Verdict on Abe speech seems harsh

Judging by the initial market reaction and media coverage, PM Abe’s “growth strategy” already appears to be a damp squib. To be fair, it was always unrealistic to expect a Prime Ministerial speech in a Tokyo hotel to provide a lot more detail than has already been widely discussed, or to expect the administration to press ahead with difficult structural reforms even before next month’s Upper House elections. Nonetheless, whilst “Abenomics” surely represents the right mix of policies to tackle Japan’s problems, the hard part is only just beginning.