Front Matter Page
IMF Country Report No. 18/334
JAPAN
SELECTED ISSUES
November 2018
This Selected Issues paper on Japan was prepared by a staff team of the International Monetary Fund as background documentation for the periodic consultation with the member country. It is based on the information available at the time it was completed on November 6, 2018.
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© 2018 International Monetary Fund
Front Matter Page
JAPAN
SELECTED ISSUES
November 6, 2018
Approved By
Asia and Pacific Department
Prepared by a team led by Paul Cashin and Todd Schneider, with individual chapters authored by Mariana Colacelli, Gee Hee Hong, Anh Le, Kazuaki Miyachi, Masahiro Nozaki, Niklas Westelius (all APD), Kenichiro Kashiwase, Naoko Miake (both OAP), Fei Han (MCM), Aqib Aslam and Adrian Peralta-Alva (both FAD).
Contents
THE IMPACT OF CONSUMPTION TAX INCREASES AND THEIR POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR JAPAN
A. Introduction
B. Impact of VAT Rate Increases on the Japanese Economy
C. Japan: Policy Changes and Uncertainty
D. Cross-country Evidence on VAT Rate Increases
E. Conclusion and Policy Implications
References
FINANCING THE COSTS OF JAPAN’S DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION
A. Introduction
B. Framework of Analysis
C. Financing Options
D. Complementary Reform Options
E. Conclusions
References:
INEQUALITY IN JAPAN: GENERATIONAL, GENDER, AND REGIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
A. Introduction
B. Inequality and Generations
C. Inequality and Gender
D. Regional Inequality
E. Findings and Policy Discussion
References
JAPAN—MACROECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF AUTOMATION
A. Introduction
B. Overview of Automation and its Prospects in Japan
C. Industrial Robots and Their Impacts on Productivity and Labor Market
D. Automation in the Services Sector of Japan
E. Macroeconomic Implications of Automation with a Declining Labor Force
F. Policy Implications
References
UNDERSTANDING WAGE GROWTH IN JAPAN
A. Cyclical and Structural Drivers of Wage Growth in Japan
B. Estimating Wage Phillips Curves Augmented with Structural Drivers
C. Conclusion
References
WHAT DRIVES RAPID YEN APPRECIATIONS?
A. Main Drivers of Short-run Yen Dynamics
B. Three Distinct Episodes of Large and Rapid Yen Appreciations
C. Disentangling Exchange Rate Drivers Using a VAR Model
D. Results
E. Conclusions
References
JAPAN—OPTIONS FOR HEALTHCARE REFORM
A. Introduction
B. Japan’s Healthcare System in Perspective
C. Fiscal Dimensions of an Aging Population and Healthcare Spending
D. Potential Reform Options and Future Health Spending
E. Conclusions
References