In Japan it was interesting to note the comments by economist at the BOJ Kazuo Momma who managed to pinpoint with surgical precision what exactly Japan's current woes are in terms of macroeconomic dynamics:
(Quote Bloomberg)
Japan’s economy is far from achieving self-sustained growth as the export-led recovery fails to spur spending at home, according to Kazuo Momma, the Bank of Japan’s top economist. “The risk that the Japanese economy will fall off from a cliff is small, but there is still a long way to go,” before the expansion becomes sustainable, Momma said in Tokyo today. “Even if the global economy continues to recover, the spread of that to capital spending and the labor market will be limited.”
The key thing to notice above and beyond the real economic effects in the form of entrenched deflation and low growth is the failure of the momentum from external demand to reach the domestic economy. Perhaps more than anything this is the defining characteristic of the Japanese economy and, I would argue, export dependent economies in general.
Consider also that the discourse on Japan to large extent has been solidly anchored in the expectation that the strong momentum of the export related activities would eventually lead into a positive feedback loop with domestic activity. This has so far closely resembled the well known perennial wait à la Beckett and it is worth I think to ask what exactly underlies this disconnect in the economy.
In this sense, I thought it interesting that Mr. Momma and thus the BOJ moved in with such a decisive recognition that something seems thoroughly broken in terms of the ability of the domestic Japanese economy to gain traction.
Elsewhere on Japan I also took note of the veritable tableau d'horreur in the context of the estimated fiscal outlay in the coming years. Consequently, recent numbers from the ministry of finance suggest that Japan will up the its bond issuance by as much as 16% moving towards 2013. Concretely, the butcher's bill is estimated to total Y51.3 trillion in the year starting April 2011, Y52.2 trillion in the fiscal year of 2012 and Y55.3 trillion in the fiscal year of 2013.
Naturally, former minister and now opposition member Yoshimasa Hayashi was quick to slam on the critique simply noting that it was unclear whether the new DPJ led government was worried at all about the fiscal conditions of Japan's economy. Specifically Mr. Hayashi worries about 10 year yields which I reckon is the right time horizon for when this could really turn out sour for Japan.
The deteriorating fiscal position has raised concern that bond investors may start to demand higher yields for holding Japan’s debt. The yield on the 10-year government bond rose half a basis point to 1.31 percent at 2:28 p.m. in Tokyo. It hasn’t exceeded 2 percent in more than a decade.
Finance Minister Naoto Kan said yesterday that the government’s mid-term fiscal strategy to be released by June will help to maintain investors’ confidence. “We need to keep yields around the current level by maintaining markets’ trust in our fiscal health,” he told parliament. S&P’s downgrade of the outlook for Japan’s debt to “negative” indicates it may cut the local-currency rating for the first time since 2002. National Strategy Minister Yoshito Sengoku called the warning a “wake-up call.”
Before we start comparing Japan with Greece et al though there is little doubt that demand will be there for the securities since we can be pretty sure that the BOJ will be provide the bid through quantitative easing. However, in a longer term perspective and with largest debt to GDP ratio as well as the oldest population in the world one does not have to be a macroeconomic literate to see how this cannot go on forever.
However, as long as Japan remains a net external lender the problem is one of accounting really and with its own independent central bank the show can go on for quite a while. Moreover, the likely side effect on the JPY makes it an almost attractive route to follow by Japan in the sense that a long awaited depreciation of the JPY (if it comes) will not only strengthen the export sector but also provide some welcome inflation to the economy.
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