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.