E66: Japan General Election and Macro Implications
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Japan's recent lower house election delivered a strong mandate for Prime Minister Takaichi's agenda reducing political uncertainty and boosting investor confidence in the nation's economic stability and future growth
- Citi maintains a bullish outlook on Japanese equities, anticipating growth strategies fiscal discipline and domestic investment in AI and semiconductors to drive the Nikkei 225 to 65,000 yen
- Key areas to monitor include the finalization of Japan's economic growth strategy by summer specifics of capital expenditure incentives and the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decisions
Erica Poon Werkun, Head of Research for JANA and Asia South at Citi, discusses Prime Minister Takaichi's "Sanaenomics" agenda and its macro implications with Ryota Sakagami, Japan Equity Strategist, and Tomohisa Fujiki, Japan G10 Rate Strategist. Topics covered include the outlook for Japanese equities, growth strategies and fiscal risks, and the monetary-policy path.
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Erica Poon Werkun, Head of Research for JANA & Asia South
Erica joined Citi during June 2025 as JANA and Asia South Deputy Head of Research and became the Interim Head of Research for JANA & Asia South in September 2025. She was Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific Research at Credit Suisse from 2019 to 2024 and previously worked at UBS for 15 years, as Head of Research in China, and before that as Head of Asian Consumer & Internet Research. Before joining UBS, she was at Goldman Sachs covering the Consumer and Technology sectors in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Erica also worked in technology investment banking for CSFB in Palo Alto and Hong Kong, and Cowen in New York and San Francisco. Erica holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, is a board member of the Wharton Executive Board for Asia and is a recipient of the Individual Achievement Award for Women in Finance Asia.
Ryota Sakagami, Japan Equity Strategist
Ryota Sakagami is the Equity Strategist for Japan, as well as the Deputy Head of Japan Research and leader of Citi’s ESG research efforts in Japan. He joined the firm in May 2022. Prior to joining Citi, Ryota was Head of Japan Equity Strategy at JPMorgan Securities and Co-Head of Japan ESG & Sustainability in its Markets Research Division. He became the Chief Japan Equity Strategist at JPMorgan in August 2016. Before joining JPMorgan, Ryota was the Chief Japan Equity Strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities from 2011-2016. He began his career at Nomura Research Institute as an Economist in 2002.
Tomohisa Fujiki, Japan G10 Rates Strategist
Tomohisa Fujiki joined Citi Research in 2016 as G10 Rates Strategist for Japan. Prior to joining Citi, Tomohisa was Head of Interest Rate Strategy for Japan at BNP Paribas, where he published on G10 rates markets as well as a wide variety of economic, financial, and cross-currency topics. Prior to that, he covered yen rates products as an interest rate strategist at Morgan Stanley in Japan.
