Immediately after the elections, PM Abe met business and union representatives to discuss wages. The lack of wage growth, combined with the impact of yen depreciation, is seen as one of the major obstacles to lifting private consumption, an essential...

As the media name for the dissolution that preceded it would suggest, the last election was about one thing and one thing only – Abenomics. Economic policies were the centerpiece of both the ruling coalition and the opposition’s campaigns and also th...

After a resounding victory in the House of Representatives election on 14 December, the winning coalition moves swiftly to resume work. Despite heightened Japanese and international media interest in whether Abe will use his newly strengthened pol...

With two days left to the 2014 General Election, we are pleased to present our Election Special report, which includes a prediction based on the latest polls, explains both the existing and the emerging electoral trends and, most importantly, explore...

Initial polls conducted on 2 and 3 December by the Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun and Nikkei Shimbun suggest a landslide victory for the LDP. Yomiuri Shimbun predicts that the ruling coalition may secure more than 300 of the 475 seats in the upcom...

Moody's Investors Service have downgraded the Japanese sovereign debt over the decision of the Japanese government to postpone the planned increase of the consumption tax until April 2017. The Nikkei Asian Review reports that Moody’s decision is base...

According to the Nikkei Asian Review, effective from 1 December,  the Japanese Financial Services Agency removes a number of restrictions to M&A activities for bank holding commpanies. The changes are primarily  inteded to encourage consolidation of ...

The Nikkei Asian Review examines the results of Abenomics so far,  by comparing the progress in five areas  - the Nikkei stock average,  unemployment rates, GDP growth rates, conumption expenditure levels and national debt - between 2012 and 2014.

Released minutes reveal the Bank of Japan board doubts regarding the additional quantitative easing, voted 5 to 4 by the board earlier this month. Read more in the 26 November edition of the Nikkei Asian Review. 

On 25 November the LDP released a document with key election policy pledges, putting focus on the economy. Even though the document sets more numerical target than the platforms of other parties, commentators point out that it does not answer some ba...