For Japan, Steady Growth Proves Elusive

摘要

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is running out of time to prove that Abenomics is more than just a series of monetary and fiscal adrenaline shots that will quickly wear off. Improving wage growth and increasing consumer demand, to give companies a reason to invest at home, are essential to his turnaround plan, meant to lift Japan's economy out of its two-decade-plus funk. Consumers have cut their spending sharply in the wake of a three-point hike in the sales tax to 8 percent, and wages have failed to keep up with inflation, which rose after the higher tax increased the price of goods and services.