This lecture describes and interprets economic policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, nicknamed as ‘Abenomics’, which consists of three arrows: monetary, fiscal and growth policy. Prime Minister Abe has advocated strong monetary easing since he became President of the LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) in mid-November. The market has positively responded to the adoption of inflation targeting and expected monetary easing, with the Japanese yen depreciating by 20% and stock prices rising by 40%. Why has the market responded positively to Mr Abe’s economic policy? Will Mr Abe and Mr Kuroda, new Governor of the Bank of Japan, succeed in lifting the Japanese economy out of deflation? This lecture will address these questions.

Takatoshi Ito has taught extensively both in the United States and Japan, including at University of Minnesota, Hitotsubashi University, and Harvard University. He held visiting professor positions at Harvard University, Stanford University; Columbia Business School, and Tun Ismail Ali Chair Professor at University of Malaya. His public sector experiences include Senior Advisor in the Research
Department, IMF; Deputy Vice Minister for International Affairs at Ministry of Finance; and a member of the Prime Minister’s Council of Economic and Fiscal Policy. He is author of many books including The
Japanese Economy (MIT Press), The Political Economy of the Japanese Monetary Policy (MIT Press), and Financial Policy and Central Banking in Japan (MIT Press), and more than 50 refereed academic journal
articles on international finance and the Japanese economy.

His research interests include capital flows and currency crises,the structure of foreign exchange rates, and monetary policy. He frequently contributes op-ed columns and articles to Financial Times, Nihon Keizai Shinbun, Mainichi Shinbun, and Toyo Keizai Weekly. www.tito.e.u-tokyo.ac.jp/profile.htm