Abe spells out next revival steps
Source: Agencies |
April 20, 2013, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe outlined the next steps of his grand plan for restoring Japan's economic power in a news conference yesterday, naming a slew of initiatives he said would help awaken the country's "sleeping opportunities."
Japan's future growth will depend on further opening the economy and tapping the underutilized potential of its women and advanced technology, Abe said as he reviewed his achievements since taking office in late December.
Although economic data so far are mixed, Abe has been keen to claim success in turning the economy around after pushing for a drastic easing of monetary policy aimed at vanquishing chronic deflation, and hiking public spending to stimulate demand. "Comparing now with four months ago, isn't the atmosphere much brighter?" he asked.
Ending the "high yen" era by weakening the Japanese yen's value against the US dollar and other major currencies is another main tenet of the prime minister's "Abenomics" platform.
The aim is to make Japanese exports more competitive in global markets, though it has also raised costs for manufacturers who rely on imported energy and commodities.
So far, criticism of that strategy has been muted, though US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said on Wednesday before Group of 20 talks in Washington that he would keep pressure on Japan not to lower the value of its currency to boost exports at the expense of the US and other trading partners.
Newly installed Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's program for ending deflation is a "monetary bazooka," Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso wrote in a commentary in Thursday's edition of the Financial Times that stressed the challenges facing Japan after two decades of stagnation.
The yen has lost more than 20 percent of its value since last October.
Japan's future growth will depend on further opening the economy and tapping the underutilized potential of its women and advanced technology, Abe said as he reviewed his achievements since taking office in late December.
Although economic data so far are mixed, Abe has been keen to claim success in turning the economy around after pushing for a drastic easing of monetary policy aimed at vanquishing chronic deflation, and hiking public spending to stimulate demand. "Comparing now with four months ago, isn't the atmosphere much brighter?" he asked.
Ending the "high yen" era by weakening the Japanese yen's value against the US dollar and other major currencies is another main tenet of the prime minister's "Abenomics" platform.
The aim is to make Japanese exports more competitive in global markets, though it has also raised costs for manufacturers who rely on imported energy and commodities.
So far, criticism of that strategy has been muted, though US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said on Wednesday before Group of 20 talks in Washington that he would keep pressure on Japan not to lower the value of its currency to boost exports at the expense of the US and other trading partners.
Newly installed Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's program for ending deflation is a "monetary bazooka," Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso wrote in a commentary in Thursday's edition of the Financial Times that stressed the challenges facing Japan after two decades of stagnation.
The yen has lost more than 20 percent of its value since last October.
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