Japan Q1 Capex Stalls as Iran War Weighs, GDP Downgrade Risk Rises

📉 TOKYO — Japan's investment engine is freezing while its energy lifeline stays shut. 📌 LOOK CLOSER: Japan imports ~90% of its oil through Hormuz. Capex stalling in Q1 reflects corporate uncertainty repricing energy costs and supply chain exposure simultaneously. A GDP downgrade feeds yen pressure and reduces Japan's fiscal room to absorb prolonged strait closure. Tokyo's quiet pressure on Washington to close the MOU now has a GDP number behind it.