Date : November 7, 2023
The Current State of the Japanese Economy and Creating a Virtuous Cycle of Commodity Price and Wage Increases (Dr. Tsutomu Watanabe, Professor, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Economics)
post date : 2023.10.17
The bursting of Japan’s economic bubble was followed by the “Lost Three Decades,” a long period of economic stagnation with chronic deflation. However, global inflation since last spring due to the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as increased import costs and the impact of a weak yen, have led to higher crude oil prices and commodity prices, including for food, in Japan. According to the National Consumer Price Index released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on September 22 (core CPI, excluding fresh food), there were year-on-year increases of over 3% every month from September to December last year. Although the rate of increase has been on the decline since peaking in January this year, it continues to be above the 2% target for commodity prices established by the Bank of Japan. It remains to be seen whether increasing commodity prices, together with increased wages, will lead to sustainable, stable inflation and an exit from sustained deflation.
The FPCJ has invited Dr. Tsutomu Watanabe, a professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Economics, to discuss the current state of the Japanese economy and a virtuous cycle of increases in commodity price and wages. Professor Watanabe researches macroeconomics alongside commodity prices and monetary policy, and in addition to having established a startup company which calculates and distributes price indexes based on big data, actively comments on trends in the Japanese economy.
■Please note that you cannot physically attend this briefing, as it will be a Zoom webinar.
■Date: Nov. 7 (Tue), 2023, 14:05-15:35 (Deadline for application: Noon, Monday, Nov. 6)
*As there will be a disaster drill announcement at 14:00 in the Nippon Press Center Building where this press briefing is being streamed from, the briefing is scheduled to begin at 14:05.
■Theme: The Current State of the Japanese Economy and Creating a Virtuous Cycle of Commodity Price and Wage Increases
■Briefer: Dr. Tsutomu Watanabe, Professor, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Economics
■Language: Japanese, with consecutive English interpretation
As in our standard press briefings, there will be a Q&A session at the end.
*In principle, questions will only be accepted from members of the foreign press.
■Members of the Foreign Press:
Please send any questions for the briefer or topics you are interested in to cp@fpcjpn.or.jp by 16:00 on Thursday, Nov 2.
As there will only be a limited amount of time to ask questions during the briefing, we will collect questions and provide them to the briefer in advance.
Embassy representatives and FPCJ supporting members may also watch the briefing as observers (admission free).
■How to Apply: Please refer to the email we sent.*We will not be accepting applications by email.