Japan Economist, Japan Macro Advisors

Takuji Okubo

Takuji Okubo is the Managing Director and Chief Economist of Japan Macro Advisors, an independent macro-research boutique he founded in 2012, specializing in the Japanese economy and its public policies. He has over two decades of experience covering Japan macro, beginning his career as an economist at Goldman Sachs Tokyo in 1997 before moving to Merrill Lynch and then Société Générale, where he served as Chief Economist Japan. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and an MSc in Economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona). In 2022, he co-authored Japan Risk, in Search for a Strategy to Survive with former Bank of Japan Vice-Governor Hiroshi Nakaso.

Japan Economist

Behind the Curve Is A Real Risk for the BoJ

Concise and Insightful Analysis on Japan Economy

Japan Macro Advisors

Our mission is to provide a concise and timely analysis on the Japanese economy for the benefit of global audiences. Communication, especially in foreign languages, has always been a weakness for the Japanese, which was fine when Japan's economic might attracted foreign media and various other institutions to study and report on Japan - such days are long gone. In the last two decades, we saw foreign institutions reallocating their resources from Japan to other more exciting parts of the world. As a result, when we read reporting on Japan in foreign media, we sense a subtle but noticeable decline in the depth of understanding what is actually happening in Japan.

Macroeconomics

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316 JP)

<ul>
<li>No monetary policy signal. Himino's speech was entirely focused on digital finance and payment system architecture. This reduces the probability of a June rate hike, in my view.</li>
<li>He described Scott Bessent's stablecoin vision as designed to "induce people around the world to finance the US fiscal deficit", taking a mild jab at the credibility of US dollar.  </li>
<li>Japan will not follow the US toward lighter-touch crypto regulation. Himino's explicit reference to anonymity of crypto use as a "problematic motive" signals his weariness about crypto.  </li>
</ul>


No monetary policy signal. Himino's speech was entirely focused on digital finance and payment system architecture. This reduces the probability of a June rate hike, in my view.
He described Scott Bessent's stablecoin vision as designed to "induce people around the world to finance the US fiscal deficit", taking a mild jab at the credibility of US dollar.  
Japan will not follow the US toward lighter-touch crypto regulation. Himino's explicit reference to anonymity of crypto use as a "problematic motive" signals his weariness about crypto.  


Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MUFG) ADR (MUFG US)

BoJ Himino: A Blunt Critique of US Digital Finance Strategy