2025-11-07 04:08:00
Takaichi fills key panels with Abenomics advocates to drive pro-growth agenda
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has stacked top economic panels with reflationist economists and big-spending advocates, signalling a return to Abenomics-style stimulus as Japan’s new government pushes to revive growth and keep policy loose.
Reuters carry this very intersting piece. More:
The government confirmed that former Bank of Japan deputy governor Masazumi Wakatabe — a well-known supporter of aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus — will join the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, Japan’s top economic decision-making body. The panel shapes the country’s long-term fiscal framework and includes key ministers and the BOJ governor.
Wakatabe, who served at the BOJ between 2018 and 2023 under Haruhiko Kuroda, backed massive asset purchases aimed at ending deflation. He said recently that while rate hikes are possible once Japan sustainably hits its 2% inflation target, achieving that this year remains difficult.
Another appointee, Toshihiro Nagahama of Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, has long advocated measures to stimulate demand, aligning closely with Takaichi’s agenda. Economic Revitalisation Minister Minoru Kiuchi said the new line-up reflects the administration’s priorities after “consulting with the prime minister.”
The shift contrasts sharply with former premier Shigeru Ishiba’s era, when fiscal hawks such as BNP Paribas’ Mana Nakazora called for faster normalisation of ultra-loose policy and greater fiscal restraint.
Takaichi has also appointed Takuji Aida — an economist seen as one of her closest advisers — to a key growth strategy panel. Aida argues that stimulus should continue until Japan’s output gap exceeds 2%, rejecting the emphasis on fiscal consolidation.
