Japan Economics Weekly A more sympathetic view of Mr. Shirakawa A look back at the Bank of Japan’s actions under Governor Shirakawa suggests that many commentators have been judging him too harshly. Monetary policy was loosened much less aggressively in Japan than... 18th March 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Euphoria grips the equity market After what proved to be only a brief pause, the slide in the yen and associated surge in the Nikkei have both resumed with a vengeance. A yen/dollar exchange rate of 100 and a further rally to 13,000... 11th March 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Two-year inflation target would be a step too far One of the policy changes that the new Bank of Japan Governor is likely to consider is a further clarification of the 2% inflation target. Mr Kuroda himself has reportedly suggested an explicit... 4th March 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Has the “Abe trade” run its course? The recent sideways trading in the yen and the Nikkei may simply be a pause in the trends, which would not be unusual following such rapid moves. Nonetheless, we do have three more fundamental... 25th February 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Growing risk of disappointment from new-look BoJ The government is due to announce its nominee for Bank of Japan Governor in the next few days, with expectations running high that the successful candidate will set policy-making on a new course. The... 18th February 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Expectations may now be too high to meet Hopes that a new leadership team at the Bank of Japan will deliver real change probably have a little further to run, even though the transition could still become quite messy. However, the latest... 11th February 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Is Japan back in recession? The consensus is that Japan avoided two successive quarters of contracting GDP at the end of 2012, albeit only just. In contrast, we still expect a small decline. Looking ahead, we are tweaking our... 4th February 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Will a new Governor deliver real change? Despite the headlines, the policy overhaul and additional asset purchases announced by the Bank of Japan last week were timid rather than “bold”. That was the initial reaction in the financial markets... 28th January 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Yen at risk of snap back if policy shift fails to impress Markets have, somewhat implausibly, welcomed the returned of Prime Minister Abe as signalling something of a fresh start for Japan. But there is a risk that today’s investor optimism will turn to... 21st January 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Spending more just to stand still The announcement of the government’s ¥10.3 trillion supplementary budget on Friday has been widely welcomed. However, it is unlikely to provide the boost to the economy the Cabinet Office expects. In... 14th January 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly New policies fall short of market-moving rhetoric With the return to power of the Liberal Democratic Party the yen has weakened sharply and the Nikkei has strengthened on the belief that the incoming government will push the Bank of Japan into... 7th January 2013 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly A look ahead to 2013 In this final Weekly of the year we take a look ahead to some of main events and themes that will shape Japan’s economy in 2013. Key among these are the incoming LDP government’s first budget and the... 24th December 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Priorities for the new government At the time of writing, the outcome of the 16th December Lower House election is not yet clear. However, the dire Q4 Tankan survey, released on Friday, underlined the scale of the challenges facing... 17th December 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Japan's sliding infrastructure spending The fatal accident in the Sasago Tunnel on Sunday 2nd December has turned the spotlight on to Japan’s ageing infrastructure ahead of the Lower House elections at the end of this week. In this Weekly... 10th December 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly More tinkering around the edges On Friday, Japan’s government announced another stimulus package, the second in just over a month. For Japan’s economy the package is more a prick of the finger than a shot in the arm and appears to... 3rd December 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly All change at the Bank of Japan? We think that the markets would be wrong to expect major changes in the Bank of Japan’s monetary stance after the Lower House elections in December. For a start, it is not certain that the LDP will... 26th November 2012 · 1 min read
