“To get an idea of how Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is faring in his quest to lift his country out of two decades of stagnation, look no further than the skirts of the girl group Machikado Keiki Japan.  The band, whose name translates roughly as ‘street corner economic conditions’, became a bellwether for the health of the world’s third biggest economy earlier this year when they promised to shorten their skirts every time the country’s stock market made significant gains. Their debut single, Abeno Mix – complete with unlikely singalong references to quantitative easing and construction bonds – takes its cue from Abenomics.”