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... 5th April 2023 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Yield Curve Control still on counted time The Bank of Japan faces a dilemma as inflationary pressures are becoming increasingly broad-based at the same time as economic activity is softening. What may tilt the balance towards the ending of... 31st March 2023 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly No signs of stress in Japan’s financial markets There has so far been no sign of stress in Japan’s financial markets as a result of the banking crises in the US and the demise of Credit Suisse. Meanwhile, the government has announced another... 24th March 2023 · 7 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Less short-term pressure on Yield Curve Control The case for abandoning Yield Curve Control (YCC) has weakened further. The recent troubles at US regional banks and Credit Suisse should further reduce already easing pressure on the 10-year JGB... 17th March 2023 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Yield Curve Control set to end in April The Bank of Japan didn’t alter policy settings at today’s meeting. With economic activity set to disappoint the Bank’s overly optimistic forecasts and wage growth slowing again, the case for... 10th March 2023 · 6 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Economy headed for recession We're expecting industrial production to rebound strongly in February. Even so, industrial output will still slump this quarter, pointing to a larger q/q fall in Q1 GDP than we’re forecasting. However... 3rd March 2023 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Market pressure on Yield Curve Control intensifying Deputy Governor Amamiya’s reason for rejecting the governorship has made clear that the government wants to pivot away from the ultra-easy monetary policy of the past decade. As a result, market bets... 24th February 2023 · 7 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Consensus is too optimistic about GDP growth The economy expanded at a slower pace in Q4 than most anticipated, and while the second consecutive fall in export volumes in January largely reflects distortions from the Lunar New Year, it’s... 17th February 2023 · 5 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Ueda the Unknown Kazuo Ueda was present as a member of the Bank of Japan’s Policy Board at the birth of both the Zero Interest Rate Policy in 1999 and Quantitative Easing in 2001 and took the dovish side of arguments... 10th February 2023 · 8 mins read
