Democratic Party representative Kan and writer Naoki Inose clashed on the 25th at a gathering marking the first anniversary of the death of Kōki Ishii, a Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives, over the privatization of the highway public corporations.
Inose, who also served on the committee promoting the privatization of the highway public corporations, opened the exchange. While noting that Ishii had supported privatization, he criticized the party, saying: “Originally, Ishii’s proposal should have become the Democratic Party’s proposal. For the election, it put forward making expressways toll-free. That will only create a big government.”
[asahi.com : 政治]
It seems that “privatization” has become a banner for some people. Privatization does not necessarily produce efficiency. What matters is promoting competition. If monopoly or oligopoly conditions continue even after privatization, there will often be reasons not to privatize.
Roads, in particular, are facilities with large externalities, so simply leaving them to the market will not necessarily work. The current public corporations certainly have major problems, but privatization does not appear likely to solve them. Rather, they could become a source of profit for politicians and related organizations.
It is important not to be deceived by the word “privatization.”
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