Japan Economics Weekly Households upbeat, but still price sensitive Japanese households are more positive about current economic conditions than they have been for many years but they report still being highly price sensitive, and their worries about the outlook have... 18th January 2019 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Unemployment nearing a floor, wage confusion It increasingly appears that Japan’s unemployment rate is bottoming out. Recent data suggest that wage growth is picking up, but the surge that some policymakers had hoped for at this point in the... 11th January 2019 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Sub-zero JGBs renewing financial stability concerns The yield on 10-year Japanese Government Bonds turned negative again this week, for the first time since shortly after the “around zero” target was adopted in 2016. This may rattle some of the more... 4th January 2019 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Shadows over 2019 lift We expect the global economy to slow further next year which will be a headwind to trade. But the government has recognised the threat to domestic demand posed by next year’s sales tax hike and... 21st December 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly JGB yields slide, tourists turn away Ten-year Japanese government bond yields this week dropped back to below their level when the Bank of Japan widened the tolerance band in July. The stealth tightening that some talked of at the time... 14th December 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly The puzzle of low wage growth One explanation for the persistent weakness of wage growth in Japan, despite the tightness of the labour market, is that employment growth has been skewed towards positions with low hours and low pay... 7th December 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Economy rebounding, government details tax offsets This week brought reassurance that the contraction in the economy in Q3 was largely due to one-off factors. The early signs are that there has been a strong rebound this quarter. In the week ahead... 30th November 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Oil and inflation, Ghosn and corporate governance The slump in global oil prices will deliver a windfall to Japanese firms and households but it creates a headache for the Bank of Japan: lower energy prices will knock half a percentage point off... 23rd November 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Economy contracting, Japan still loves cash The contraction in Q3 GDP that was confirmed this week is likely to be followed by a rebound over coming quarters. But the bigger picture is that growth momentum has weakened since last year and... 16th November 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Q3 bright spots fade, better lies ahead The past week’s data cast a shadow over some of the few remaining bright spots in Q3. Next week’s GDP release is very likely to show that Japan’s economy contracted for a second time this year... 9th November 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Immigration door opens a little further The new types of work visas Japan’s government plans to introduce in April will probably result in an even greater inflow of foreign workers over the coming years. That’s a step in the right direction... 2nd November 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Regional banks in the spotlight, Abe in China We still think that the solution to the continued fall in regional banks’ capital ratios is a reduction in the number of lenders rather than an increase in the BoJ’s 10-year yield target. Japan’s... 26th October 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly BoJ to slow bond purchases, but not due to US US insistence that provisions against currency manipulation be a part of any future trade deal with Japan has raised suggestions this week that Japanese policymakers, particularly those at the Bank of... 19th October 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Banks still struggling, another look at Japan’s debts The government has indicated that it will be more lenient in applying antimonopoly legislation when assessing regional bank mergers. That should pave the way for a further consolidation of... 12th October 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Households remain gloomy, yen to strengthen again Japan’s labour market is as strong as most of today’s workers will ever have known, which makes the persistent weakness of consumption all the more puzzling. Spending remains flat according to data... 5th October 2018 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Carmakers get a reprieve, the BoJ’s case for easing Japan’s government this week caved to US pressure to start discussions on a bilateral trade deal. But it appears to have won some valuable concessions in return. Meanwhile, we learnt more about what... 28th September 2018 · 1 min read