The prime minister's efforts to cheapen the yen, and volatile markets, partly explain the lull, but the case for going abroad remains strong.

That has cast doubts over Abe's signature reflationist polices, which he's pushed since his election in 2012 and include efforts to cheapen the yen.

While the theory was that Japan would cheapen the yen and corporations would take the profits and increase production and employment, the reality was different.