yen. His purpose is to revitalize Japanese exports through the depreciation of Japanese yen, thus stimulating the domestic economy. In general, lowering the exchange rate of yen also meant lowering the market interest rate. Given the fact that the interest rate of the Japanese domestic market was at a lower level, further increasing the money supply can only make Japan go back to "fluidity trap" era when it underwent 10 years ago, unable to cause a substantial impact on lowering the exchange rate of yen. In contrast, given the fact that the external demand began to shrink in the United States and Europe, the depreciation of yen may further expand its trade deficit.Source: People's Daily Online