The Defense Agency was rightly renamed the Defense Ministry giving the body greater policy planning functions when an environment for the peace and security of Japan is under significant threat posed by such as missile launches and nuclear weapons tests by North Korea as well as frequent terrorist attacks all over the world.
Personal consumption is still weak because longtime deflation has influence over consumer sentiment. Diminishing tax cut effect and increasing social security cost burden on households may be another negative factor. However, business is picking up. Companies enjoy large profit and distribute the gain to the employees. Summer and winter bonuses for them have been on the increase for the past two years. The statistics speak.