Abenomics in jeopardy as consumer sentiment slumps

THE threat of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's growth-boosting economic policies, known as Abenomics, foundering in the face of a scheduled national consumption tax hike loomed larger yesterday, with a Bank of Japan (BOJ) survey revealing deteriorating consumer sentiment in recent months.

Compounding this, a BOJ policy board member suggested in a speech that the Japanese central bank may have to delay its plan to achieve 2 per cent annual inflation, given that the combination of the threat of inflation and a raised sales tax could send the economy off course.

The results of the latest quarterly BOJ survey of consumer sentiment published yesterday indicated th…