Japan
is
bucking
the
current
austerity
trend
of
other
developed
economies
by
providing
a
strong
fiscal
stimulus
in
conjunction
with
monetary
policy
expansion
with
the
aim
of
reviving
economic
growth
and
curbing
deflationary
trends.
An
increase
of
government
spending
on
infrastructure
and
social
services,
including
health
care
and
education,
has
been
announced,
to
be
accompanied
by
efforts
to
boost
demand
and
structural
policies
oriented
towards
innovation
and
investment.
To
complement
these
efforts,
in
April
2013
the
b
ank
of
Japan
announced
that
it
will
increase
its
purchase
of
government
bonds
and
other
assets
by
50
trillion
yen
per
year
(equivalent
to
10
per
cent
of
Japan’s
GDP)
in
order
to
achieve
an
inflation
target
of
2
per
cent.
o
verall,
these
measures
could
help
maintain
Japan’s
GDP
growth
at
close
to
2
per
cent
in
2013