Bloomberg: Abenomics has chance to reshape Japan

[CityFarmer]

It has implication on global liquidity. US QE tapering, and Japan QE suppose to soften the impact. May be Europe anticipated QE can fill in the gap...

Bank of Japan, more confident about recovery, quietly eyes stimulus exit

TOKYO - The Bank of Japan has begun shifting its focus from supporting growth to ways of phasing out its massive stimulus, taking first tentative steps towards a potentially momentous move for the world economy.

Current and former central bankers familiar with internal discussions say an informal debate is under way on how to prepare for an exit from the BOJ's 13-month-old "quantitative and qualitative monetary easing."
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http://www.todayonline.com/business/bank...mulus-exit

[CityFarmer]

The starting of the "Third Arrow", which already facing hurdles, let alone the immigration policy. A very tough "Third Arrow"...

Japan PM urges businesses to mobilise women power for economy

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged the nation's business leaders on Tuesday to do more to boost the role of working women, a key plank of a new growth strategy he was set to unveil later in the day.

Abe, who took office 18 months ago pledging to end deflation and generate sustainable growth with a three-pronged strategy of monetary easing, fiscal spending and reform, is due to outline the latest tranche of his so-called "Third Arrow" of long-term economic policies.

The package will include steps to boost the role of working women - seen as vital to address the shrinking workforce in one of the world's most rapidly ageing societies.
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http://www.todayonline.com/world/japan-p...er-economy

[CityFarmer]

I like the headline, "Arrow or Dart?" short and clear ...

Arrow or Dart? Japan's Abe unveils latest reform plan

TOKYO - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a package of measures on Tuesday aimed at boosting Japan's long-term economic growth, from phased-in corporate tax cuts to a bigger role for women and foreign workers, but applause from investors is likely to be muted after Tokyo backpedalled on bolder reforms.
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http://www.todayonline.com/business/japa...ow-reforms

[greengiraffe]

Abenomics to Robonomics

The use of robots forms a major pillar of Japan's revised growth strategy
Published on Jun 30, 2014 1:24 AM


Japan leads in the field of industrial robots in factories (above), and recently showcased more of its robot power inventions such as the exoskeleton, an artificial robotic limb, and humanoid robots Pepper as well as Kodomoroid, seen here with Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, and Otonaroid, with former astronaut and director of the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation Mamoru Mori. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Japan leads in the field of industrial robots in factories (above), and recently showcased more of its robot power inventions such as the exoskeleton, an artificial robotic limb, and humanoid robots Pepper as well as Kodomoroid, seen here with Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, and Otonaroid, with former astronaut and director of the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation Mamoru Mori. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Japan leads in the field of industrial robots in factories (above), and recently showcased more of its robot power inventions such as the exoskeleton, an artificial robotic limb, and humanoid robots Pepper as well as Kodomoroid, seen here with Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, and Otonaroid, with former astronaut and director of the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation Mamoru Mori. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Japan leads in the field of industrial robots in factories, and recently showcased more of its robot power inventions such as the exoskeleton, an artificial robotic limb, and humanoid robots Pepper (above) as well as Kodomoroid, seen here with Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, and Otonaroid, with former astronaut and director of the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation Mamoru Mori. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Japan leads in the field of industrial robots in factories, and recently showcased more of its robot power inventions such as the exoskeleton (above), an artificial robotic limb, and humanoid robots Pepper as well as Kodomoroid, seen here with Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, and Otonaroid, with former astronaut and director of the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation Mamoru Mori. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Japan leads in the field of industrial robots in factories, and recently showcased more of its robot power inventions such as the exoskeleton, an artificial robotic limb, and humanoid robots Pepper as well as (above, from left) Kodomoroid, seen here with Osaka University professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, and Otonaroid, with former astronaut and director of the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation Mamoru Mori. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


By Hau Boon Lai Japan Correspondent In Tokyo

KODOMOROID looks poised, does not break into a sweat, has a good voice, and is able to navigate difficult tongue-twisters effortlessly.

Last week, she found a job as a newsreader. But as her name - a cross between kodomo, or child, and android - suggests, Kodomoroid is not human but a life- size android robot, made in the image of a girl of about 12 years old.

She reads the news to visitors of the Miraikan, or National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, where she is on display.

Japan, this month, showcased its robot power with the launch of Kodomoroid, robotic power suits that can be controlled by the wearer's thoughts, and Softbank's Pepper, a humanoid robot that can "read" human emotions. And it could not have come at a better time for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

On June 19, he announced that the government would engineer a "robot revolution" that will treble the size of the market to 2.4 trillion yen (S$29.6 billion) by 2020.

The development and use of robots is a pillar of the revised growth strategy that he unveiled last week, after the first two arrows of ultra-aggressive monetary easing and massive fiscal spending, particularly on public works projects.

A government panel will be set up to channel expected state subsidies of billions of dollars into the research and development of robots that can be sold round the world. The electronic workforce could also ease Japan's labour shortages arising from an ageing population and a declining birthrate, in sectors such as health care and agriculture.

According to the revised growth plan, Japan seeks to double the market for industrial robots and expand the smaller non-industrial robot market twentyfold.

To help achieve the targets, the government will promote greater cooperation between universities and private companies such that cross appointments can be made.

Mr Takeshi Kitaura, an analyst with Deutsche Securities, said Mr Abe's plan is sound, provided he focuses on industry-wide cooperative efforts rather than individual companies and sets clear paths for the industry to take.

"The first step is gathering the people who make the robots or develop them and getting them to identify what to focus on... it's like how car companies in Japan joined hands to develop a new diesel engine," he told The Straits Times.

Japan is a leader in the use and production of industrial robots, such as those used to die-cast, weld and move car parts in assembly lines, and holds more than 50 per cent of the global market share.

Last year, about 179,000 industrial robots were sold worldwide, a record high, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), which expects sales to exceed 200,000 next year.

Japan is the biggest supplier of industrial robots to China, a fast-growing market that last year bought 37,000 such robots, becoming the world's biggest market for the first time.

But China still has a long way to go to reach Japan's level of automation, so its demand for industrial robots is expected to be strong for many years, the IFR said in a report.

Mr Abe, in a clear signal of Japan's priority in the non-industrial robot sector, visited a factory in Tokyo that makes care-giving robots on June 19 and personally put on a robotic suit that helps its wearers carry heavy loads.

Because its population is ageing rapidly, the Health Ministry has projected that Japan will need another one million nursing care- givers by 2025, many of whom have to be recruited from overseas. But Mr Abe and most of his colleagues oppose bringing in large numbers of foreign workers.

If the government succeeds in helping the industry produce cheap caregiving robots, it is expected to ease the need for more caregivers.

One country to watch as Japan pursues its robotic ambitions is the United States. Google late last year went on a shopping spree, gobbling up eight robotics companies, including a Tokyo University venture, Schaft, which has developed a robot that can operate in extreme conditions such as disaster areas.

Osaka University Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, creator of Kodomoroid, said another player to watch is the US military, which is ahead in areas such as artificial robotic limbs and bomb detector robots. But he also said Japan is clearly in the lead when it comes to companion robots, which are already becoming more affordable.

He paid tribute to Softbank's Pepper, a 1.2m-tall robot that has the ability to tell jokes, understand human emotions based on facial expressions and tone of voice, and learn from its communication with humans.

"It's amazing that Pepper will cost only 200,000 yen when it goes on sale next year," he told The Straits Times. "That's about the price of a laptop."

boonlai@sph.com.sg

[greengiraffe]

Domo arigato, Mr Roboto
Published on Jun 30, 2014 1:24 AM
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TOKYO - Industrial robots, which came into common use in the 1960s among United States car manufacturers, include one-armed machines that can be programmed to perform tasks such as welding or die-casting.

Japan took to industrial robots in a big way. It is the biggest user of industrial robots today, with more than 300,000 of them in operation in the country, accounting for more than a quarter of all industrial robots in the world.

Japan is also using robots increasingly in areas other than manufacturing - these are often called service robots - but the term covers a wide range of machines.

Automatic vacuum cleaners such as Sharp's Cocorobo - programmed to clean the house and exhibiting a degree of autonomy while doing its work - are service robots.

So are Cyberdyne's robotic power suits. These detect weak electrical pulses running along the skin when the wearer's brain commands his limb to move, and move in concert with it, providing much more power than the limb is able to do so on its own.

Then there is Softbank's Pepper, a companion robot equipped with sensors that help it "read" human emotions based on facial expressions and tone of voice. It has artificial intelligence that enables it to learn from its interactions with its human companions.

The life-size, human-like news-reading Kodomoroid, created by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro from Osaka University, is also a service robot.

With such a wide range of forms as well as application areas, service robots are difficult to define, noted the International Federation of Robotics. It is closely involved in the definition of robots, with members drawn from national robotics associations, and businesses, universities and research centres engaged in robotics.

HAU BOON LAI

[CityFarmer]

Abenomics to Robonomics

The use of robots forms a major pillar of Japan's revised growth strategy
Published on Jun 30, 2014 1:24 AM

Japan is leading in robotic, with decades of R&D spending on the field. It should serve as an edge in solving issues of greying population, both domestically, and out of Japan.

[greengiraffe]

BoJ plays down geopolitical risks
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES AUGUST 08, 2014 8:00PM

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Friday he will closely watch geopolitical risks associated the situations in Ukraine and Iraq, but he played down the possibility they have had a direct impact on Japan's economy.

"Direct effects on the Japanese economy are not impending," Mr Kuroda said at a news conference. Meanwhile, he expressed concerns that confrontation between Russia and the West over Ukraine could have adverse effects on the European economy due to their strong relationships on trade and investment.

Mr Kuroda repeated his view that there is "no reason for the yen to strengthen," given the differing trajectories of monetary policy between Japan and the US

Earlier in the day, the central bank unanimously decided to continue its large-scale easing rolled out in April 2013, pumping up to Y70 trillion into the monetary system annually, mainly through purchases of long-term government debt.

In a statement released after the end of a two-day policy setting meeting, the BOJ downgraded its assessment of exports, saying they "have shown some weakness," having previously said they were stabilising.

[greengiraffe]

Japan's GDP slump stirs stimulus talk
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES AUGUST 13, 2014 8:30PM
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A sharp second-quarter slowdown in Japan raised discussion among economists about further stimulus, but the economy minister said he didn't think extra steps were needed now.

Gross domestic product shrank 6.8 per cent on an annualised basis in the April-June quarter, after rising 6.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year. It was the biggest fall since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The main reason was a sharp pullback by consumers after the national sales tax rose on April 1 to 8 per cent from 5 per cent.

The growth number, released Wednesday, was generally in line with expectations, and many economists kept up their view that the fall would be temporary.

"Consumption in May and June rose compared to April, and I think that the possibility of a rebound is high," said Tomo Kinoshita, chief economist at Nomura Securities. "There's no reason to just look at this figure and be pessimistic."

Investors also took the news in stride, with the Nikkei Stock Average rising 52.32 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 15213.63.

Yet aspects of the data, including a rise in inventories, led some economists to talk about additional public spending to boost the economy.

"The latest data will likely have an impact on policy debate, adding a lot of fuel to calls for additional economic stimulus measures," said Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

Economy Minister Akira Amari said he expected the economy to continue recovering gradually. He said he saw no need currently for additional economic measures, although the government would respond if necessary.

The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has already put in place two economic stimulus packages since taking power in December 2012.

Koichi Hamada, an emeritus Yale University economics professor who advises Mr Abe, said in an interview that the GDP drop showed the tax increase "was a significant blow for consumers."

A law passed before Mr Abe took office calls for the sales tax to rise again to 10 per cent in October 2015, provided the economy is growing strongly. Mr Abe has said data for the July-September quarter will be key in deciding whether to raise the levy again.

"If the third quarter's GDP is too weak, it would lead to postponing the second hike or to adopting a gradual sequence of tax hikes," Mr Hamada said.

Weak growth could also put pressure on the Bank of Japan, some economists said. Robert Feldman, chief economist at Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities in Tokyo, said the central bank would likely be forced to take more easing measures in October or November. The poor figure made the BOJ's price and growth forecasts look overly optimistic, he said.

BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said last week he was sticking to his view that the economy is recovering modestly. The central bank has focused on the tight labor market in Japan, believing this will eventually boost wages and household spending.

Private consumption fell 5 per cent in the three months through June compared with the previous quarter, and real employee compensation fell 1.8 per cent because the sales tax led to higher prices at the cash register but workers weren't getting raises to match.

Nomura's Mr. Kinoshita said a rise in wages as companies tried to attract workers, as well as spending by recent retirees, should support personal spending though 2015. He said corporate spending and a pickup in exports would also support economic activity.

Japan's economy is likely to expand at an annual pace of slightly above 4 per cent in the third quarter, according an August survey of 42 economists by the Japan Center for Economic Research.

[CityFarmer]

The Abenomics remains challenging...

Japan household spending slumps, output flat as tax pain persists

TOKYO - Japanese household spending fell more than expected and factory output remained anemic in July after plunging in June, government data showed on Friday, suggesting that soft exports and a sales tax hike in April may drag on the economy longer than expected.

While the Bank of Japan is in no mood to expand monetary stimulus any time soon, the data will keep it under pressure to act if the economy fails to gather momentum after contracting in the April-June quarter, analysts say.

Separate data showed core consumer inflation, which excludes volatile prices of fresh foods but includes oil products, hit 3.3 percent in the year to July, matching a median market forecast.

When excluding the effect of the April tax hike, it stood at 1.3 percent, still distant from the 2 percent inflation target the Bank of Japan pledged to meet sometime next year.
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http://www.todayonline.com/business/japa...n-persists

[greengiraffe]

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 06, 2014
Abenomics at risk as firms slow spending
Non-finance sector capex seen growing just 1.3% next fiscal year, down from 7.9% this year

JAPANESE companies from NTT Docomo to Honda Motor are putting the brakes on spending as they pile up cash, showing the challenge Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new cabinet faces in reviving the economy - PHOTO: REUTERS
Tokyo
JAPANESE companies from NTT Docomo to Honda Motor are putting the brakes on spending as they pile up cash, showing the challenge Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new cabinet faces in reviving the economy.
Capital expenditure growth by non-financial companies will slow on aggregate to 1.3 per cent next fiscal year from an estimate of 7.9 per cent this year, according to a Moody's Investors Service study of rated companies. Firms on the Topix share index boosted cash by 10 per cent to 68.5 trillion yen (S$817 billion) in the past year, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
"Companies are piling up cash because they remain cautious," Peggy Furusaka, a Tokyo-based credit analyst at Moody's, said in a telephone interview on Thursday.