Kuroda may be sacrificed in the name of Abenomics

Tokyo

EVENTS in Japan over the past few weeks have been surprising - shocking even - and baffling. They have given the lie to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's claim that "Japan is back" and also to his claim that political stability was restored with the return to power of a Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition two years ago.

First came the Bank of Japan's surprise launch of a new round of monetary easing, then the shocking disclosure that the economy is back in recession, and after that Mr Abe's only half-expected decision to postpone a sales tax hike. Then came his "bombshell" move to call a snap general election.

Taken together, these suggest improvisation rather than continuity in economic and political policymaking. Flexibility is no bad thing but the idea of a scripted recovery of the economy under Abenomics has taken a bad kno…