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The £31bn mobile phone deal that signals Abenomics remains dialled in
Sep 29, 2020
Japan's new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, is wasting no time.
Mr Suga has already made clear that he intends to continue with the three 'arrows', as they are called, of his predecessor Shinzo Abe's economic blueprint of Abenomics - an aggressive monetary policy, a flexible fiscal policy and a growth strategy including structural reform.
With the Bank of Japan already having implemented a main policy rate of -0.1% and the Japanese government set to continue running budget deficits as far into the future as the eye can see, that means structural reform is likely to take up most of the slack.
Today came an example of the kind of thing Mr Suga may have in mind.
Mobile phone fees have long been a bugbear of the new prime minister.
Two years ago, as chief cabinet secretary, he demanded mobile phone operators cut their charges by as much as 40%. And, while some of the carriers did indeed reduce fees afterwards, Japanese mobile phone charges remain higher than in many other countries.
A survey by the Japanese communications ministry published in July this year revealed that heavy data users in Tokyo pay significantly more than users in five comparable connected cities - New York, London, Paris, Seoul and Dusseldorf.
London's mobile charges were the cheapest of the six.
It prompted further criticism from Mr Suga. During his first news conference after becoming prime minister, he hit out at the three main players, Docomo, KDDI and Softbank.
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