Akira Amari, minister for economic and fiscal policy, has so much on his plate that all of his titles don¡¯t fit on his business card. He¡¯s also the minister in charge of economic revitalization and reforming social security and taxes, and the head negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.
Sitting in his central Tokyo office across the street from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe¡¯s office, Amari furrowed his brow as he considered his challenge: overturning decades-old regulations and spurring investment to revive the world¡¯s third-biggest economy.
Abe, whose Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in a landslide December election victory, is unleashing the most sweeping overhaul in a generation to end 15 years of deflation and spark growth. He announced a ?10.3 trillion spending boost in January. In April, Haruhiko Kuroda, his handpicked Bank of Japan governor, pledged unprecedented monetary easing to double the amount of money circulating in the economy.
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