So far, so good. This is exactly how the global community and the Japanese public felt about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's deflation-busting economic program dubbed "Abenomics" — until a few months ago.
Two of the three "arrows" in his quiver — the fiscal spending and radical quantitative easing — have hit the mark by pumping up stock prices and weakening the yen against the dollar, handing a lifeline to the export-oriented economy as he tries to stoke 2 percent inflation. The improving economic outlook greatly raised expectations for Abe's third arrow — growth-oriented structural reforms.
Since taking office, Abe has been busy touting reform to spur private investment. The growth-focused bills he is trying to pass in the extraordinary Diet session, however, are less substantial than the global community was expecting because Abe is taking on special interest groups that are opposed to deregulation.