Sinking in Polls, Japan’s Leader Renews Unorthodox Inflation Bet
- Kishida uses fiscal stimulus, yen intervention to ease pain
- Higher interest rates would raise government borrowing costs
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Japanese leader Fumio Kishida has seen his approval rating plummet of late along with the yen. But he’s sticking with his world-defying bet on loose monetary policy even as voter dissatisfaction grows.
Support for Kishida’s year-old cabinet has slumped to below 30%, roughly half of what it was six months ago, mostly due to a public uproar over his ruling party’s links with a fringe church that were exposed after the July murder of Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. Kishida announced a probe into the organization this week in a bid to quash the scandal.