Abenomics shifts to new fiscal tack, with the accompanying rise in risk

Tokyo

JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" policies are expected to enter a new stage this month with the so-called first and second policy "arrows" - monetary and fiscal stimulus - being combined in a more direct way, so as to boost their impact on the world's third-largest economy.

Having acted already to prevent the flagging economy from being floored by a previously planned (but now delayed) hike in Japan's national consumption tax, Mr Abe will follow up shortly with a fiscal spending package and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to come through with actions to finance it.

What in effect is happening, economists say, is that instead of hoping that consumers and investors will use the financial liquidity supplied by the BOJ to consume and invest (which they have fail…