Will the third time be a charm for Abenomics? On Sunday, Shinzo Abe won his third electoral mandate to awaken Japan's comatose economy. After squandering the previous two — in 2013 and 2014 — all we can do is hope the prime minister finally makes good on his structural reform pledges.
The good news is that markets are already prodding Abe to change tactics in one very important way: drop this weak-yen silliness. He'd be wise to run with it.
Already, Abe's Liberal Democratic Party seems to be sticking with its embrace of Albert Einstein's definition of insanity by trying the same tired strategies and hoping for a different outcome. The giant stimulus package Abe is promising with high-speed trains and new construction projects may provide a short-term sugar high, but will do nothing to make Japan more vibrant and competitive in the longer run. Ditto for Abe's obsession with amending the pacifist post-war constitution so Japan can send troops aboard.
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