Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan turns more dovish The Bank of Japan (BoJ) left rates unchanged today but the accompanying policy statement was more cautious on the outlook. This is a positive step but the BoJ will probably stay reluctant to implement... 7th September 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan's latest gesture fails to impress The Bank of Japan's decision to loosen monetary policy further at an emergency meeting today simply brought forward the move that was widely expected to take place early next month. The economic... 31st August 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update What can Japan do to stem the rise of the yen? There is little that the Japanese government can do to engineer a fundamental shift in sentiment towards the yen, which is being driven by developments elsewhere. A change in rhetoric from the Bank of... 25th August 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Above-consensus growth may still not be good enough The disappointing data for the second quarter have prompted us to revise down our forecast for Japan’s GDP growth in 2010. At the same time we are nudging our 2011 forecast higher, and our numbers for... 19th August 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan unmoved by rising yen The Bank of Japan made only small tweaks to its policy statement today and, contrary to some expectations, introduced no policy shifts in response to the rise of the yen. Its ability to make a lasting... 10th August 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Underlying trends in retail spending still positive The slowdown in the annual growth of retail sales reflects both the fading of the boost from government subsidies for car purchases and changes in fuel price inflation. Sales excluding both autos and... 29th July 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update BoJ survey refutes claims of a credit crunch The Bank of Japan’s latest Senior Loan Officer Survey confirms that banks are more than willing to lend. Demand for loans remains weak, especially from firms, but there is no support here for the... 21st July 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Japan’s short-lived trade surplus with China Japan’s trade surplus with China in the first quarter is not enough to justify talk of a fundamental shift in the balance of trade between the two countries. A closer look at the recent data suggests... 20th July 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan errs on the side of caution The Bank of Japan’s policy statement today was cautious in its assessment of the economic recovery, revising up the growth forecast for this year to reflect the latest data but leaving next year’s... 15th July 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update A closer look at May’s trade data May’s external trade data revealed two interesting developments. The first is a growing divergence between trends in the value of exports compared to the volume, probably a consequence of the stronger... 24th June 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Fiscal plans fall well short The manifestos for next month’s Upper House elections published today show a worrying lack of urgency or ambition in their commitments to sort out Japan’s dire public finances. In particular, the... 17th June 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Bank of Japan sacrifices a little credibility The Bank of Japan’s new loan scheme is essentially a tool of industrial policy (and a clumsy one at that) rather than a significant easing of monetary conditions. As such, it will not help the Bank’s... 15th June 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Firms shrug off financial markets’ worries Today’s Business Outlook Survey provides further evidence that Japanese companies are much less worried than the markets appear to be about the damage to economic prospects from the crisis in Europe... 14th June 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Japan to take the lead from the UK? The appointment of PM Kan’s cabinet has been accompanied by a flurry of tough rhetoric on the need to bring the public finances under control, echoing the shift of emphasis in this weekend’s G20... 8th June 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Too soon to write off the recovery in investment At face value, the weakness of business spending revealed in today’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) survey points to a downward revision to Q1 GDP, although not necessarily a very large one (perhaps from... 3rd June 2010 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Political risks to undermine yen further The markets are probably right to shrug off the resignation of Japan’s Prime Minister, but the fragility of the government is a serious concern given the urgent need for a credible plan to tackle the... 2nd June 2010 · 1 min read
