# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Trading Economics members can view, download and compare data from nearly 200 countries, including more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, government bond yields, stock indexes and commodity prices.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Japan Consumer Price Index (CPI) | 1957-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Consumer Price Index CPI in Japan decreased to 100.90 Index Points in April from 101 Index Points in March of 2018. Consumer Price Index CPI in Japan averaged 71.58 Index Points from 1957 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 101.30 Index Points in January of 2018 and a record low of 17.40 Index Points in February of 1957.

# data[].attributes.body
https://tradingeconomics.com/japan/inflation-cpi

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.japanmacroadvisors.com/page/category/economic-indicators/gdp-and-business-activity/nominal-gdp/

# data[].attributes.body
Japan has hit its lowest unemployment rate in January since 1993, dropping from 2.7% in December to 2.4% in January.
The jobs-to-applicants ratio was 1.59.
Jobless rate is likely to stabilize below 2.5%.
Japan's economy expanded at an annualized 0.5% in October-December, which is the longest continuous expansion since the 1980s.
Why Japan's unemployment rate at its lowest in 25 years.
Japan's labor market conditions remain tight as the economy continues its second-longest expansion cycle in postwar Japan, with companies facing severe labor shortages.
The government's structural reforms have successfully attracted many additional new workers into the work force by encouraging women and elderly citizens to return to the work force, leading to the steady climb of number of people entering the work force.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
TOKYO * Japan's unemployment rate hit a 25-year low in January and job availability stayed at a two-decade high, government data showed yesterday, offering policymakers hope that a strengthening economic recovery will nudge firms into raising wages.

Separate data showed core consumer inflation in Tokyo, a leading indicator of nationwide price trends, accelerated to 0.9 per cent in February from 0.7 per cent in the previous month.

While inflation remains distant from the Bank of Japan's 2 per cent target, yesterday's batch of data underscore the central bank's view that brightening economic prospects and a tight job market will prompt firms to push up prices.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 2.4 per cent in January, down from 2.7 per cent in December and lower than a median market forecast of 2.7 per cent, Internal Affairs ministry data showed. That was the highest level since April 1993, when Japan's economy was still in an asset price bubble.

"We're seeing a pretty big increase in jobs in markets that are expanding. It's in line with Japan's expanding economy," said Societe General Securities chief economist Takuji Aida. "The jobless rate is likely to stabilise below 2.5 per cent and underscore the view Japan is heading towards a sustained exit from deflation."

The jobs-to-applicants ratio was 1.59, unchanged from the previous month and matching the highest since January 1974. The median forecast was for the index to rise to 1.60. The pick-up in Tokyo consumer inflation was driven by rises in hotel and package tour prices, reflecting robust demand from Chinese visitors to the city and Japanese tours to South Korea during the winter Olympic Games, the data showed.

Japan's economy expanded at an annualised 0.5 per cent in October-December, posting its longest continuous expansion since the 1980s boom, thanks to robust capital spending.

But inflation remains distant from the BOJ's 2 per cent target as companies hold off on raising prices and wages, citing uncertainty over the economic outlook.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been pushing companies to raise wages by 3 per cent or more to spur consumer spending, piling pressure on firms to spend their some their huge hoards of cash to broaden the benefits of the strengthening economy.

REUTERS

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Japan's unemployment rate at its lowest in 25 years

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
TOKYO * Japan's unemployment rate hit a 25-year low in January and job availability stayed at a two-decade high, government data showed yesterday, offering policymakers hope that a strengthening economic recovery will nudge firms into raising wages.. Read more at straitstimes.com.

# data[].attributes.body
(1) Your first and second news articles are appropriate. For your third article, find one on Unemployment instead of another article on Inflation again. (Please note maximum of 3 news articles)
(2) To enhance your Padlet wall for the final submission, incorporate a few relevant graphs, charts and pictures. Have a relevant backdrop too, instead of the current one.
(3) Your preliminary analysis is on the right track. However, you would need to do some additional research to add depth to your analysis so that you are not just giving a summary of the articles or just lifting sentences from the articles.
(4) Please list all group members' names in the header.

# data[].attributes.body
Why Japan will never reach its inflation target.
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, remains committed to reaching his inflation-rate target of 2 percent. Kuroda admitted in his recent testimony that wages would have to grow at 3 percent for inflation to hit his target — and he’s not close there, either. In January, workers’ total cash earnings, which include bonuses, inched up a mere 0.7 percent, while base wages rose a pathetic 0.2 percent, even though the unemployment rate is only 2.4 percent. There are 2 possibilities why Japan is not hitting its inflation target. One is that Japan’s economic woes have been widely misdiagnosed. Many economists have argued that Japan’s core problem is deflation, and that only by breaking deflationary expectations could the Bank of Japan convince companies and consumers to invest and spend. The other possibility is that Kuroda has already succeeded in promoting economic growth without hitting the 2 percent target.

Why is Japan's core problem deflation (Christine)
This is because the Japan population have been decreasing, due to strict limitations on immigration and declining birth rates. One major source for economic growth is growth in population. It is also due to the steady inflation of the Japan economy, which is necessary so that there is sufficient capital flow in the economy, which can prevent the economy from stalling. As there the supply for money is more than the demand for money, money loses its value and deflation occurs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Japan will never reach its inflation target | The Japan Times

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If only all our public servants were as devoted as Haruhiko Kuroda. The Bank of Japan governor remains committed to reaching his inflation-rate target of 2 percent, even though five years of unprecedented monetary stimulus haven't gotten him close.

# data[].attributes.body
OECD is the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Estimated 3.9% global growth for 2018 and 2019.
Japan's economy is estimated to grow 1.5% in 2018 and 1.1% in 2019.
Japan faces problems with slow growth wages which affects the policymakers' efforts to put in further momentum into the economy which is at its peak in the last 28 years.
Higher pay would support the Bank of Japan's goal of achieving 2% inflation target.
Financial market took a hit from the fear of a trade war after Donald Trump was elected the US President whom intended to tariff steel and aluminium imports
Eurozone economy will have an expected growth in GDP of 2.3% in 2018 and 2.1% in 2019.
All the estimated growth rates have factored in the tax cuts and spending in the US as well as the heavy exports to Asia and the supplementary budget for fiscal in 2017.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday raised its forecasts for the global economy for 2018 and 2019, factoring in the impact of tax cuts and spending in the United States.

Robust exports to Asia and the effect of a supplementary budget for fiscal 2017 through March will help support Japan's economic growth, the OECD said as it lifted its forecasts for the world's third biggest economy also for both years.

"The world economy will continue to strengthen over the next two years," the OECD said. "Stronger investment, the rebound in global trade and higher employment are helping to make the recovery increasingly broad-based."

In its interim economic outlook report, the OECD projects 3.9 percent global growth for 2018 and 2019, up from the November forecasts of 3.7 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.

Japan's economy will likely grow 1.5 percent this year before slowing to 1.1 percent next year. The Paris-based organization had expected growth to be 1.2 percent in 2018 and 1.0 percent in 2019.

Despite the upward revisions, the OECD said private consumption in Japan could be subdued if wage and income growth are modest. Slow growth in the wage base poses a challenge to policymakers trying to inject further momentum into an economy now in its best run of expansion in 28 years.

Higher pay increases would support the Bank of Japan's still elusive goal of attaining its 2 percent inflation target, according to economists.

"In Japan, where underlying inflation and inflation expectations remain low, current stimulus measures need to be continued to help achieve the inflation target," the OECD said.

Globally, the OECD expects a modest increase in inflation amid tightening labor markets, which will reduce dependence on accommodative monetary policy. Trade protectionism, however, remains a "key risk" to the world economy, according to the report.

"Safeguarding the rules-based international trading system is essential to prevent the longer-term harm to growth prospects that could arise from a retreat from open markets," it said.

Financial markets have been hit by fears of a trade war following U.S. President Donald Trump's move to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

The latest report lifted growth forecasts for the U.S. and eurozone economies. The world's largest economy is expected to grow 2.9 percent this year and 2.8 percent next year.

The eurozone economy will likely see a robust and broad-based expansion, with growth in gross domestic product estimated at 2.3 percent this year and 2.1 percent next year.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
OECD upgrades global and Japan growth outlooks for 2018 and 2019 | The Japan Times

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday raised its forecasts for the global economy for 2018 and 2019, factoring in the impact of tax cuts and spending in the United States.