Abe unveils 3 new arrows for reviving economy

yogizuni,

Good call imo on the dictator part! I have often thought most Japanese quietly would love to live in a dictatorship, just be told what to do, so much easier than having to think for yourself, a bit harsh perhaps but I do believe that many here just DONT want to be involved in politics in any shape or form or the responsibilities that go along with that & THAT is why the LDP have run these isles for so long except with a couple short interludes

Unfortunately, the situation in Japan is becoming like that in Russia, where even though people are allowed to vote, there is no real electable opposition. This in fact creates what I call "elected dictators", who stay in power far too long and end up doing more harm than good for the average citizen. The long decline of Japan really started with the stock market top at the end of 1989, and there is no end in sight yet. Abe is simply a reflection of a country in long term decline, one that will most likely continue for another 10 or 20 years, or until the stock market reaches a level near the old 1989 high point once again.

3 more arrows? I guess he needs more target practice. So much for Abe No Mix.

Abe wasted time. He doesn't understand what tomorrow means. Tomorrow is utterly different from today. So, who can be sure that tomorrow is better than today？ His loose and vague idea about our future lets us down. He wants some approval from the public, but he doesn't know the ongoing change that even the supporters will not vote for the LDP any more. Let's say bye to him.

Shoot that poison arrow to my heaarrt, shoot that poison arrow.

Howard, Fxgai,

Glad your kids give you joy, wouldn't expect otherwise. My point was Japan seems hell bent on making things worse not better, leaving your kids with less options for a prosperous future IN Japan is all.

Make sure they have a foreign passport & at least 2 languages!

sighclopsSep. 25, 2015 - 10:35AM JST

NO ONE HAS ANY MONEY.

Best....Comment....EVAAAAAR!!!!!!!

Abe unveils 3 new arrows for reviving economy

Smoke and mirrors. We`ve seen your true colours, Mr Abe

"To stimulate growth again , the consumption tax must get back to 5% and wages must increase by 10%"

Nobody would spend, just save more. Its a gimmick to increase spending, that in turrn would stimulate growth and wages and try to keep it all going. It hasnt exactly worked out long term as the corporations are just hoarding more cash. you have a very old demographic living on pensions; they would prefer deflation. Youll see another big surge in buying before the next one in '17. Then the trend will flatline or dip. Theres no way wages can be increased by keeping the tax lower as nobody will spend as there is no incentive to do so because of deflation and the aging demographic. If prices wont rise next year, they will just wait it out and become frugal. The tax increases are to get good credit ratings for servicing the debt and to force people to spend.

If prefectures lowered corp taxes, and were allowed to deregulate as they choose and set their own immigration policy and divorce from Tokyo this might just attract foriegn investment and provide a sustainable economic cycle. Instead of silly English villages for the olympics, whole industrial areas could be designated as English only with enforceable quotas for foriegn capital, people and products. All zoning and other protectionist networks dismantled. This type of reform will never happen so I expect nothing to change.

Now we are told to expect the economy to grow to $5 trillion per year? Howls of laughter.

maybe having a good laugh is the best way to react to such deluge of stupidity.

My two year old actually laughed right on que this morning during breakfast, when the news caster announced Abe was talking about turning Japan into a 600 trillion yen economy.

Probably a fluke, but I was so proud.

we don't have kids, I really FEEL for those that do have kids, the future is getting bleaker by the day!

As Howard said you've got it wrong. Life changes with kids but you'd never want to change it all back.

And the kids will be OK, so long as you look after them. They can always head overseas to green pastures if Japan's decline does continue. Heck if they do go, it might be the reason you need to convince your spouse to also skip on out of here.

“From today Abenomics is entering a new stage..."

Did he really refer to his own economic plan as "Abenomics"?! A little full of himself isn't he?

No government can build a successful economy. All they can do is 19 kill it or 2) allow it to flourish or die on its own.

When a politician claims he will fix the economy, he is a liar, pure and simple. All he can do is get the government out of the way, and hope for the best.

Abe's "arrows" have always had their real aim of hobbling working class Japanese as part of him and his party's neo-liberal mercantilist agenda.

NO ONE HAS ANY MONEY.

Hot air...

All the very best to PM Abe for his new 3 arrows. Difficult tasks ahead to revamp Japan's Economy. Let's not be negative in our comments. Give the Prime Minister & his LDP Cabinet colleagues a chance to do what is necessary, as they take major risks for the LDP's political survival next year.

@guy jean,

you might be right; watch the data spike then crash again. Changes do take time to show and trend, but first we got to identify what the changes are to be?

He said his new “three arrows” would be a strong economy, support for child rearing and providing stronger social services to lighten the burden of child and elder care for struggling families.

There are no "3 new arrows" here. A strong economy is not even an arrow, it is the objective. It's like saying "we are going to achieve our objective by attempting to achieve our objective". The second one was already part of the so-called third arrow (a grab bag of pet projects that in a few cases could bring minor incremental improvements, but in most cases will have zero or negative effects), and the third one is just another addition to the grab bag.

The only thing significant going on is that this "unveiling" comes right after the passing of the security bills, and that is not a coincidence. There is nothing in "Abenomics" that will improve the Japanese economy, but that is not and never was the point. Just a (very successful) PR exercise to buy time and cover for the political agenda and nothing else, and now is time to get back on message.

Perhaps they have some grand plan or something the rest of us dont know, but the obvious seems to point towards tougher times. An export driven economy dependant on China, dependant on foriegn investment and tourism as well with a declining population that wont spend domestically. How can you turn that around? Well it could be done, but it would involve reversing the whole dynamic with immigration and serious tax and regulation reform. The olypmics will provide some relief for the tourism side of it, but I think it will be short lived. Japan is not China; Japan is a saturated industrial economy whereas China is migrating from agricultural towards industry and service, so there is still lots of room for growth in China. If japan become a world leader in the defense sector with R and D, then that might provide some benefit but only if it comes from private sector spending. This is what I gather, if somebody knows different please do share

Its all headed towards the cliff, I care but my wife.....oblivious, makes life a REAL challenge, we don't have kids, I really FEEL for those that do have kids, the future is getting bleaker by the day!

My kids are what keep me sane and happy and give me joy to live everyday. I know not of this cliff you speak of.

Your wife sounds like she gets it just fine, but you... you sound like you are in pain. I feel for you...

Considering the "third arrow" never actually happened, and, arguably, would have made things worse, since making it easier to fire people in an economy already swarming with contract workers and part-timers isn't exactly good for anyone who isn't already loaded and/or a stockholder ("reforming work environments" is a great euphemism for greater work insecurity all around), I am not really looking forward to the new quiver.

Asking for real change from a leader like Abe is like asking my cat to go scuba diving! It's an impossible unlikely scenario. How can we really expect someone like Abe to understand the economy when he has never wasted a morning filling in countless forms at local and central government offices. Has he ever worried about the price of food,clothes and if he can pay his bills because the company he works for is going to go out of business? The reason that Japan will never recover is because these people have little experience if the real world......,

He said his new “three arrows” would be a strong economy, support for child rearing and providing stronger social services to lighten the burden of child and elder care for struggling families. But with Japan also committed to reducing its massive public debt, it is unclear how he intends to achieve those goals.

He isn't. It's just talk.

So far, those “three arrows” of his “Abenomics” plan have fallen short of their targets

Then who cares about the new ones? If the old arrows didn't meet their targets, why be optimistic about the new ones?

“From today Abenomics is entering a new stage. Japan will become a society in which all can participate actively.”

Does that include foreigners? If so, isn't the right to vote VITAL to active participation? Again, ALL TALK.

Abe said he was determined to ensure that 50 years from now the Japanese population, which is 126 million and falling, is stable at 100 million.

How? Is he finally admitting that Japan needs an immigration policy?

Open up to more temporary foreign workers if there is such a labor shortage.

I would love a chance to work in Japan for a few years at a low wage and carelessly spend money on entertainment and experiences that I would not have access to here.

“From today Abenomics is entering a new stage. Japan will become a society in which all can participate actively.” Broken. and sent to the lynching as we pay more taxes. Foreigners beware you too will soon be among the rest of us and paying even more...about the only stage new will be the rope this new emperor is tightening the noose around our necks..

First, who would replace the LDP? Whether an existing party or a new party, it would have to be a party with a solid plan to actually deal with the economic issues facing Japan. Because the current opposition parties have not a clue.

Easy to talk about and wish for but the reality is something totally different. The LDP has been in power for so long that they have created enough rules and regulations to make it virtually impossible for a strong opposition to even stand a chance at overtaking them.

This is a country that charges 3 million yen to even enter one's name into the pool for a national election. Getting that kind of ground level support for a new candidate is daunting to say the least, and if you dont get enough votes to qualify for funding from the government for your campaign (after the fact) you lose the cash.

The Diet representatives only have to worry about their own little corner of Japan (electoral district) and even if they get voted out of office (like in Okinawa not one LDP member won in the election on their own) popular members STILL make it into the Diet under the proportional representation system (which is screwed as well and has been found to be CONSTITUTIONALLY against the law, but the LDP continues to ignore the ruling)

So it all comes down to the people. The only way the people are going to get up in arms is when the middle class really feels the pinch in their wallets. Many of the things going on in the government do not directly affect a majority of the population hence the relatively small percentage of protesters. SOMETHING has to happen to wake them up to the reality of what is going on, something has to make them fed up because their lifestyles are going to hell.

The average person (generally speaking) is adept at "sucking it up" and have been brainwashed into believing it's the right thing to do. What Abe is doing has yet to waken the people up. The polls that show his support going down mean little to him, only from within his own party and the support he gets from them. But he still rules with an iron fist.

An arrow is a strong economy? Wow good strategy.

PM Abe needs to realize Japan's global situation and not continually turn a blind eye. Everyone is around the world is listening and looking at his decisions for instance the re-population of low level contaminated areas siting that nuclear workers are exposed to the same amount of radiation. Nuclear workers have protective gear full face protection and filters.

PM Abe can not sell foodstuff to its neighbors, only the US is insane enough to buy it. What does he expect to happen by shuffling the Yen around Japan with no external commerce. The farmers themselves will suffer.

There's nothing innovative or new about Abenomics. It's simply a different name for Keynesian economics. The primary means of stimulating an economy through Keynesian economics is to expand the money supply. Central banks around the world have been doing this for over 30 years now. They lower the interest rates by purchasing government bonds. Unfortunately Japanese citizens, along with the central bank own most of the JGBs. Simply doing more of what didn't work the first time is similar to the US Federal Reserve buying $45 billion a month in US Treasury bonds and $40 billion a month in mortgaged backed securities after QE1 didn't work, QE2 didn't work and now we're seeing that QE3 didn't work. As the debt becomes bigger, it takes even more money printing to have a similar economic effect. The problem is that, unless you have the world's reserve currency, like the dollar, the expansion of the money supply devalues your currency. This "inflation" which is supposed to be good for everyone, hurts those with less income the most because their cost of living goes up while their standard of living goes down. It does help bankers though, as they become the primary dealers who sell the bonds and take a commission for basically selling back to the central bank.( at least that's what they do in the US) Protect your purchasing power and buy bullion gold or silver.

His arrows are always blunt! And always miss the target! I bet in 5 years I'll see him slumped on a seat in a pachinko parlour with a cigarette hanging out his gob! Or practicing with real arrows in a bar playing darts! As he'll never let go of his obsession with "arrows".

The central bank also is widely expected to add to its already unprecedented monetary easing by pumping more cash into the economy later this year.

Finally I can put my old wheelbarrow to good use, as a wallet!

To stimulate growth again , the consumption tax must get back to 5% and wages must increase by 10%

With a shrinking, aging populations Japan needs to look far beyond aggregate GDP, Japan should concentrate on per capita PPP and quality of life.

Basically we are all fracked, abe is an idiot of the highest order, there is no viable opposition, the people of Japan whine a bit but the truth is they DONT CARE, they wont accept changes.............

Its all headed towards the cliff, I care but my wife.....oblivious, makes life a REAL challenge, we don't have kids, I really FEEL for those that do have kids, the future is getting bleaker by the day!

This clown is just trying to deviate people attention from having violated the constitution with those ridiculous statements about the country economy, he's not making sense at all.

What he is doing is waving a big red flag towards another direction so that the public opinion shifts away from questioning his military ambitions. That may actually work as the Japanese population is not known to resist strongly to or even recognize this sort of manipulation, quite the opposite.

Other than that, there is nothing to say about what he's is vaguely proposing here, maybe having a good laugh is the best way to react to such deluge of stupidity.

I'm positive that one of these "new" arrows will involve the printing press at the Bank of Japan to run nonstop around the clock again. Just keep printing those yen, Abe; soon the people will be paying ¥ 100,000 just for a gallon of milk.

@Yubaru, @Wc626, and @5petals,

There are actually 3 issues that are completely intertwined.

First, who would replace the LDP? Whether an existing party or a new party, it would have to be a party with a solid plan to actually deal with the economic issues facing Japan. Because the current opposition parties have not a clue.

Second, to deal with the economic challenges facing Japan, the solutions will have to be radical. We are talking "change the nation" radical. And, as we all know, radical change and Japan are usually words that don't go together in one sentence.

Third, someone will have to convince the people to vote for a party that will inflict pain on the population to solve the problems. Always a wonderful recipe for election success!!

In the end, the Japanese people may be their own worst enemies. And not something unique to Japan.

Too little, too late. I remember Bill Paxton in Aliens, "game over! game over man!"

Abe can shoot as many arrows as he likes, but we already know that he is incapable of doing what needs to be done. TPP? Not happening. Regulatory reform? Not happening. Tax reform? Not happening. Now we are told to expect the economy to grow to $5 trillion per year? Howls of laughter.

All we have had so are from Abe are record borrowing and spending, a large tax increase, and a non-binding requirement that companies set goals for hiring women managers, if they want to. All of the hope inspired by Abe a couple of years ago is spiralling down the toilet.

@Wc626

Its part of the reform needed; an independant party that the people could get behind. Will never happen. Well, it sort of did with the hash/ish sunrise mess, but fizzled.

It will be a better day when we get rid of Abe and the LDP.

Who will replace the LDP

Yubaru raises an excellent question. . . but now all I hear are crickets chirping. Exactly. Cause there is no formidable opposition. . . and if there were, what kind of an economic recovery could they achieve?

Abe certainly ain't no Alan Greenspan, but the opposition could be alot worse.

now we see if the opposition will hoist themselves with their own petard by knee-jerk opposition to these economic plans that Abe has laid out. Something tells me that the pathos heavy left will do exactly that.

Abe should be disarrowed.

Share prices and corporate profits have soared. Wages have not budged. Sounds familiar.

It will be a better day when we get rid of Abe and the LDP.

Who will replace the LDP?

It will be a better day when we get rid of Abe and the LDP.

It seems to me these things come in cycles. You read about spendid news and some data that would support success like a Nikkei rebound, lots of investors flocking to japan and yen change with profits, then you dont see anything, then you read about failure, investors fleeing Japan then a credit downgrade, then a distraction takes place, then more splendid news, and in 3 months back to failure. You rarely, if ever, see any of the fundamentals discussed or results of reforms. The lattest spin is to stop targeting inflation and now target the GDP. Trying to find sense in the nonsense.

Notice how the original third arrow of reforming all the daft rules, regulations and vested interests holding back growth has quietly been dropped? Abe has lacked the courage to follow through with his original plan and now resorts to platitudes. Abenomics has failed and Abe is a failure (again).

He said his new “three arrows” would be a strong economy, support for child rearing and providing stronger social services to lighten the burden of child and elder care for struggling families. But with Japan also committed to reducing its massive public debt, it is unclear how he intends to achieve those goals.

Here is a key point that I believe many have forgotten. Abe is pushing too, just not recently, to have the authority to change the constitution and one of the things he has talked about adding to the constitution is to have family members become fiscally responsible for relatives who are poor or in need of assistance.

What that means is that if you have a cousin or some relative here who needs social assistance, you and your family could become financially liable for them because the government can not continue to afford paying for the growing elderly population. Abe wants families to take care of their own, before the government.

The issue of changing the constitution is on the back burner right now, but wait till this one hits the open.

Before this will happen he will be pushing for the simple Diet majority to get amendments through the Diet, then a simple majority in a public referendum to make it into law. He IS counting on the ignorance and apathy of the public to carry this through, and his ability to sweet talk the population here into believing he is doing the right thing for the public.

Folks will wake up here AFTER the fact....wait and see, it may take a year or more, and if Abe is still in power, and he continues to hold, through the super-majority in the lower house, things are going to get rather interesting to say the least.

“Tomorrow will definitely be better than today!”

It had better be.

Abe the snake-oil salesman is at it yet again.

The radical changes and reforms never came. If you think about it, they cant. Breaking the reliance on the central gov and overcrowding the workers in Tokyo cannot be undone; the collusion is too strong. Prefectures independant from Tokyo, attracting foriegn and local investment with their own set tax rates, laws and benefits, making themselves the envy of the world, attracting both domestics and foriegners, well now thats change. As it is now. its best to get into the very safe and tested Tokyo club and grad from those academia and work in stress factories, it all benefits the top and the folks in the middle of the pyramid. Compasionate capitalism.

Protect that circuit and its interest, just pay them a little more by creating more inflation. The third arrrow.

Sounds like a Reaganomics, supply-side, trickle-down, scam.

This new plan doesn't even sound plausible at all, unless as others say the plan is to achieve it through inflation which won't make anyone's life better.

Pfftttt Japan is dependent upon other countries for more than 60% of its food supply. I can hardly see what there is to worry about. ;);)

GDP is an aggregate and Japan's population is shrinking. So this is a really dumb idea.

Ding ding ding. We have a winner! How can Abe, with so much as a shred of credibility, "increase" GDP without causing inflation? He can't!

How many chances is he getting here? It has been long ago since Abe surpassed Hatoyama as the worst PM. Kick him out already.

Japan will become a society in which all can participate actively.

Does that include the 30% and growing working poor? I guess they will participating in their own unique Japanese way, called lots of unpaid and underpaid work.

He said his new “three arrows” would be a strong economy, support for child rearing and providing stronger social services to lighten the burden of child and elder care for struggling families. But with Japan also committed to reducing its massive public debt, it is unclear how he intends to achieve those goals.

Why trifle with details. He just needs to declare it and it's true, as he did when he told the international community Fukushima troubles were a think of the past.

Perhaps he should follow the arrows out of the office and let someone else see if they can fix his mess.

Was I the only one shouting out at this article, "more immigration!"

It is quite evident now if it wasn't already so before, that the LDP has zero interest in easing immigration to allow more "gaijin" to help save the decline in population.

Just one word comes to mind. Circus. This is nothing more than a circus. Smoke, mirrors, dancing, performing acts.

A feel good thing, but nothing is real. Nothing is of substance. Nothing will change. All talk, no action.

A CIRCUS. So, for all of you that know the circus music, cue that up as you listen to Abe speak on his plan.

I give up on economics; I know nothing and I don't care. Maybe I should, but I'm too old.

What I do know, however is that Abe is a scheming, lying weasel. I watched his speech and understood nothing of his theories. But as a fellow human (to be generous) I could see the fear and the greed in his eyes.

This isn't a man who gives a flying about anyone but himself....

I just listened to a part of his speech on my drive home, he IS smoking something special!

He hits all the right bullet points; better conditions for women to work and raise families, making things easier for people to take care of their elderly family members, better day care facilities, raising the birthrate from 1.4 (on average) to 1.8.

He talks the talk, but tomorrow he is going to wake up with one hell of a hangover.

The original Abenomics at least sounded plausible although he failed to implement the third arrow reforms.

This new plan doesn't even sound plausible at all, unless as others say the plan is to achieve it through inflation which won't make anyone's life better.

Dissapointed at this reboot effort.

GDP is an aggregate and Japan's population is shrinking. So this is a really dumb idea.

We already know how. Weapons sales, increased consumption tax, tax breaks for corporations. Oh, but the average consumer will save 6000 yen a year in tax returns IF they apply for My Number! In other words, it'll be another failure. But he's gotta do SOMETHING to try and bring his numbers up!

Circus..... that's all that comes to mind. One big CIRCUS. Cue music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D5Sa2Yq-2g

Well, it's easy. All he has to do is "re-interpret" economics to make growth mean what he wants it to mean.

Abenomics is already a failure. And now he wants to add more of his magic to the financial system. Just hope the prices don't continue to rise ... as they already are under his direction ...

As NckHmml suggested above ... hyperinflation? Sure hope not. Abe and his cronies are already getting too much of our hard-earned money.

ThonTaddeo point it well devalue Yen because I can't see how he will reach that such amount of money, pumping money to stock market won't fix the economy.

The Nikkei fell by 498 points today, down 2.76%. Obviously the markets weren't all that excited by this plan to grow Japan's economy by a whopping 130% — assuming word of this plan got out before today's market close.

'Abe' and 'plan' in the same sentence. Giving me bad vibes already.

I sold him some magic beans. It's gonna work this time. I'm sure.

Are you sure they weren't sh'rooms? He sure likes living in fantasy land.

The economy is estimated at $4.6 trillion? Clearly Abe's choice will be to devalue the yen until 600 trillion yen only buys 4.6 trillion dollars. And he's most of the way there already!

Hyper inflation will do the trick I guess

It's time for a sing-a-long folks. After me:

"Roll out the pork barrel, we'll have a barrel of fun".....

Anyone want to take bets on Abe totally ignoring the fundamental problems with Japan's economy and instead handing out wads of cash to interest groups? Farmers and agricultural coops, the elderly, big business (an LDP stalwart).... The list goes on. Articles like this should be retitled "Abe Panders Again"

I sold him some magic beans. It's gonna work this time. I'm sure.

Weapon sales, no doubt.