Japan's economy shrinking, although slightly less than previously thought

Tell us something we don’t know.

What are the steps being taken to arrest this chronic decline?

No amount of fiscal nor monetary spending can fix the structural issues. Time to wake up

It's just funny to me the way this is being treated.

Well akchyhually, the Japanese economy only shrank 1.8% as opposed to 2%.

Like, hello? Japan should be absolutely BOOMING post-Covid and with tourism pumping a lot of fresh money into the economy.

It's true that most countries in general are not exactly experiencing economic miracles right.

But for Japan this is just sad and pathetic. You basically have stagflation. Low wages, zero innovation, recession, and inflation. Disastrous. The government needs to deregulate the economy asap. Nobody can come here to do business due to insane barriers to entry, high taxes, ineffecient regulatory framework/nanny state, as well as corporate welfare for domestic entities.

Japan is going to collapse if the oyajis are not kicked out of power. Deal with the problem now before it gets worse.

What are the steps being taken to arrest this chronic decline?

Ask the corporations. They're the ones raking in record-high profits yet refusing to give substantive wages to their workers. Consumption is cited as a big factor. When people aren't paid well, they tend to consume less.

No amount of fiscal nor monetary spending can fix the structural issues. 

Maybe not, but that's not the issue. The main reason for the higher energy and other import costs is the cheap yen, which is directly due to the interest rate difference between Japan and the US, which is a direct result of, yes, monetary policy.

Hard to beat demographics. Japan isn't doing so poorly in terms of per capita GDP.

It looks bad in dollar terms right now, but if the Fed cuts rates and Japan lifts rates, the yen will advance again.

As ever Japan is unique among developed nations in that the government can apparently create as much debt as it likes without protest from the public (or any mention of it on prime time TV). If any European nation tried to paper over its problems with debt on such a scale, the markets would be spooked, there'd be riots in the streets.

Still, the men in power have been able to delay the inevitable, but only for about the length of their lifespans. Far as I can tell it's a stark choice between immigration or becoming much poorer. At least, you'd have to be wildly optimistic about the ability of the government to affect birth rates, and the use of robots and AI, to suggest otherwise.

With how many years of interest rates at zero, I fear that raising interest rates even a little bit will have a profound effect and could lead to a crisis like the Lehman Shock. My acquaintance in recruiting is seeing a real slowdown and no movement in wages upward.

Shrinking is shrinking, well don JGovt.

Shrinkage wages ...workforce and new ideas ! Out with the LDP oyaji.

With population shrinking, why would it be a surprise that the economy is shrinking?

Ignoring the eco of competing on the global league table of country's economic size, per capita measurements should be the most important measures.

In addition, the purely monetary value of 'development' should not be GDP, but instead measures that take into account quality of life issues - equality etc.

This is the consequence when you have a country ruled by a de facto one party state with no innovation, misogyny and xenophobia.

Each country deserve what people voted.

It should be pointed out with heavy irony, that the photograph accompanying this story appears to show USED, not new vehicles loading onto a cargo ship in Yokohama Port. I can see at least one Volkswagen and two BMW which certainly were not manufactured in Japan...

Damn, after reading all of this article I feel like Dooms Day is just around the corner or already here.

We all know the meaning of "Wagamama" this is what a happens when you bury your head in the sand and think things will work out.

As long as it is shrinking at a slower pace than the populations, people should feel wealthier.

For anyone who has worked in a large Japanese corporation the problem is abundantly clear, low worker productivity. Japanese economists have recognized this for decades but very little has been done to address this problem leading to the current situation.

The harsh reality.

It's good to see the tourism boom as it undoubtedly generates value, but a mature economy cannot rely on a single sector (or few of them) for its economic growth.

A recent NHK documentary showed how China is pouring a lot of investments in sectors like equipment and machinery, which so far have been dominated by Japanese companies.

What will happen if/when Chinese companies will overtake Japan also in those sectors?

Japan really needs to address such issues as soon as possible

@JL

Ask the corporations. They're the ones raking in record-high profits yet refusing to give substantive wages to their workers. Consumption is cited as a big factor. When people aren't paid well, they tend to consume less.

.

Asking corporations in Japan won’t have any effect.

Laws need to be modified or new laws introduced and ratified which Japanese politicians are responsible for.

If Japanese corporations won’t raise wages then raise corporation taxes or institute new taxes (Japanese politicians and government are adept at this)

Of course, there are many solutions but no political will in the Gikai.

If that is the case then Japan’s system needs to be comprehensively reformed so that the people of Japan are able to reap the benefits of true democracy.

It is my humble understanding that Japanese multinationals are doing well thanks to overseas sales. Thus, they invest in those markets and have no reason to pay employees in Japan more since they are not doing anything to justify it. The way to increase wages is to stimulate foreign direct investment which may bring its own problems such as restructuring and higher rents and so on.

Funny how the big companies have their biggest profit in their history, while the salaries are at 25 months low, and they refuse to raise them. 2% raise doesn't count, is peanuts money. Picture this:

In 2020, 1$=100¥, in 2024, 1$=160¥.

How much your salary devalued again in 4 years?

3RENSHO

It should be pointed out with heavy irony, that the photograph accompanying this story appears to show USED, not new vehicles loading onto a cargo ship in Yokohama Port. I can see at least one Volkswagen and two BMW which certainly were not manufactured in Japan...

A few Volvos, as well.