"In 2013, newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a broad set of reforms intended to remedy over two decades of abysmal economic growth, near-zero interest rates, burgeoning levels of domestic and foreign debt, and blunted productivity amongst firms. Dubbed Abenomics, the reforms took a three-pronged approach that encompassed loose fiscal policy, easy monetary policy, and structural reform. Each feature targeted specific weaknesses: loose fiscal policy to boost consumer spending, easy monetary policy to curb decades of deflation, and structural reform to facilitate innovation in the corporate sector and increase Japanese competitiveness. These responses were and remain intimately connected; low interest rates and easy money are unlikely to boost aggregate demand if consumption taxes are elevated, and profitable ideas can’t introduce competition into the Japanese economy if the real cost of capital remains unreasonably high due to deflation."