Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently announced plans for yet another round of aggressive economic stimulus. But it's doubtful that this new initiative will make much difference. The problem is that the policy objectives of Abenomics are ill-conceived to begin with — and given demographic reality, they'll never work.
The stated goal of Abenomics — an ambitious combination of fiscal stimulus, monetary easing and structural reforms — is to end chronic deflation and revive Japan's stagnant growth. Judging by these two objectives, the program has clearly failed.
Growth in real gross domestic product has hovered between zero and 0.5 percent since 2009. This year, the GDP grew 0.5 percent in the January-March quarter. There was a brief surge in inflation on the back of a falling yen in 2014, but with the currency having rebounded, prices have resumed falling.
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