{"id":41980,"date":"2018-12-25T10:53:28","date_gmt":"2018-12-25T15:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=41980"},"modified":"2018-12-25T10:53:28","modified_gmt":"2018-12-25T15:53:28","slug":"japan-gives-up-on-inflation-now-wants-deflation-sort-of-to-offset-tax-hikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=41980","title":{"rendered":"Japan Gives Up On Inflation, Now Wants Deflation (Sort Of) to Offset Tax Hikes"},"content":{"rendered":"<header>\n<div class=\"story-header-area\">\n<div class=\"clearfix\">\n<div class=\"story-header\">\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/moneymaven.io\/mishtalk\/economics\/japan-gives-up-on-inflation-now-wants-deflation-sort-of-to-offset-tax-hikes-aFqIpexY_kyPlAbrw6y5_Q\/\">Japan Gives Up On Inflation, Now Wants Deflation (Sort Of) to Offset Tax Hikes<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo\">\n<div class=\"renderable jss449 Center Large show\">\n<figure class=\"image\">\n<div class=\"jss242 picture loaded\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/imageproxy.themaven.net\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmaven-user-photos%2Fmishtalk%2Feconomics%2FzmfATcSa4EegwR7v_znq6Q%2FaJFHOWW77kudUM3ZAxtnXg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imageproxy.themaven.net\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmaven-user-photos%2Fmishtalk%2Feconomics%2FzmfATcSa4EegwR7v_znq6Q%2FaJFHOWW77kudUM3ZAxtnXg?w=684&amp;q=40&amp;h=492.3509433962264&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=focalpoint&amp;fp-x=0.5&amp;fp-y=0.5&amp;fp-z=1&amp;fp-debug=false 1x, https:\/\/imageproxy.themaven.net\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmaven-user-photos%2Fmishtalk%2Feconomics%2FzmfATcSa4EegwR7v_znq6Q%2FaJFHOWW77kudUM3ZAxtnXg?w=1026&amp;q=30&amp;h=739&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=focalpoint&amp;fp-x=0.5&amp;fp-y=0.5&amp;fp-z=1&amp;fp-debug=false 1.5x, https:\/\/imageproxy.themaven.net\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmaven-user-photos%2Fmishtalk%2Feconomics%2FzmfATcSa4EegwR7v_znq6Q%2FaJFHOWW77kudUM3ZAxtnXg?w=1368&amp;q=20&amp;h=985&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=focalpoint&amp;fp-x=0.5&amp;fp-y=0.5&amp;fp-z=1&amp;fp-debug=false 2x, https:\/\/imageproxy.themaven.net\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmaven-user-photos%2Fmishtalk%2Feconomics%2FzmfATcSa4EegwR7v_znq6Q%2FaJFHOWW77kudUM3ZAxtnXg?w=2052&amp;q=10&amp;h=1477&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=focalpoint&amp;fp-x=0.5&amp;fp-y=0.5&amp;fp-z=1&amp;fp-debug=false 3x\" alt=\"\" width=\"684\" height=\"492.3509433962264\" \/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"deck\">Today seems straight from the Twilight Zone: First the PPT and now Abenomics in full reverse.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<article class=\"story-body clearfix\">\n<div class=\"body\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"markdown\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Please consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/japan-finally-concedes-its-crazy-low-prices-cant-be-beat-11545388205\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Japan Finally Concedes Its Crazy Low Prices Can\u2019t Be Beat<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"markdown\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<blockquote><p>Japan has virtually given up on reaching 2% inflation after nearly six years of trying. An argument gaining ground in Tokyo holds that the inflation goal, once seen as paramount, doesn\u2019t matter so much after all. Inflation excluding volatile fresh food and energy prices was just 0.3% in November, and it has barely budged all year.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Abe has largely stopped discussing the dangers of deflation, and his government is actually trying to push some prices down ahead of a tax increase set to take effect in October 2019. Mr. Abe\u2019s de facto No. 2, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, has called on mobile-phone carriers to lower fees by about 40%\u2014a move that could knock a full percentage point off inflation, according to government estimates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no change to our stance of seeking the 2% price goal as soon as possible by patiently continuing powerful easing,\u201d Mr. Kuroda said at a November press conference. At the same time, he has started talking more about the potential downsides of aggressive monetary easing,<\/p>\n<p>Still, BOJ officials are hesitant to abandon the target altogether out of fear it could damage expectations and push the country back into deflation, said people familiar with the BOJ\u2019s thinking.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"markdown\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Raising Prices<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"markdown\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Torikizoku (Chicken Nobility), raised prices for the first time in 30 years last year, by the equivalent of 16 cents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"renderable jss449 Center Large show\">\n<figure class=\"image\">\n<div class=\"jss242 picture loaded\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/imageproxy.themaven.net\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmaven-user-photos%2Fmishtalk%2Feconomics%2FzmfATcSa4EegwR7v_znq6Q%2FY189gMCcvU2Ql1lbExBhAQ\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imageproxy.themaven.net\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmaven-user-photos%2Fmishtalk%2Feconomics%2FzmfATcSa4EegwR7v_znq6Q%2FY189gMCcvU2Ql1lbExBhAQ?w=684&amp;q=40&amp;h=522.627345844504&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=focalpoint&amp;fp-x=0.5&amp;fp-y=0.5&amp;fp-z=1&amp;fp-debug=false 1x, https:\/\/imageproxy.themaven.net\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmaven-user-photos%2Fmishtalk%2Feconomics%2FzmfATcSa4EegwR7v_znq6Q%2FY189gMCcvU2Ql1lbExBhAQ?w=1026&amp;q=30&amp;h=784&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=focalpoint&amp;fp-x=0.5&amp;fp-y=0.5&amp;fp-z=1&amp;fp-debug=false 1.5x, https:\/\/imageproxy.themaven.net\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmaven-user-photos%2Fmishtalk%2Feconomics%2FzmfATcSa4EegwR7v_znq6Q%2FY189gMCcvU2Ql1lbExBhAQ?w=1368&amp;q=20&amp;h=1045&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=focalpoint&amp;fp-x=0.5&amp;fp-y=0.5&amp;fp-z=1&amp;fp-debug=false 2x, https:\/\/imageproxy.themaven.net\/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fmaven-user-photos%2Fmishtalk%2Feconomics%2FzmfATcSa4EegwR7v_znq6Q%2FY189gMCcvU2Ql1lbExBhAQ?w=2052&amp;q=10&amp;h=1568&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=focalpoint&amp;fp-x=0.5&amp;fp-y=0.5&amp;fp-z=1&amp;fp-debug=false 3x\" alt=\"\" width=\"684\" height=\"522.627345844504\" \/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"markdown\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8220;Once prices went up, it wasn\u2019t just the chickens that got skewered. Same-store sales at the chain have fallen more than 5% every month since May and profit fell 76% compared with a year earlier in the most recent quarter.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u2026click on the above link to read the rest of the article\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Japan Gives Up On Inflation, Now Wants Deflation (Sort Of) to Offset Tax Hikes Today seems straight from the Twilight Zone: First the PPT and now Abenomics in full reverse. Please consider Japan Finally Concedes Its Crazy Low Prices Can\u2019t Be Beat. Japan has virtually given up on reaching 2% inflation after nearly six years [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1265,202,426,452,14648,13390,783],"class_list":["post-41980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economics","tag-abenomics","tag-deflation","tag-inflation","tag-japan","tag-michael-shedlock","tag-mishtalk","tag-taxes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41980"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41981,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41980\/revisions\/41981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}