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
Japan Economics Weekly The return of the LDP Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved parliament on Friday, paving the way for a general election on 16th December. The decision is likely to mean the fall of the ruling DPJ party from office and... 19th November 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Is Japan’s labour market about to unravel? Improvements in labour market conditions earlier this year came to a halt in Q3 as the economy experienced a sharp decline. With most indicators pointing to a further contraction in Q4, we think... 12th November 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly The effect of the consumption tax hike on growth The proposed increase in the consumption tax in April 2014 and again in October 2015 can be expected to affect the economy through two routes. First, it will generate a front-loaded increase in demand... 5th November 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Japan is fast approaching its own fiscal cliff The government is fast approaching a “fiscal cliff”. An extraordinary session of parliament is meeting from Monday (29th), in which the government will try to force the passage of deficit-covering... 29th October 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Another impotent “stimulus” package The Japanese government has announced its intention to create a new stimulus package to boost the moribund economy and presumably revive the political fortunes of the ruling party. It is unlikely to... 22nd October 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Japan’s automakers and the importance of China The auto industry in particular has been feeling the effects of the Chinese boycott of Japanese products following the protests over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. In September Toyota and Nissan... 15th October 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly How important is non-China Asia to Japan? Japan’s economic relationship with China is important, but so is Japan’s relationship with other countries in Asia. These other economies account for a greater share of trade and outward foreign... 8th October 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly Production tumbles further but still no end in sight The latest figures on Japan’s economy were downbeat. We have been forecasting a contraction in Q3 GDP since June and nothing that has happened since has shifted that view. Industrial production has... 1st October 2012 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Weekly How big is Japan's business presence in China? Following the recent protests in China that have caused many Japanese firms to temporarily close factories and shops, in this Weekly we look at how the presence of Japanese companies in China has... 24th September 2012 · 1 min read
