Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had one pressing question about a draft report in May on how to fix the economy.

“Who wrote that idiotic proposal?” a clearly angered Abe asked his associates.

The draft was compiled by lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Headquarters for Promoting Fiscal Consolidation, which was established soon after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took office last autumn.

The lawmakers had suggested measures to restore the nation’s fiscal health, given the large level of public debt in comparison to gross domestic product.

The headquarters had put together the draft document in hopes that some of the wording would be reflected in the annual Basic Policies for Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform that comes out in June.

Abe, however, viewed the contents of the draft as a personal attack against Abenomics, the main economic policy package during his more than seven years in power to August 2020.

After the proposals were discussed at a May 19 meeting, Abe phoned Takao Ochi, secretary-general of the headquarters.

“Do you intend to criticize Abenomics?” the former prime minister asked Ochi, who is a member of the LDP faction that Abe heads.

Ochi tried to placate Abe, but the faction leader shot back, “My associates tell me it is a criticism of Abenomics.”

Ochi said: “I am a believer in Abenomics. And besides, I twice served as senior vice minister in the Cabinet Office (which puts together the annual economic and fiscal policy document).”

Although Abe agreed with Ochi’s point, Abe later asked his associates for the names of the authors of the draft.

The draft said, “Although many economic policies have been implemented in recent years, the result is that Japan’s economic growth over the past 30 years is the lowest among the major advanced economies.”

It pointed out that the starting salary of company workers had remained basically unchanged from 30 years ago, and it said an international comparison of personnel expenses was creating a “cheap Japan.”

Abe was especially angered at the “cheap Japan” reference, sources said.

What followed was a concerted attack by Abe and others against LDP members who were calling for rebuilding fiscal health.

Abenomics involved an aggressive use of bold monetary easing, flexible fiscal spending and a growth strategy designed to stimulate private-sector investment.

A number of Abe faction members who took part in the May 19 headquarters meeting raised concerns about the wording of the draft. The often-heated discussions lasted for about two hours, and no decision was made on the wording that day.

At the following day’s session, a revised draft included more references to Abenomics, but that still did not placate the critics.

Fukushiro Nukaga, a former finance minister who chairs the headquarters, met directly with Abe on May 23. Also in attendance were Taro Aso, another former finance minister who serves as supreme adviser of the headquarters, and Shoji Nishida, an Upper House member who heads the LDP’s Headquarters for Fiscal Policy under the Policy Research Council.

Abe serves as supreme adviser of the second headquarters, which pushes for aggressive spending.

One source said Abe presented to Nukaga another revision of several dozens of lines.

“They would not permit any criticism of Abenomics,” a lawmaker working to restore fiscal health said.

Nukaga and Ochi released the final draft on May 26.

The document still called for seeking a surplus in the government’s primary balance, which would mean that tax and other revenue would cover programs from social security to public works projects without having to issue new government bonds.

But major revisions were made to the parts related to Abenomics.

The reference to “cheap Japan” was deleted, and wording was added that Abenomics had still not completed its course.

Ultimately, those pushing for fiscal health were forced to retreat.

The draft proposal of basic fiscal and economic policies presented on May 31 to the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy deleted the target of fiscal 2025 for achieving a primary balance surplus, which had been included in past documents.

Abe began his second stint as prime minister in late 2012. The outstanding balance of central government bonds at the end of fiscal 2012 was 705 trillion yen ($5.4 trillion). By the end of fiscal 2021, the outstanding balance was 991 trillion yen.

(This article was written by Takashi Narazaki and Ayako Nakada.)