Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida listens to Chinami Nishimura, foreground, secretary-general of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, at the Lower House plenary session on Dec. 8. (The Asahi Shimbun)

"Hang a sheep's head while selling dog meat" is an expression of Chinese origin that denotes false advertising.

Idioms with the same meaning exist in various languages around the world.

"Crying wine and selling vinegar" is an English example. I can well imagine the shock upon ingesting what I believed was wine.

"Giving a cat instead of a rabbit" is a Nicaraguan saying. Cat lovers will probably take exception to this.

Lately, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been crying "sheep" and "wine" more noticeably than ever.

As an advocate of a "new form of capitalism" and even for "a departure from neo-liberalism," surely there are many subjects Kishida should put on the table for discussion. This became obvious from the questions put to him in the Diet by the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

CDP leader Kenta Izumi called for "enhanced progressivity of the income tax."

Japan's highest income tax rate was 70 percent in the 1980s, but it is now 45 percent. Reinforcing the progressivity of the tax and getting high-income earners to pay higher taxes would help shrink income disparities.

CDP Secretary-General Chinami Nishimura demanded a review of the worker dispatching law.

In the past, "haken shain" or outsourced employees, were limited only to professionals with specialized skills, but the category has been expanded considerably since the late 1990s to include many lines of work.

But Kishida apparently has no intention of addressing these issues, at least from how he responded to the questions.

Or will they be taken up for discussion at the Council of New Form of Capitalism Realization, a formidable-sounding group set up at the initiative of the prime minister?

But I doubt it, given its impressive membership list of high-profile business leaders.

Talking big about something that's "new," “truly revolutionary" or "life changing" is a classic gimmick in politics, but we should make sure to see how and where they eventually end.

If only politicians were honest enough to cry "dog meat" and "vinegar" from the storefront, we'd have no complaints.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 10

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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