Matsukata+Masayoshi

 Matsukata Masayoshi //"Matsukata Deflation for Japanese prosperity!"//

 Background Info: Matsukata Masayoshi was a Japanese statesman and a financial leader during the Meiji period from 1868-1912. He studied modern finance in France and came up with a policy of fiscal restraint, which is also known as the Matsukata Deflation. Matsukata was born into a samurai family in Kagoshima. At the age of 13, he entered the Zoshikan, a Confucian academy. In 1866, he was sent to Nagasaki to study western science, mathematics, and surveying. As a governor, Matsukata implemented a number of reforms including road building, building orphanages, and starting a new taxation system. In 1880, Matsukata became Home Minister, and then became Finance Minister when Okuma Shigenobu was expelled in a political upheaval. He served as finance minister in seven of the first ten cabinets, and wrote 10 articles of the Meiji Constitution of 1889.

 Ideas: Reduce Government expenditures Impose new fair taxes Adopt the gold standard Establish the Bank of Japan Lead Japan to great <span style="color: #e71818; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">economic growth with rapid modernization <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Implement measures to <span style="color: #e71818; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">stabilize the economy

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> Matsukata Masayoshi believes that the path to a great, industrialized and powerful Japan includes reducing government expenditures so money can be more concentrated towards the people of Japan, rather than the government spending money on things that may not benefit the Japanese. He also proposes a new fair taxation system which will require people to pay taxes with money instead of rice, and to tax people based on the price of their estates, not the amount of agricultural product produced, and to fix tax rates at a rate of 3%. By adopting the gold standard, money does really have a value, and can stay anchored to the economy. By establishing the Bank of Japan, more businesses can be supported financially, and people can take out loans.

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