Japanese economy

Supermarket sales in 2019 fell 1.8 percent from the previous year on a same-store basis, down for the fourth consecutive year, affected by the consumption tax hike on Oct. 1 and unfavorable weather, an industry body said Thursday. Sales at 10,550 supermarkets, including newly opened ...

Across Asia, Japan netted a surplus of ¥3.93 trillion, but its black ink shrank for a second year.

The International Monetary Fund is forecasting that Japan's economy will grow 0.7 percent this year, up 0.2 percentage point from its earlier estimate due to stimulus measures to mitigate the impact of the Oct. 1 consumption tax hike. The Washington-based institution also said global growth ...

Japan kept unchanged its timing for balancing the primary budget on Friday, but expects to see a much smaller excess than previously thought when it hits a budget surplus, underlining the government's struggle to rein in massive public debt. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government stuck ...

Household spending fell for a second straight month in November and by more than forecast, according to data released Friday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, suggesting that a higher sales tax may weigh on private consumption for some time. The world's third-largest ...

Japan's misguided consumption tax hike makes a big fiscal package inevitiable.

What should the Abe administration do to mitigate the damage?

Japan could represent an alternative path for growth and defining economic success.