[New Year Interview] Who is Ito Motoshige? ... The Japanese Economist Behind the Design of Abenomics

2024 Economic Diagnosis Expert Interview ③
Professor It? Motoshige, University of Tokyo

Professor Ito Motoshige, Emeritus Professor at the University of Tokyo, is a leading scholar in the field of international economics representing Japan. He has served as an economic advisor in successive cabinets from Prime Minister Mori Yoshir? to former Prime Minister Abe. He graduated from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Economics in 1974, earned his doctorate from the University of Rochester in the United States, and served as a member of the 'Economic Strategy Council' under the Obuchi Cabinet and the 'IT Strategy Council' under the Mori Cabinet.

Professor It? Motoshige, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo
[Image source: Provided by Professor It? Motoshige]

Professor Ito is also well-known as the architect behind Japan's monetary policy foundation for 10 years, which designed 'Abenomics.' He was appointed as a private member of the Economic and Fiscal Policy Advisory Council under the Abe Cabinet, providing the theoretical basis for the Abe administration's overall macroeconomic planning. Furthermore, he judged that for Japan to escape deflation, household consumption and corporate investment needed to increase, leading to four rounds of corporate tax cuts during former Prime Minister Abe's tenure.

Ten years after the implementation of Abenomics, Professor Ito believes that Japan has experienced both benefits and drawbacks. While the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) low-interest-rate policy helped stimulate the previously stagnant demand in the Japanese economy, corporate investment did not increase as much as expected, limiting economic growth. However, he gave a positive assessment, noting that in 2023, a trend of 'escaping deflation' was observed in the Japanese economy.