Finance Minister Weighs in on Consumer Spending
January 5, 2007
By Ken Worsley
Bloomberg is reporting that Finance Minister Koji Omi is saying bullish things about the future of consumer spending in Japan:
Consumer spending has been a bit sluggish and we’re watching that. But the vitality of the overall economy should spread to the consumer in the near future.
Omi’s remarks echo what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had to say about the issue yesterday. Once again, I have to say I see no real-world signs that their take on things is correct. Wages will have to show a demonstrable rise before consumer spending can increase, and it’s telling that both men ignored that issue.
Filed Under Consumer Spending
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Of course they ignored it. It’s been, what? Almost a decade since there was an increase in real wages? It’s going to take a lot more than the growth that has been shown to see wages rise. Abe and Omi surely know that, but also know how important psychology can be to consumer spending, which they see as the Holy Grail. If they point out the fact that people aren’t making any more, couldn’t that make people reticent to go shopping?
(Not that people make such decisions based on growth figures, but general mass psychology can play a role.)