REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (OAP)

Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar

Japan - Economic Outlook and Policy Priorities

Pre-COVID-19 economic policies under “Abenomics” helped ease financial conditions, exit deflation, and raise labor market participation, but fell short on the deep reforms needed to raise productivity and achieve inclusive and sustainable growth. The Japanese economy is now recovering from the pandemic amid strong policy support that has helped to mitigate the downturn. Ranil Salgado, the IMF’s mission chief for Japan, discussed current economic developments, the outlook, and policy priorities for Japan, drawing on the recent IMF-Japan Article IV consultations and analytical work. The virtual seminar was jointly hosted by the IMF Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and the Policy Research Institute of the Ministry of Finance Japan. 110 people from 15 countries from Asia and beyond participated in the virtual seminar.

Agenda:

Reference: Japan: 2022 Article IV Staff Report

Speakers:

• 

  Ranil Salgado is an Assistant Director in the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department (APD) and the IMF’s mission chief to Japan. He currently also supervises work on the Maldives, Samoa, and Tonga. Among his previous roles in APD, he served as the mission chief to India, the Marshall Islands, Myanmar, and Nepal, as well as chief of the Regional Studies Division and the IMF Resident Representative in Singapore. He has been in the IMF for over 25 years, including in the Western Hemisphere; Research; and Strategy, Policy, and Review Departments. Prior to joining the IMF, he worked in a strategy management consulting firm and as teaching and research assistants at the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. He attended the University of Pennsylvania (masters & PhD in economics), along with Harvard University (undergraduate in chemistry) and Cambridge University (masters in biochemistry).

• 

  Tokuo Iwaisako is a professor at Institute of Economic Research (IER), Hitotsubashi University. He also teaches finance and macroeconomics at Hitotsubashi's Department of Economics and Business School.  In April 2022, he was appointed to the Director of the Center for Intergenerational Studies at IER.  He served as the President of Nippon Finance Association (2018-2020) and held the position of Principal Economist at the Institute of Policy Research, Ministry of Finance, Japan from April 2009 to March 2011. Professor Iwaisako earned his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University in 1997. He received his B.A. from Hitotsubashi University in 1990.