An elderly woman sells tempura at a restaurant in Tokyo’s Sunamachi area on March 9. Prices are rising in Japan, but unlike inflation seen in many other places, the increases are long-sought but also unlikely to last, analysts say. Photo: AFP
An elderly woman sells tempura at a restaurant in Tokyo’s Sunamachi area on March 9. Prices are rising in Japan, but unlike inflation seen in many other places, the increases are long-sought but also unlikely to last, analysts say. Photo: AFP
Nicholas Spiro
Opinion

Opinion

Macroscope by Nicholas Spiro

Why Japan’s long fight against deflation looks doomed to fail

  • Unlike its peers, Japan’s central bank has stuck to aggressive government debt purchases, rock-bottom interest rates and near-zero long-term bond yields
  • The costs of this approach keep rising, though, as a weak yen is at odds with the need for more consumer spending and ending the deflationary mindset

Nicholas Spiro
Nicholas Spiro

Updated: 2:30pm, 7 Apr, 2022

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An elderly woman sells tempura at a restaurant in Tokyo’s Sunamachi area on March 9. Prices are rising in Japan, but unlike inflation seen in many other places, the increases are long-sought but also unlikely to last, analysts say. Photo: AFP
An elderly woman sells tempura at a restaurant in Tokyo’s Sunamachi area on March 9. Prices are rising in Japan, but unlike inflation seen in many other places, the increases are long-sought but also unlikely to last, analysts say. Photo: AFP
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