Japan slips back to deficit as exports tumble 13%

Thanks, Abenomics! How many trillions more in debt on that debacle?

No, Abe needs to resign.

Japan Macro Advisors had an interesting take on his chances the other day:

"Unless financial market recovers between now and the end of March, the news of a severe loss in the public pension fund will hit the newswire toward the end of May, in time to be used against PM Abe in the upper house election. A while ago, some pundits were talking about PM Abe potentially staying till Tokyo Olympic in 2020. Instead, we are likely to see the back of PM Abe as early as this year."

http://www.japanmacroadvisors.com/news/view/abenomics-is-over

"See, it's external factors like China that's causing our economic problems. But the surplus from a month or two ago is due to our internal Japanese Abenomics expertise in managing our economy, not cheaper energy imports".

How much money was wasted with all the stuff up's in the Olympics, how much money was wasted on tsunami reconstruction? Abe needs to stop blaming others and fix his own problems.

China’s economic slowdown has taken much of the steam out of the recovery, of the world’s third-largest economy.

I often wonder what "recovery" they are talking about. The stock market enjoyed a sort of recovery, funded by central bank pumping and deficit stimulus spending, but no one else has. When you subtract the debt incurred to finance the "recoveries" of Japan, America, and other countries, you end up with a net loss. For ever $1 in increased economic activity, much more than $1 was borrowed at interest and spent. Even worse, the amount of deficit-spent money squandered on stimulus is not subtracted from GDP numbers but added to them. This is like my charging a million yen on my credit card, and claiming that debt as income. It's nonsense.

the failure of abenomics will only hurt my pocketbook and future generations' pocketbooks.

This is only true if you pretend that "Abenomics" is what Abe claims it is -- a way to somehow make the average person more prosperous through hocus-pocus -- and not what it really is: a method of siphoning away the wealth of the middle class into the hands of the well-connected top 1-5% while fooling the public into thinking that things such as currency devaluation and inflation, that have never in all of human history led to prosperity for the middle class, are somehow good for them.

The best possible thing for your pocketbook and those of future generations, unless you are a family member of an LDP politician, is for consumer prices to remain stable, the yen to be strong, and energy to remain affordable. These are the hallmarks of a prosperous first-world society that looks out for its members and that attracts top-class quality workers. This would be a society where the average person can buy what they need and can feel secure about the future.

Abe and Kuroda are doing the polar opposite of this.

Another triumph of the Abenomic miracle. Time for Abe to do the honourable thing, admit he was wrong and resign.

Oh, what am I saying? Blame China, and point at North Korea instead. Works every time.

Time to look for rich tourists from Every Country (not only China) to minimize trade deficit.

Well...on the bright side...foreign tourists are up more than 50%!

Hey Abe...you think that now might be a good time to unleash that mythical "Third Arrow" of yours? Increased competition and deregulation in other markets have certainly helped make your companies lean and mean in the foreign markets (and in spite of the present slump)....so why not try it here as well?

What's that? Oh really? Oh...I see...you never in fact intended to do anything other than print more money and lead the cheering section, eh? That "Third Arrow" of yours was nothing but a ruse, eh? Got it.

The 3rd arrow was maybe not so straight.

I just want a weak yen.

The best way to describe Abe's attitude towards the economy is the escalation of commitment. Abenomics is clearly a bust but he continually insists that it's the best thing to happen to the Japanese economy since sliced bread (or the invention of cup ramen).

There is so much crap in the way of freeing up the economy its going to take many arrows to undo it all. Try to open and run a simple business in Japan and see all the barriers, the multitude of people who take their cut in fees, the regulations, fines etc. Look at owing a car, somebody is taking a cut for you to park it, another takes a cut with shakkin, another when you resell it because it wont pass shakkin, if you use that car in a vendor business, you have to pay a cut to park it to legit and possibly unlegit handlers, another for a licesne to operate etc etc. If you import a machine, a cut to an agency to check it etc etc All this money leaves the people and makes somebody else wealthy and they must be protected. Its why nobody spends, why should they. Your money is just siphoned off from you like you never owned it.

These are the hallmarks of a prosperous first-world society that looks out for its members and that attracts top-class quality workers.

Too bad that such a place does not exist. In the past people were empowered to look after themselves, and they did a pretty good job of it. But as we surrender more and more of what were individual responsibilities and make them collective, we surrender control over our lives and our national economy.

The intentions of doing so were good enough, but as is often the case, decisions made with good intentions often have less-than-good results.

Its very normal,happens every where all time.China is in the same boat.China who was called:ever lasting growth".Ups and downs every where in every country,no exceptions.

Abe has been a failure from the day he stepped into power. Nothing he has aimed to do has succeeded, except for returning Japan perilously close to the political and military condition it was in during the 1920's and 1930's. Abe and his cronies buying up islands just to irritate China, failed economics policies that have been proven time and time again to FAIL around the world. When is the Japanese public going to learn to stop electing idiots? Just because they're from Keio, Toudai, Meiji, Waseda or Kyoudai doesn't mean they are smart and it certainly doesn't mean they have the best interests of the Japanese public in mind. I'd like Abe kicked out pronto. He's a disgrace and a failure in every sense of the words.

Negative interest rates and increased taxes are the key the future of Japan!

This year we will have a strong yen, low oil prices and increased imports ie more debt. Hopefully, the banks might start dropping cash out of helicopters too!

This isn't news. When Abe came in and announced his aBenomicS policy MANY economists both foreign and domestic said that it would be very short lived and very destructive. Those of us who criticized him were labeled JapanHaters and JapanBashers. What the heck did that clown expect was going to happen?? The economy was limping along, people were barely making it; and then HE comes in, reduces the purchasing power of the masses through QE AND raises the consumption taxes. The people, who were already suffering then had to deal with higher prices AND a higher sales tax hike. And this is news??

the failure of abenomics will only hurt my pocketbook and future generations' pocketbooks.

WILL?? You mean it hasn't already?

The best possible thing for your pocketbook and those of future generations, unless you are a family member of an LDP politician, is for consumer prices to remain stable, the yen to be strong, and energy to remain affordable. These are the hallmarks of a prosperous first-world society that looks out for its members and that attracts top-class quality workers

such malarkey. first of all, no gov't can effectively control anything that you mentioned, especially affordable energy. japan has no natural resources so they are at the mercy of the international market. secondly, japan doesn't need top-class quality workers (whatever the heck that really means). they need low skilled workers to work at McDs, to clean tables and to wipe the shite from some old fogey's bottom. and these top quality workers are the top 1-4% who would benefit the most from the hocus pocus of abenomics.

Japan has inherent problems that can no longer be overcome by political decisions or attempted political manipulation of the markets. It has an aging and shrinking population that must translate into a shrinking domestic economy and a continuing slow, but inexorable decline in its ability to compete in international markets. The situation for the Japanese people (and anyone living here long-term) has been exacerbated by deregulation of the employment market and the consequent increase in low-paying jobs with no future security (which in turn has contributed to the decline in the marriage rate) and the steep decline in property values, which has left millions of home owning families in negative equity (which has contributed to a decrease in spending, especially big-ticket items) .

how and why is abe kun being blamed for the trade deficit? abenomics so far has failed but that has nothing to do with this news. and i wonder why so many of you who are living in japan are rooting for its failure? i loathe some of his political views, but the failure of abenomics will only hurt my pocketbook and future generations' pocketbooks.