For Mr Abe, the prime objective is to tackle deflation. Only if people believe prices are going to go up will they spend money now, he explained after taking office. If consumers don’t spend, and businesses don’t invest, the economy will be trapped in a doomed cycle. But despite moments of hope, nearly four years later the central bank is no closer to igniting inflation. Mr Kuroda blames falling oil prices and a slowdown in emerging markets. He is not helped by wages that have remained stagnant, despite Mr Abe’s repeated pleas to business to raise them, and despite the record hoard of ¥242trn in cash and deposits held by corporate Japan. Whatever the reasons, it is clear that the 2% target is not within reach, says Daiju Aoki, an economist in Tokyo for UBS, a Swiss bank.
对于安倍晋山来说,他的首要目标就是去解决通货紧缩。在他上任后,他解释道,只有人民认为物价会持续走高,他们才会现在把钱花掉。如果消费者不花钱,企业就不会投资,经济将会陷入恶性循环。除了意外情况,至少在四年内,央行不太会引发通货膨胀。黑田东彦把这些不景气归咎于下跌的油价,以及新兴市场的放缓。他并没有从低廉的人工成本中受益,即使安倍晋三不断要求企业去提高工资以及日本企业持有创纪录的242亿现金和储蓄。在东京的瑞银证券经济学家Daiju Aok表示,无论出于什么原因,清晰可见的是,2%的目标是遥不可及的。