Japanese Scholar Says Abenomics Made Japan Poor
Hitotsubashi University emeritus professor Yukio Noguchi remarked on July 24 that Japan is becoming poorer than South Korea as the value of the yen is continuing to fall along with the competitiveness of Japanese industries.
“When the current exchange rates are applied to the 2020 GDPs per capita, South Korea’s is US$31,902 and Japan’s is US$31,782 with that of the United States at US$76,027,” he said, adding, “This is because of Abenomics. In 2012, before the implementation of the policy, Japan’s GDP per capita was close to that of the United States and almost twice that of South Korea. In other words, Abenomics made Japan poor.”
He also pointed out that the average wage is now higher in South Korea than in Japan. “According to OECD data, the average wage was 4.44 million yen in Japan and 42.54 million won in South Korea in 2021, and the respective figures are US$31,714 and US$32,316 under the current exchange rates,” he explained, continuing, “The average wage in South Korea has been higher for years and the gap is widening due to the ongoing weak yen.”
According to the professor, the top market cap companies in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are Toyota, TSMC and Samsung Electronics and their market caps are US$211 billion, US$433.9 billion and US$299.1 billion, respectively. “The Japanese government should change its policy immediately and raise the key rate,” he advised.