Japan labour shortages could thwart Abenomics: IMF report

Tokyo

GROWING shortages of labour in Japan could hobble the world's third-largest economy and damage the effectiveness of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Abenomics policies, according to a working paper issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Japan's labour shortages are among the worst in the world, suggests the report, which urges the authorities to tackle the "thorny" issue of increasing the supply of foreign workers and to learn lessons from other countries including Singapore in this regard.

While the paper does not amount to official recommendations by the IMF to the Japanese government, it is intended to "further debate" on what many economists believe is a growing problem capable of stalling Abenomics. "Evidence suggests that Japan is sufferin…