アベノミクスは成功か？それとも失敗か？

Is Abenomics No Longer a Good Thing?

～アベノミクスは成功か？それとも失敗か？～

It has passed around 4 years since Shinzo Abe was elected in 2012 as the prime minister. After the inauguration, he pledged to boost the Japanese economy, which had suffered from the depression at that time. Mr. Abe named it as Abenomics, with “three arrors” containing monetary easing, fiscal pragmatism and structural reform. To his mind, those arrows would dispel the anxiety about deflation. However, many people doubt about whether Abenomics plays its part. The efficacy is controversial even today.

安倍首相が総理大臣になってから12月で4年を迎える。安倍首相は当初からアベノミクスという三つの矢を中心とした経済政策を大体的に掲げている。しかし、その効果については4年経った今でも、人によって意見が分かれるところであろう。

On June 1, 2016, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided to push back the consumption tax hike from April next year to October of 2019, contrary to his remark in 2014 not to delay the consumption hike anymore. There was an apprehension that the households would spend less on their consumption and as a result, the economy would shrink precipitously, whilst the inconsistency in what he said versus what he did might been seen as a sign of the setback of Abenomics.

2016年6月、2014年にはこれ以上延期することはないと言い切った消費税増税の再度の延期が宣言された。これは消費行動の停滞を恐れた結果だが、多くの人には、アベノミクスがうまくいっていないというサインと映った。もちろん、その判断は的を射ている。

Some indexes go in the opposite direction. Consumer prices and the number of workers have been risen gradually since Abenomics took place. This accomplishment deserves praise. The increased consuming power will flow to profits of Japanese companies and labor force increase will make firms churn out their products, which could push up GDP.

ただ見落としてはいけないのが、アベノミクスの功績である。総理就任後、消費者物価指数（コアコア）・雇用者の数ともに増加している。これは一つの指標に過ぎないが、回復の兆しともとれる。

Firms in Japan, however, are reluctant to invest their profits, trying to hold them back even if they earn more or the BOJ, Bank of Japan, lend them money at a minus interest. Contrary to the aim, the government borrows much from the bank in order to stimulate the economy additionally thorough ways like public expenditure. Will it really arouse the firms’ willingness to invest and purchase at last? I do not know.

しかし、その一投は十分な波を生まなかった。企業の投資増加が予想されたが、頭打ちに終わっている。結局、日銀が政府の国債を買うことで追加緩和へと道を進めている。

In conclusion, Abenomics performs in its favour, but the extent is less satisfying than hoped. Several newspapers featured cutting corporation tax on small and medium-sized businesses yesterday. Theoretically, the decreased cost of production triggers its amount by companies, yet reality sometimes belies anticipation as it once. Even so, I hope that those attempts mentioned will bolster economy and Japan can lift itself up out of the spiral of deflation.

結論を言えば、アベノミクスは日本経済を刺激したが、まだ望ましい結果に達していないことになる。先日、賃上げを実施した中小企業の法人税減税措置が適用されるという報道があった。これも一つの経済刺激策と捉えられる。企業の積極性によい影響を与えることを願っている。