A Tokyo Emergency Will Be a Bad Omen for the World
Forecasts of a strong 2021 for the global economy proliferated in late 2020. That will need to be scrutinized as Japan struggles.
Reflecting the problems of the rest of the world’s top economies.
Photographer: Philip Fong/AFP
There’s more at stake in Tokyo’s prospective emergency measures to contain the coronavirus than the fate of the metropolis’s great bars and restaurants. Bullish scenarios for a muscular global economic rebound may have to be reassessed.
The International Monetary Fund has penciled in world growth of 5.2%, and a 6.9% boost for Asia. Morgan Stanley predicted a global gain of 6.4%. But Japan may be heading for a renewed contraction after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday he’s considering declaring a state of emergency in the capital and surrounding districts. The steps may slice 0.7% from gross domestic product each month they are in force, according to Bloomberg Economics.