＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who resigned in September 2020, worked with Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda to promote “Abenomics.” His successor, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, has stated that he will “inherit and further advance Abenomics.” However, I believe the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy has not been working well.
1. Former Prime Minister Abe’s “Abenomics” and the “100 Million People Dynamic Society”
(1) What is “Abenomics”?
“Abenomics” is the economic policy of the second Abe administration, which was formed in December 2012. It is a portmanteau of “Abe” (Abe) and “economics,” and is named after “Reaganomics,” the liberal economic policy of the Reagan administration in the 1980s.
The “three arrows” of fiscal stimulus, monetary easing, and a growth strategy aim to overcome prolonged deflation and achieve a nominal economic growth rate of 3%.
The total expenditure scale for “fiscal stimulus” (flexible fiscal management) is 20 trillion yen.
In “monetary easing” (bold monetary policy), the inflation target (price increase rate target) is set at 2% and a negative interest rate policy is maintained.
The “growth strategy” (growth strategy to stimulate private investment) is centered on promoting research and development and innovation, encouraging investment in energy conservation and renewable energy, and challenging new businesses.
(2) What is the “Society in which All Citizens are Dynamically Engaged?”
This is the centerpiece plan of the third Abe Cabinet, launched in October 2015. Former Prime Minister positioned the next three years as the “second stage of Abenomics” and declared his intention to aim for a “Society in which All Citizens are Dynamically Engaged.”
・According to the Prime Minister’s Office website, the “Society in which All Citizens are Dynamically Engaged” is as follows:
・A society where everyone, young and old, women and men, people with disabilities or intractable illnesses, and those who have experienced failure in the past, can be included and thrive.
A society where each individual’s individuality and diversity are respected, where each person can realize their dreams, demonstrate their abilities, and find meaning in life at home, in their community, and at work.
・A new economic and social system that creates a “virtuous cycle of growth and distribution” in which the fruits of growth achieved through efforts to achieve a strong economy are used to strengthen the foundations of child-rearing support and social security, which in turn further strengthen the economy.
2. Does “Abenomics” need a course correction?
I feel that “Abenomics” is not going smoothly.
As I wrote in a previous article, I believe the Bank of Japan’s negative interest rate policy and government bond purchasing policies have reached a dead end and need to be reversed.
The economy is recovering even with low inflation (below 2%), so I see no point in continuing the negative interest rate policy and indefinite long-term government bond purchasing operations. Hasn’t the BOJ’s original monetary policy been left behind by making the 2% inflation rate its sole objective?
The BOJ’s policies are now beginning to show negative effects, and I believe the time has come for an immediate change. The BOJ needs to make flexible and agile policy changes.
The current severe recession is directly caused by the spread of COVID-19 pneumonia. However, the longest post-war economic expansion has become a mere illusion, and the consumption tax hike implemented in October 2019 (Reiwa 1), when the economy was already in recession, was deemed a “misjudgment” by a Cabinet Office study group, which is also a headwind.