Japan


Incipient LDP/SME Revolt Against First Arrow

When some powerful leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) complain that the “First Arrow” of Abenomics (monetary ease and yen deprecation) is causing more harm than good, you know that the credibility of Abenomics has reached a turning point. And when this coincides with an indicator from the Cabinet Office that suggests the risk of an out-and-out recession following the April hike in the consumption tax, then you know that the bloom is really off the rose.

Bad Month for Abenomics

September was not a good month for Abenomics. That meant it was not a good month for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe either. The bump in the polls that Abe received following his Cabinet reshuffle a month ago has already begun to fade. Consider these shocks to the credibility of Abenomics.

TOE Alert: Unexpected Fall in Industrial Production Leads Economists to Revise Downward Their GDP Forecasts

Japan's Industrial production fell 1.5% in August from July; economists had expected a 0.3% rise

TOE Alert: Post-Tax Spending, Wages Show Further Retrenchment in August

Once again in August, the post-tax hike retrenchment in consumer spending continues to be far worse than expected, as do wages and overall consumer income.

Tokyo Launches 'Blame Game" on TPP

In the aftermath of the breakdown of the US-Japan talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Japanese government has spread a misleading account of the talks to try to place the blame on Washington.

The Cost of Farm Protectionism - Part 2

Richard Katz continues to detail the costs to the Japanese economy of the continued protection of inefficient farm sectors, not only the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks but via all sorts of domestic measures.

Aren't We Friends Anymore? - Part 1

Congressional Republicans taking tougher line on Japan vis-à-vis trade/TPP than does Obama.

Aren't We Friends Anymore? - Part 2

In the next installments of this series, Richard Katz will lay out a scenario of what would be required to get TPP through Congress and a discussion of whether those conditions are being met.

Aren't We Friends Anymore? - Part 3

In thinking through a path by which the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could be ratified by Congress, here is the only scenario we—or others we have consulted—can come up with.

Aren't We Friends Anymore - Part 4

Republicans say Obama has failed to show leadership in conducting private negotiations and lobbying with Republicans and Democrats on the content of TPA, thereby making it harder to get a TPA done in time.

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