Japan

GOP Gets Tough on TPP

written by Richard Katz on August 06, 2014

Many in Japan were shocked when Republicans on Capitol Hill began castigating President Barack Obama for being too soft on Japan regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations.

Currencies and Japanese Vs. Korean Exports

written by Richard Katz on August 12, 2014

One of the big surprises to most economists was how little Japan’s exports have responded to the 22% depreciation of the yen since autumn 2012.

2nd Quarter GDP, Consumption Worse than 1997

written by Richard Katz on August 13, 2014

The fallbacks in consumption and GDP were both markedly worse this April-June than after the analogous tax hike in 1997.

Japan GDP Plunge Worse than 1997

written by Richard Katz on September 05, 2014

The larger-than-expected plunge in April-June GDP and the disappointing initial economic indicators for July have shown that the underpinnings of Japan’s economic recovery are far weaker and more fragile than the Abe administration, and most economists, had presumed.

Yen Weakens on US Interest Rate Speculation

written by Richard Katz on September 08, 2014

After spending month after month in the ¥102/$ range, the yen finally seemed to resume to depreciation on which the Abe team is counting so much. It’s a small breakout: just a couple percentage points to the ¥105/$ range, the cheapest the yen has been since last December

Japan GDP Revisions Called "Horrendous"

written by Richard Katz on September 11, 2014

Consensus forecasts for japan GDP for FY2014 downgraded to 0.4% from 1%.

The Cost of Japan's Farm Protectionism - Part 1

written by Richard Katz on September 17, 2014

How much is it costing the Japanese people each year for Abe administration to protect the farm vote and the farmers’ lobby known as JA-Zenchu (JA being short for Japan Agriculture)? While we cannot pretend to give a precise estimate, we can give a sense of the some of the magnitudes involved, and they add up to several ties the entire output of the farm sectors.

The Real Cost of Japan's Farm Protectionism - Part 3

written by Richard Katz on September 22, 2014

This report continues to detail the costs to the Japanese economy of the continued protection of inefficient farm sectors, this time focusing on the Local Allocation Grants from the national budget that are given out to prefectural and local governments. These grants amount to upwards of 3.5% of GDP and quarter of the national budget.