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
Japan Economics Weekly Wage growth set to moderate as labour market cools The Bank of Japan thinks that more pronounced labour shortages at smaller firms will prompt them to eventually catch up with bigger firms by granting larger pay hikes. However, with the labour market... 5th May 2023 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly GDP to shrink across H2 External demand is holding up better than we had anticipated and we now expect a renewed rise in Q2 GDP following a modest decline in Q1. But we still expect major trading partners to enter a... 28th April 2023 · 3 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly We still expect Ueda to spring a surprise next week Press reports suggest that the Bank of Japan will predict inflation of 2% two years ahead at next week's meeting, which would suggest that the Bank is closer than ever to meeting its inflation target... 21st April 2023 · 8 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Slowing wage growth dampens inflation hopes Governor Ueda said this week he will be watching if wage growth can be sustained at a level that will support inflation at or above target. So far, the signs aren’t encouraging. Wage growth has fallen... 14th April 2023 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly External demand weakness has further to run Firms expect the recent weakness in external demand to last another quarter at least, according to the BoJ’s latest Tankan survey. That should drag on business investment as well and cause the economy... 6th April 2023 · 5 mins read
