Abenomics lives on after ex-PM's death, but economy still fragile

Japanese companies' internal reserves, which can be used to increase investment and wages for workers, topped 500 trillion for the first time in the fiscal year that ended in March.

They're keen to keep this loot for themselves. The only solution is to raise the corporate tax and lower the consumption tax. Consumption is around 60% of GDP, and suppressing it is crazy in the current circumstances.

something that Abe's signature program failed to deliver despite his claim that "Japan is back.

Japan, after decades of broad based prosperity, was ripe for the deception of trickle down neo-liberal economics .

QE monetary easing basic income for financial interests.

Intensive regressive corporate welfare.

And corporate tax cut gifts to the 1 percent LDP/Japan Inc. interests.

New Capitalism is neo-liberalusm.

Japan is only now opening its borders for tourists

Fragile is an understatement. Tourism has turned to dust.

The article reads like a litany of failure-grandiose ideas with little relation to reality.

Abenomics lives on after ex-PM's death, but economy still fragile

The headline is a deceptive logical fallacy.

It should be "Abenomics lives on after ex-PM's death, therefore the economy is still benefitting Japan Inc. and bureaucratic interests but is a disaster for working class Japanese ".

His "mini-me Reagonomics economy policy" didn't benefit the majority of the people so the term "economic growth" isn't really accurate. "Economic growth for the large corporations and a few select industries" would be the proper description.

Abenomics certainly does live on here in Japan and this is why the Japanese economy is in the red and the general public suffers because of one man.

Today, the yen is back at 145 to the dollar-the BOJ has literally pissed money down the drain.

I do agree with one thing in the article

partly because productivity …

Although the workers at my local supermarkets are lowly paid, if was that slow and useless at restocking shelves when I was 15 years old working a par time job…. I would be fired after a week. Block access to aisles and products… and don’t even start to restock until mid morning or lunch time…

The entire food distribution and transport sector for supermarkets (for Tokyo at least) seems like it is still based on horse and cart ideas.

out dated and highly unproductive methods are the norm, like the hand written faxes and hand stamped hanko’s companies continue to force to be used… most of the domestic economy and workplace here is very very outdated and highly inefficient.

I have barely seen a change since 1990… other than computers now making even more trays of paperwork for mid management to look at, stamp ‘ok’ , then move to another tray… and office lady takes away to file them, or pass to another guy for a second stamp that says first stamp is correct.

Those at the top though, don’t really care so long as the way get their way more than average Taro income.

*I get paid in US dollars and love the ¥145… I ‘earned’ myself 30% more this year with no extra effort. (I am self employed for more that 12 years)

It only lacks of innovations that then can be produced and sold on the local or global markets. It has nothing to do with productivity or digitalization, because even you should know that the best time for Japanese economy was a few decades ago, without Abenomics and with even less productivity and computerization and still with much more fax devices, paper and hanko stamps. It worked well then and it won’t work now, that’s for sure.

Government and BoJ have jointly ruined the economy with their ridiculous Keynsian policies. Zombie companies everywhere and a massive budget deficit mean that any attempt to deal with inflation will be catastrophic. So despite rising prices rates still artificially low, yield curve control in full effect, exchange rate going down the chute and companies hoard cash because they have nothing productive they can do with it.

Japan cannot still do without massive monetary and fiscal stimulus

It’s the wrong medicine.

deregulation did not progress as much as (financial markets) had hoped," Kodama said.

There you go.

As it turns out right now, there is no free lunch for monetary policy, too," said Martin Schulz

Who’d have thunk it…

rather than supporting indiscriminate deficit spending," Schulz said.

oooh, I love that, “indiscriminate deficit spending”, very good.

the country repeatedly added fiscal stimulus, which greatly distorted the allocation of resources (in the economy)," said Ryutaro Kono

Kono-san! On fire!!

"You can invest in Japan with confidence."

Alas I see nothing from Kishida but more happy talk, and frankly I thought Abe’s speech at the NYSE was better. But perhaps I was more willing to believe then.

The only solution is to raise the corporate tax and lower the consumption tax

I am not sure the first part is part of a solution. Is taxing these Japanese corporations at higher rates going to stimulate growth? What is the expected outcome of that?

I heard an interesting thing this week about a corporate tax hike the UK did some years back - apparently the rate hike led to lower tax revenues.