Japan on Friday published a string of mostly weak data, the first major figures since news that the world’s number three economy had slipped back into recession.
A key inflation gauge showed prices fell in October from a year ago, while consumer spending fell 2.4 percent from the same month a year earlier, and average incomes fell 0.9 percent.
In response to the recent weakness, Abe on Friday ordered his government to draft an extra stimulus budget.
The economy dipped into a brief recession last year after consumers tightened their belts following an increase in Japan’s consumption tax, which dealt a blow to signs that Abe’s bid to spur the once-stellar economy was working.
That downturn spurred the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to sharply increase its already massive bond-buying programme — a cornerstone of Abenomics — effectively printing money to boost lending.
While Tokyo’s efforts sharply weakened the yen — beefing up firms’ profits — and stoked a stock market rally, its impact on an economy beset by years of deflation has been less convincing.
The figures on Friday showed that core inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, fell 0.1 percent in October, marking the third consecutive monthly decline
