The economic policies of Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe – dubbed ‘Abenomics’ – aim to reinvigorate the country's economy and end its long period of deflation. The short-term effects of Abenomics, however, have been a mixed blessing for Japan’s retirees, whose investment needs are evolving. As Japan’s financial institutions adjust to these changes, they are also adapting to the longer term structural shifts from the country’s ageing population.
“Japan is leading with these ageing issues and many countries will face them after us,” says Kazuhiro Higashi, president of Resona Holdings. He argues that Japan is not an ageing society – it has already aged, he says. “Banks need to change their business to accommodate the changes that are happening."
