business

Japan's retail sales miss expectations as cautious consumers hold back

5 Comments
By Tetsushi Kajimoto

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So on the one hand, we're all supposedly better off because of a rise in house-hold assets, and on the other, we aren't spending as much.... one of these figures is hinting at the underlying truth of the matter effecting the majority of the population.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Japan's economy is expected to bounce back in April-June from the first-quarter contraction that ended the longest growth run since the 1980s bubble economy. Analysts said the slump was caused by one-off factors such as bad weather and saw it as temporary.

Well, apparently there has been nothing but "one-off factors" like bad weather since the bubble exploded.

I don't understand why these people can still claim that "the economy will bounce back" when it hasn't done so in the last 3 decades.

The worst thing I that Abe already said that he is not going to "delay anymore" the second rise of the consumption tax, even when their own experts have been saying that it would be better to just don't do it.

The economy is going to enter into recession next year, just based on the last 3 times it did so when the consumption tax was raised.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Japanese are a wise people. They are putting their money into income generating assets. In comparison Americans have household debt of 13.2 trillion US. Japanese value money. Americans value things. Let us see who wins at the end of the day.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Japanese are a wise people. They are putting their money into income generating assets. In comparison Americans have household debt of 13.2 trillion US. Japanese value money. Americans value things. Let us see who wins at the end of the day.

(1) There are very few income-generating assets in Japan. You won't earn interest putting your money in a bank. Houses depreciate in value, going to zero in 25 years. Residential land prices are stagnant and heavily taxed. Where can the average Japanese person securely invest their money? And, no, BitCoin and Pachinko are not what I consider secure.

(2) Most Americans (and Europeans) invest their money in a house/land. House and land prices in the western world usually appreciate over time. It is usually a secure investment, and the vast majority in the U.S. aim for buying their own house one day. It is a place to call home, and it is an investment. Savings accounts also have much better interest rates compared to Japan.

I would suggest that you don't compare to the U.S. based on what is clearly some underlying envy when you don't really know the system.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

You know what will increase spending? Higher incomes.

It doesn't get any simpler than that.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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