A little over two years into Abenomics, and two months after learning that one of Abe's economic advisors is none other than Paul Krugman [12], here is the progress report for what little is left of Japan's economy:
1. The number of households in Japan on welfare hit a record high in October, renewing the record for a 6th straight month. From NHK [13]: Officials at the Welfare Ministry say households receiving welfare benefits climbed by nearly 3,300 from the previous month to about 1.61 million.
That's the highest number since the government began compiling records in 1951.
Households on welfare with people aged 65 or older rose by nearly 2,500 to about 761,000. That accounted for 47 percent of the total.
2. 51.1% of Japanese households said they’re worse off compared with year earlier, the most since December 2011, according to Bank of Japan quarterly survey released today in Tokyo.
Why? 71.1% of those who said their livelihoods have deteriorated cited rising prices as a reason. Thanks Abe, and thanks Abe for crushing the economic conditions diffusion index which dropped to -32.9, the lowest since Dec. 2012. Precisely when Abe took power.
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3. Corporate bankruptcies linked to weak yen rose to a record 345 in 2014 from 130 a year earlier, according to a Teikoku Databank [15]report. Weak yen-linked bankruptcies in Dec. totaled 44, the most on monthly basis since survey started in Jan. 2013.
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In short, one has to be go full-Krugman at this point to conclude that what a Krugman-advised Japan has achieved is anything but utter, abysmal failure, and is on its way to a complete currency devaluation, hyperinflation, economic (and demographic) collapse, and the inevitable outcome: a failed Keynesian state. The good news: what few (irradiated) Japanese are left alive, will have an all time high Nikkei to enjoy, however they will be limited to how many shares they can sell based on the inventory of available wheelbarrows to cart their stock sale proceeds from point A to point B.
