Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan for the economy to generate self-sustained growth on the back of his three policy "arrows" of massive monetary easing, spending and reform appears to be faltering — but no magic solution is in sight.
Abe's aides and advisers are promising to forge ahead with painful structural reforms while spreading the benefits of "Abenomics" to regional areas and drafting a long-term vision for addressing Japan's shrinking population.
But gloomy economic data suggests the plan is not succeeding as hoped and the only short-term contingency plans appear to be further central bank stimulus or delaying a second rise in the consumption tax set for October 2015.