Japan Economics Weekly PM Kishida’s plans to raise wages sound familiar PM Kishida’s plans to lift wage growth largely follow the Abenomics blueprint of tax incentives, targeted pay hikes in sectors facing severe labour shortages and rapid minimum wage hikes. A tax on... 5th November 2021 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Services recovering, industry still ailing This week’s activity data provided further evidence that supply shortages in the car sector are holding back the recovery. We expect car production to rebound this quarter as factories in Southeast... 29th October 2021 · 4 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Carmakers will struggle even after shortages abate The disruptions to supply chains from Delta outbreaks across Southeast Asia that resulted in another big drop in car exports in September will ease soon. However, carmakers are responding with lower... 22nd October 2021 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Kishida dissolves parliament, firms look to seniors The ruling LDP appears to be bracing for a slimming down of its lower house majority in the general election that will take place on 31 st October. That would make tangible structural reform progress... 15th October 2021 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Southeast Asia shortages unlikely to derail recovery The huge fall in car sales in September suggests that shortages of parts from Southeast Asia are starting to hamper goods consumption. And while factories in important suppliers such as Vietnam and... 8th October 2021 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Supply shortages set to hold back manufacturers Production of motor vehicles and electronics fell sharply in August and is well below pre-pandemic levels. This isn’t mainly due to weaker demand, which has moderated but remains healthy. Instead, it... 1st October 2021 · 4 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly States of emergency may end before LDP election Reports this week that PM Suga is keen to end emergency declarations before leaving office on Wednesday are good for our view that output will rebound strongly to above pre-virus levels in Q4... 24th September 2021 · 7 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Struggling to generate inflation even now While inflation in most advanced economies is now well above central banks’ targets, it is still negative in Japan. This is largely due to idiosyncratic factors that should fade by the middle of next... 17th September 2021 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Light at the end of the tunnel High frequency data suggest that the Delta wave resulted in a renewed weakening in consumer spending in recent weeks. And given that the government this week extended the state of emergency in the... 10th September 2021 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Race for next PM wide open after Suga’s resignation The resignation of Prime Minister Suga could mark a return to the tradition of short-lived leaders that characterised Japan’s political system before Abenomics. Even so, the ruling LDP-Komeito... 3rd September 2021 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Delta may soon peak, Kishida seeks to replace Suga The government this week expanded state of emergencies to nearly all prefectures and consumers are responding to the surge in virus cases with renewed caution. We’ve therefore pencilled in a renewed... 27th August 2021 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Drag from emergency measures fading While new virus cases and hospitalisations have hit record-highs this week, the rebound in services consumption in Q2 suggests that households are getting increasingly blasé about state of emergency... 20th August 2021 · 4 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Hospitals under pressure, PM Suga looking vulnerable While daily cases have shown tentative signs of levelling off in recent days, severe cases will continue to rise sharply for a while yet so the threat of tighter restrictions on economic activity... 13th August 2021 · 8 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Calls for more draconian restrictions growing The number of new virus cases hit record highs this week as the Delta variant is now spreading widely. While the vast majority of the elderly are now fully vaccinated and deaths have remained low, the... 6th August 2021 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Another disappointing quarter Strong activity data for June confirm that the economy entered Q3 on a relatively strong footing. But while vaccinations are limiting the number of severe cases and deaths, daily coronavirus cases... 30th July 2021 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly A coronavirus wave for each Olympic ring While consumption remains a weak link, robust exports and capital spending in Q2 may have helped the economy just about avoid a double-dip recession. And while Japan will be in the midst of a fifth... 23rd July 2021 · 6 mins read
