In the Wall Street Journal:
One of the basic premises of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policy is that a weak yen is good for the economy, and will help revive Japan’s key export sector.
But …
- the falling yen has failed to light the expected fire under exports (trade by volume has remained stagnant) while making the cost of imports higher
Some economists say it may be time to rethink Abenomics’ emphasis on a weak yen, or at least to ask if yen weakness has gone too far. But Japanese officials aren’t quite there yet.
This is an interesting article,it touches not only on economic policy questions, but on Japanese culture. Well worth a read.
It is not gated: Is Abenomics Misguided? Officials Not Ready to Concede
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I can’t help but think, though, that if fossil fuel imports were not so high (i.e. If Japan restarts it nuclear power program) then we wouldn’t be hearing about a trade deficit at all (I’m not saying the other issues the article raises are not important, just they wouldn’t be viewed as so urgent).
