Rebound continues, winter third wave?

The surge in car sales last month brought further evidence that the economy has continued to rebound over the autumn months. Admittedly, a recent spike in coronavirus cases in Hokkaido – which proved to be a bellwether back in February – is a warning to the rest of the country that cases may start to rise as the temperature drops. However, we suspect that the government will refrain from imposing draconian restrictions on economic activity in the event of a third wave unless hospital capacity comes close to reaching its limits.