Ishiba cool on Abenomics, pragmatic and a bit of a mystery

Prime Minsiter Shigeru Ishiba will be more like former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida than former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as head of the government, analysts argue.

He is also seen as a pragmatist willing to compromise. After news of his victory resulted in two days of market turmoil, he quickly offered remarks that suggest a more nuanced view and a more balanced approach.

“It seems that Ishiba’s economic policy will be a package of following Kishida’s path and departing from Abenomics,” Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute, wrote in a column Monday.