Abenomics targets unlikely to be achieved, say economists

Tokyo

THE question of whether Abenomics is "failing" Japan has been raised again, as confirmation came this week that the world's third-largest economy shrank in the second quarter. It was the second contraction since last year's brief recession.

Officials claim that the setback is temporary and partly weather-related, but economists are increasingly coming round to the view that Japan has not achieved sufficient velocity to escape the gravitational pull of recession.

The 0.4 per cent decline in real gross domestic …