Abenomics not game changing: economist

JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's mission to boost Japan's economic growth rate is likely to prove no more than "pie in the sky" unless more radical measures are adopted than those proposed under Abenomics, according to a report by a prominent international economist.

The report by chief global economist Paul Sheard at rating agency Standard & Poor's in New York came at the end of a week in which a leading Japanese economist dismissed Abenomics as "nothingnomics" and an adviser to Mr Abe threatened to sue the government for allegedly thwarting economic reforms.

In a rare public attack, Hiroshi Mikitani, president of Internet firm Rakuten and a member of Mr Abe's Industrial Competitiveness Council, said he would quit and sue the government over a decision to ban online sales of some over-the- counter drugs, contrary to more liberalisation promised under Abenomics.