As one of Asia’s giant economies, Japan’s struggle to get out from its third recession in four years may prove to be harder than it imagined and much of it is due to the misguided policies of its Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. His Abenomics package — once his most shining virtue, which promised a strong stimulus programme and robust structural reforms to revitalise Japan’s ailing economy — now seems to have lost its lustre. That is perhaps the reason why he has decided to call for fresh elections less than half way through his term, a strategy that is being seen as a pre-emptive move by Abe to salvage whatever is left of his appeal before things get worse. The lethal blow he delivered to Japan’s economy in April through sales tax hikes effectively plunged the country into recession and now, Abe seems to be offering his people a last-minute renewal of faith in his policies by postponing the second sales tax hike to 2017. But it is a paradox he is courting. If Japan’s economy has to lift, government expenditure has to be cut and taxes raised, which would further burden the populace already bent under Japan’s prolonged deflation and competition from other Asian economies. With a belligerent opposition, an ageing population, record government debt and an acute absence of his promised structural reforms, Abe is increasingly disinvesting his people of their faith in his ability to deliver. Under the circumstances, even if he wins the elections, it will not be the end of trouble either for him or for Japan’s economy.