Japan, Japan, Wherefore Art Thou?

Hi everyone. Just to say that I have been a bit erratic recently since I have had a lot of work on my plate, and a lot of concentration to be doing. I hope sometime soon I will have some results from this to show here.

Meanwhile the Japanese economy has been far from idle. Japans labour market continues to tighten:

The closely watched jobs-to-applicants ratio rose to 1.00 in December - meaning there were as many jobs as applicants - from November’s 0.99. It’s the first time the figure had reached this level since September 1992.

The number underlined the recent improvement in Japan’s labour market, as companies respond to expectations of higher demand by increasing hiring.

Is this labour market tightening good news in Japan's case though? Aha! That is the question. Claus Vistessen has a very much to the point post which touches on all the principal issues.