Statement on Kelton Visit to Japan | Facebook
Introduction
- As stated on our website, the Modern Money Network is committed to the creation and improvement of monetary and financial institutions governed by the public and directed in support of public purpose. We believe in the universal, enforceable and inalienable right of every person to participate in economic life in a manner consistent with basic principles of justice, fairness, equality and dignity.
- It has come to our attention that an individual, previously affiliated with MMN, who is also involved in another leftist organization, with which MMN has had historically a good relationship, attempted to use that organization to discredit MMN by alleging our organization does not hold true to its values.
- Worse, they have attempted to discredit the upcoming MMT conference, and a prominent member of the MMT community.
- In particular, the individual in question crafted and presented to that organization a statement regarding a recent visit by an MMT academic to Japan that contains a number of falsehoods and factual distortions.
- The purpose of that individual’s statement is to convince the group to collectively publish an open letter denouncing the academic in question, and demanding they apologize for actions and intentions they are (wrongly) alleged to have made and held.
- The open letter would also state that in the event an apology is not offered, MMN would be denounced, and leftists should boycott the upcoming MMT Conference on the grounds that it is organized by MMN.
- We have crafted this response preemptively, in order to set the record straight, address concerns, and hopefully defuse this issue and preserve factual accuracy.Background
- A few months ago, Prime Minister Abe, who leads the ruling, right-wing LDP Party, announced plans to implement a consumption tax increase, partly in order to address concerns about the size of the budget deficit.
- This consumption tax increase is consistent with neoliberal principles of austerity, and would have a regressive impact that not only hurts economic growth, but does so particularly by burdening the most vulnerable members of the economy.
- Consequently, the tax increase is opposed by prominent anti-austerity leftwing movements, such as the Rose Mark Seal Movement, anti-austerity members of the Japanese Communist Party, as well as anti-austerity members of Abe’s own LDP party on the far right, including Shouji Nishida and Hiroshi Ando.
Kelton’s Invitation to Japan
- On April 29th, Leigh Bureau, a professional bureau that receives and manages speaker invitations on behalf of Professor Stephanie Kelton [1], received an invitation for Kelton to give a talk titled ‘MMT and Ending Deflation’ at a conference hosted and sponsored by the University of Kyoto.
- This invitation was made on behalf of an organization titled ‘Economics 101’, which is an educational non-profit organization that promotes public understanding of economics, and includes as partners a range of prominent English-speaking economists, including Paul Krugman, Marth Thoma, Simon Wren-Lewis, and Brad Delong, as well as Satoshi Fujii, who was identified in the invitation solely as a Professor of Economics at Kyoto University, but who also previously served as an economic advisor to Prime Minister Abe.
- As part of that invitation, Kelton was also invited to participate in the following events, in addition to her headlining talk at the University of Kyoto:
- An interview with left-wing economist Tadasu Matsuo and Economics 101;
- A lecture on MMT for Japanese politicians at the House of Representatives;
- A press conference targeting Japanese media; and
- An interview with an internet TV program called Mihashi TV.[2]
- On May 9th, Leigh Bureau forwarded that invitation on to Kelton, who on the basis of the information presented, agreed to participate, and signed a formal, binding contract committing to do so through Leigh Bureau.
- On May 14th, Leigh Bureau sent Kelton a second invitation, inviting her to give another talk, this time to be hosted and sponsored by Ritsumeikan University, to which she also agreed.
[1] Kelton is a high-profile speaker and media figure, with an extremely busy schedule, and it is normal for speakers in her position to rely upon a speaker bureau to vet speaker invitations on their behalf, rather than expecting them to undertake significant personal research of every individual and sponsor involved with every media event that she participates in.
[2] Mihashi TV was described in the invitation as on the “right wing political side” of Japanese media, but there was no information provided about who the interviewer would be at that time.
Initial Expression of Concern Regarding Kelton’s Visit to Japan
- On May 18th, Bloomberg published an article titled ‘Japanese Lawmakers Fret Over Looming Tax Hike in Weak Economy’, which discussed Abe’s plans to raise the consumption tax hike, and the controversy this announcement had provoked within Japan.
- In this article, it was noted that the planned tax increase was opposed by certain members of Abe’s own political party, namely Shouji Nishida and Hiroshi Ando, both of whom were identified as proponents of MMT. The relevant section of the article is reproduced here:
“Raising taxes before Japan has shaken off deflation is ‘incomprehensible,’ another LDP lawmaker who has publicly opposed the increase, said in a video on his website. Nishida is a proponent of Modern Monetary Theory, which argues that countries with their own central banks and borrowing in their own currencies can’t go broke, and don’t need to worry about overspending so long as it’s not generating high inflation. If you understand this, you will realize that it’s not true to say Japan’s in a fiscal crisis,” said Hiroshi Ando, another LDP advocate of MMT. He has in the past petitioned Abe to put off the tax increase, but has held his fire this year.”
- On May 19th, Kelton tweeted a link to the above article, with the comment:
“Looking forward to meeting Hiroshi Ando and Shouji Nishida when I’m in Japan next month! #MMT”
- At that time, Kelton did not know anything more about those individuals, other than that they were opposed to the Abe government’s proposed regressive, harmful consumption tax increase, and had expressed that opposition in terms of an understanding of MMT. Furthermore, there were no plans to meet specifically with these individuals, beyond the general “lecture to Japanese politicians at the House of Representatives” that had been identified in the initial invitation email.
- Shortly thereafter on the same day, the Black Socialists of America tweeted the following reply to Kelton:
“Nishida is a fascist. MMT might be “neutral,” but what are the implications of you meeting with nationalist politicians in the U.S. and Japan? 西田昌司が本当にファシストです。MMTは中立的かもしれませんが、あなたがアメリカや日本の国粋主義者の政治家と面会することの意味は何ですか？”
- This tweet was one of over twenty responses to the initial tweet, and the only one to raise any concerns about the planned visit. In addition, the tweet provided no links, or additional context, for the claim that Nishida is a fascist, and was written half in Japanese.
- At that time, Kelton, who has no direct relationship with the Black Socialists of America, and no context for their claims, did not respond.
- Indeed, there is no indication that Kelton even actually read the tweet, let alone gave it serious consideration, given Kelton has over 60,000 followers, and receives hundreds of mentions per day, including many critical and negatively worded responses from accounts that lack credibility or charitable intent, and/or who lack the relevant contextual knowledge about the issue they are criticizing.
- Later that day, the ex-member of MMN in question contacted the MMN leadership to express concern regarding Kelton’s upcoming visit to Japan.
- That concern was based on two distinct objections:
- First, that, based on Kelton’s tweet, it appeared that she intended to visit directly with Nishida and Ando, who were figures on the far-right of Japanese politics;
- Second, that by publicly opposing the government’s planned consumption tax increase, she would be seen as “encouraging an ultra-nationalist party filled with fascists to keep taxes low so they can maintain their popularity and continue to win elections.”
- Based on those objections, the ex-member suggested that MMN contact Kelton and request that she cancel her planned meeting with Nishida and Ando.
- In response, MMN leadership requested that the ex-member collect information detailing Nishida and Ando’s far-right connections, and present it to MMN leadership so that this information could be passed on to Kelton.
- The ex-member agreed to do so, and then requested that MMN leadership and other members of MMN sign a joint letter containing such information, and present to Kelton on behalf of MMN.
- MMN leadership suggested that the more appropriate and comradely approach would be for MMN leaders to contact Kelton personally, indicating that members within MMN had expressed concerns, and to discuss such concerns as friends and comrades, without the additional formal hostility implied by a mass-signed letter, replete with demands.
- The ex-member initially expressed displeasure at this option, but ultimately concurred that such an approach was likely to yield the most constructive outcome, and agreed.
- On June 5th, the ex-member sent an email to MMN leadership, detailing Ando and Nishida’s connections to the far right, as well as the LDP’s broader right-wing and fascistic background, and arguing that any meeting that “resulted in giving advice to the LDP – whether it be a meeting with individuals like Nishida and Ando or an official meeting with an LDP government body – would be seen as and amount to an endorsement of their reactionary politics.”
- This email was forwarded to Kelton on June 6th. Shortly thereafter, Kelton clarified to MMN leadership that there were no plans to meet specifically with either Ando or Nishida, that she had been invited by an economics professor who had previously advised Prime Minister Abe, and that any meeting with Japanese parliamentarians would include the approximately 10 members of the cross-party parliamentary group that had been formed to study MMT, which included not only members of the LDP, but members of the Japanese Communist Party.
- This information was then relayed back to the former MMN member who had originally raised concerns.
- The former MMN member remained dissatisfied with Kelton’s response, and argued that even if Kelton spoke to a cross-party parliamentary group, such presence would be tantamount to advising the LDP itself, given that they were the ruling party in government, and would involve educating LDP members on MMT.
- MMN leadership disagreed, on the grounds that:
- The LDP government in power was trying to pass the tax increase, thus any presentation given to lawmakers regarding opposing such a policy could not realistically be seen as promoting the agenda of the LDP government itself;
- The proposed tax increase was regressive and harmful to average Japanese people, consequently, opposing it publicly was a moral necessity for leftists, even if such opposition could potentially be seized upon by far-right figures within the LDP in furtherance of their own intra-party opposition to the policy; and
- Giving an open, public talk in parliament to members of both parties was not tantamount to advising the party in power, but rather was consistent with the public educational function of academics like Kelton.
- The former MMN member indicated that they remained unconvinced of these arguments, but no longer wished to debate the issue, at which point discussion about the issue within MMN ceased.
Kelton’s Visit to Japan
- In mid-July, Kelton visited Japan, as planned. Upon arrival, she received a detailed itinerary from one of the members of the organizing team. This itinerary included the following events:
- Lunch with Parliamentary MMT Study Group
- Public Lecture at Japanese Parliament
- Press Conference
- Interview with Mihashi TV
- Public Lecture at Ritsumeikan University, moderated by Tadasu Matsuo
- Notably, this itinerary is broadly consistent with the proposed events detailed in the initial invitations Kelton received via Leigh Bureau on May 9 and May 14, with three exceptions:
- First, the planned lecture on MMT to Japanese politicians became a lunch for members of the cross-party parliamentary MMT study group;
- Second, the planned conference lecture at Kyoto University became a university-sponsored symposium lecture at Japanese parliament; and
- Third, the planned interview with left-wing economist Tadasu Matsuo was combined with the public lecture at Ritsumeikan University, by having Matsuo serve as moderator.
- Over the next three days, Kelton participated in each of the aforementioned events, as agreed upon in her contract with Leigh Bureau. Each will be discussed in detail below:
Lunch with Parliamentary MMT Study Group
- Upon arrival in Japan, Kelton was first brought to a lunch at the Japanese parliament with members of the parliamentary MMT study group. This lunch was open to journalists and others, in addition to members of the relevant parliamentary working group.
- During the lunch, Kelton was introduced to numerous people, whose names she was previously unfamiliar with, and discussed pleasantries and basic concepts of MMT. In addition, a number of photos were taken, including a photo with Kelton, Fujii, Ando, and Nishida.
- At the time, Kelton expected members of both the LDP and Japanese Communist Party to be in attendance, in keeping with the initial invitation, and the fact that members of both parties were involved in the parliamentary study group, which numbered approximately 10.
- However, given the relatively small number of parliamentarians in attendance, after the event, Kelton sought clarification about this fact, and was informed that members of the study group from the Japanese Communist Party were ultimately unable to attend at the last minute, due an impending election in the upcoming days, and they had decided to spend that time campaigning in their constituent districts. After lunch, Kelton sat for a number of short interviews with major media outlets, including Bloomberg and Nikkei.
- Subsequently, she gave a keynote lecture as part of a symposium, held in a large auditorium in the Japanese parliament, and presented to Kelton as being sponsored by the Kyoto University Resilience Practice Unit, founded by Fujii.
- After returning from her trip, Kelton subsequently determined that the event was also organized by other organizations affiliated with Fujii, including Expression Criterion and the Reiwa Policy Pivot.
- However this was not apparent to Kelton at the time or beforehand, as the primary sponsor of the event was Kyoto University, which was consistent with the original invitation that had been directed to Leigh Bureau on April 29th.[3]
- This symposium was widely publicized to members of all political parties, and held in a room at the Japanese parliament that fit approximately 500 people. Shortly beforehand, it was determined that the event would likely be oversubscribed, and attendance was subsequently rationed on the basis of a blind lottery system.
- This event was in no way directed exclusively towards the LDP, or any subgroup therein. Photos of the event are included here:
[3] In addition, the email forwarded to Kelton by MMN leadership from the ex MMN member in advance of the trip included information only about Nishida, Ando, and the LDP, and did not include any information about Fujii, Expression Criterion, or the Reiwa Policy Pivot.
Press Conference
Press Conference
- Following her keynote lecture, Kelton attended a press conference, which was held in the same building in Japanese parliament. The press conference featured many prominent, mainstream international and domestic media outlets, and was focused on MMT and the government’s proposed consumption tax hike.
- Due to the mainstream press attendance, it appeared to be a standard press conference covering a high-profile talk at the Japanese parliament.
Interview with Mihashi TV
- The following day, Kelton conducted an interview for Mihashi TV, with Takaaki Mitsuhashi.
- Prior to the interview Mitsuhashi was introduced to Kelton by her translator as a “popular economic commentator”.
- During that interview, a number of topics related to MMT were discussed, including the fact that MMT is an analytical lens that could be adopted by people of various ideological viewpoints.
- At one point, Mitsuhashi asked Kelton whether a Job Guarantee would enable people to find work in their country of origin as opposed to being forced to immigrate to survive. Kelton agreed, but noted that it was unrealistic to expect immigration to stop more broadly, even with a Job Guarantee, given that climate change was going to force billions of people out of their homes.
- At no point prior to or during this interview was Kelton aware of Mitsuhashi’s reputation in Japan, or prior personal history.
Public Lecture at Ritsumeikan University
- Later that day, Kelton attended Ritsumeikan University, and gave a lecture moderated by noted left-wing economist, Tadasu Matsuo.
- The lecture was delivered primarily to students and other academics at the university, and approximately 150 people were in attendance, including noted economist Koichi Hamada, the developer of Abe economics and Tuntex Professor Emeritus of Economics at Yale University. A photo from this event can be found here:
- Following the lecture, Kelton remained at the university for a considerable period of time, in order to meet and interact with Matsuo and other members of the progressive, anti-austerity Rose Mark Seal Campaign.
- During this meeting, Kelton made additional, impromptu remarks of support and encouragement towards the Rose Mark Seal Campaign. A photo of this meeting can be found below, and a tweet from the Rose Mark Seal Campaign twitter account about the meeting can be found here:
- On the third day, Kelton conducted a series of one-on-one media interviews with major media outlets in Japan, and spent the rest of the day shopping for gifts for her children.
Kelton Response Following Japan Visit
- Upon returning to the United States, and in light of a number of discrepancies between the final itinerary and the nature in which it had been presented in the initial invitations, Kelton took the following actions:
- Declined to accept an invitation to attend a follow-up event organized by the same group on December 21st;
- Determined that she would not participate in any future events involving Mitsuhashi, Criterion, or Reiwa Policy Pivot; and
- Reached out to other prominent MMTers who had previously accepted similar speaking invitations, to explain the context behind her decision not to accept the follow-up invitation or participate in any future events involving Mitsuhashi, Criterion, or Reiwa Policy Pivot; and
- Emailed Tadasu Matsuo on July 21st, in which she:
- Indicated her gratitude for his having organized the second university lecture at Ritsumeikan University;
- Indicated her willingness to remain in touch and connect with other progressives in the anti-austerity movement; and
- Committed to writing something in support of the Rose Mark Seal Campaign’s efforts against austerity.
Further Response by MMT Academics
- On the basis of the information provided by Kelton, as well as additional verification from other colleagues more familiar with Japanese politics, MMT academic Bill Mitchell drafted a set of protocols for visiting Japan to avoid such issues in the future, which includes:
- Requiring all proposed events be open to all, and all promotional literature be made available in advance;
- Only giving interviews to standard international media or main Japanese media mastheads;
- Confirming all funding sources before accepting invitations, including for press events;
- Wherever possible, obtaining independent interpreters not provided by speaker invitees;
- Avoiding any interaction or involvement with Mitsuhashi, and avoiding meeting privately with Ando or Nishida, socializing with them, taking photos with them, or promoting them via social media;
- Not participating in any events sponsored by, or promoted as Criterion, Keiei Kagaku Shuppan, or Reiwa Pivot events;
- Actively seeking to participate at events organized by the Rose Mark Seal Campaign and promoting such events via social media.
- In addition, Mitchell wrote to Fujii to request that, as editor of Criterion, he withdraw an article in Criterion published alongside articles about MMT that contains abhorrent and false claims about Nanking and other atrocities committed by Japan in World War II.
MMN Position and Statement
- From the perspective of MMN leadership, the above-detailed actions are both a sufficient response, and reflect a commitment to the principles of inclusion and anti-fascim that MMN believes in, and tries to uphold within the broader MMT community.
- Moreover, these actions appear to us to be consistent with the character and political commitments of the MMT academics in question.
- We are grateful that these individuals were willing to readily share this information with us, when asked.
- We also understand that it is difficult for other leftist groups to gain a clear understanding of events solely based on decontextualized images and comments made online.
- However, this recognition only underscores the importance of proper investigation prior to reaching uncharitable conclusions and making public allegations which can then be weaponized by common enemies seeking to legitimize and undermine progressive causes, and progressive advocates such as those in the MMT community.
- As public figures who have devoted their lives to opposing oppression, injustice, and anti-democratic forces. we believe MMT academics such as Kelton are entitled to some degree of good faith and initial benefit of the doubt from fellow MMTers and other members of the progressive community in the event that their actions appear to be inconsistent with such commitments.
- Such trust and good faith is critical to building solidarity and strong working relationships, particularly under conditions of high stress and adversity, and in an era where opposition groups are able to cherry-pick and distort intra-left discourse to their own advantage.
- To that end, we are saddened that the ex-MMN member, who for a long time was considered a friend of the MMT community, chose to adopt the strategy they did without demonstrating basic solidarity.
- Since Kelton’s visit to Japan, there have been no attempts to seek clarification or resolution through direct channels; instead, the individual who drafted the statement chose to weaponize another group and smear an academic’s character.
- We are further saddened that this strategy was determined to be appropriate by the group to which it was suggested, ostensibly in the name of and in the spirit of a commitment to solidarity, without first making any attempt to raise such concerns directly with the relevant parties, or seek additional verification of the facts and claims in question.
- The intended and explicit goal of this strategy was to achieve maximum public exposure and leverage with the statement upon publication, in doing so maximizing the likelihood it would be interpreted in a hostile manner, and destroying any presumption of good faith between that group and MMN in any subsequent dialogue.
- Finally, we are disappointed that the group in question rushed to deliberating whether or not to publish such a statement without first doing the minimum due diligence such a weighty decision requires, particularly given that the decision to do so is being justified in the name of anti-fascism, when it will have the likely counter-effect, of hurting the reputation of both people and ideas who are prominent figures on the left, and who are affiliated with broader movements beyond MMT that represent the best chance our generation has to fight and defeat the evil forces of fascism and austerity.
- We at MMN have always and remain committed to progressive values and principles of solidarity, and hope that this statement both clarifies any lingering misconceptions about the relevant facts, and demonstrates our willingness to defend precisely the principles that we are being accused of having failed to consider.
Sincerely,
MMN Executive Committee
MMN Executive Committee
there is no right wing
or left wing …
there is only up wing
an' down wing
11 Outlined Epitaphs (liner notes)
BOB DYLAN LYRICS 302
p.112
右翼とか
左翼はないぜ……
ただ上翼と
下翼だけある
あらましの墓碑銘十一篇(時代は変わる、ライナーノーツ)
ボブ・ディラン全詩302篇
122頁