After 10 years of promising to give the long-suffering Japanese “salaryman” a sizeable raise, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) claims 2024 will be the year the rubber finally hits the economic road.

In the 12 months ahead, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s party says, per capita income will rise an average of 3.8 per cent on a combination of wage gains and lower taxes. That, importantly, would have incomes advancing faster than inflation, putting Japan on track for the virtuous circle of increased demand and prosperity the LDP has been selling since 2013.