Japan Economics Weekly Case for policy rate hikes still not strong enough The inflation data released this week show that underlying inflation remains stubbornly high. However, with wages still not rising fast enough for the Bank of Japan's liking and the momentum of... 25th August 2023 · 7 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Bank of Japan won’t rush to tighten policy With the economy seemingly running hot and underlying inflation still accelerating, the case for tighter monetary policy looks increasingly compelling. However, we still expect the Bank of Japan to... 18th August 2023 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Recession now looking unlikely Wage growth has been strong in recent months which will make it easier for households to cope with high inflation. What’s more, the outlook for external demand has brightened as we no longer expect... 11th August 2023 · 8 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly BoJ in fighting retreat from yield control 10-year government bond yields have steadily risen since the BoJ effectively raised the yield ceiling from 0.5% to 1.0% last Friday and could test the new ceiling by year-end. If that happens, we... 4th August 2023 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Nascent virtuous cycle raises risk of policy tightening Inflation continues to run well ahead of wage growth and we're sticking to our forecast that the resulting fall in real incomes will force consumers to tighten their belts over the coming months. With... 28th July 2023 · 7 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Budget deficit will be larger than we had thought While the ratio of tax revenue to GDP last year was the highest it has been since the 1980s, growth in tax revenue has been weaker in recent months than we had anticipated despite strong growth in the... 21st July 2023 · 4 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly May wage data hints at virtuous wage-price cycle Regular pay growth was the strongest in May in almost three decades and suggests that we may have underestimated the influence the stellar result from this year’s annual spring wage negotiations will... 14th July 2023 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Limited fallout from Chinese export curbs China’s curbs on exports of germanium and gallium probably won’t make much of a dent on Japan’s economy. There would be a much bigger impact if China were to restrict rare earth exports as well. But... 7th July 2023 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Stronger yen will weigh on corporate earnings We aren't convinced by the narrative that the recent surge in Japan's stock market reflects a genuine turnaround in the fortunes for Japan's economy. While firms still seem to be able to escape weak... 30th June 2023 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Bank of Japan remains dovish despite strong inflation Underlying inflation hit a 42-year high in May and the Bank of Japan will need to push back the timing by when it expects inflation to fall back below its 2% target at its upcoming meeting in July... 23rd June 2023 · 7 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Strength in car exports unlikely to last Car exports have rebounded in recent months as supply shortages have eased, but Japan’s car industry is facing major headwinds as it is a laggard in the rollout of electric vehicles. Meanwhile, the... 16th June 2023 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Shrinking output gap points to slower growth Q1 GDP growth was revised up to 0.7% q/q from 0.4% but we don’t think this strong performance will be sustained. One reason is that the output gap has narrowed significantly and points to a slowdown... 9th June 2023 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Weaker yen wouldn’t stop inflation from falling The yen briefly breached 140 against the dollar this week but we still expect it to strengthen to 125 by year-end. Even if we're wrong and the exchange rate weakens further, it wouldn't prevent... 1st June 2023 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Wage growth too low to sustain higher inflation There’s little reason to expect above-target inflation to be sustained in Japan. Wage growth remains far below the levels seen in other developed economies and remains far too low to generate second... 26th May 2023 · 7 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Recession and higher prices to sink spending in H2 Stubborn price pressures and a recession in the second half mean real disposable incomes are set to continue shrinking through year-end. With the savings rate now barely higher than it was pre... 19th May 2023 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Next year’s Shunto will disappoint the BoJ Ueda’s speech in the Diet on Tuesday left open the possibility of the Bank adjusting monetary policy before the policy review announced at the April meeting is completed next year. However, given that... 12th May 2023 · 7 mins read