In April the Bank of Japan embarked on a "shock and awe" mission to banish deflation with a radical monetary easing.
A succession of awful data has pummelled his economic programme, which consists of three "arrows": a radical monetary easing, a big fiscal stimulus and a series of structural reforms.
Mr Abe's solution to Japan's economic woes has been to ratchet up spending on public works and to direct the Bank of Japan to embark on a radical monetary easing.
It is one thing to keep costs low, quite another to forgo receptionists, as the GPIF does at its non-descript office in Tokyo.For Mr Abe, geeing up the fund is part of his plan to revive Japan's economy, alongside a radical monetary easing which the Bank of Japan began in earnest in April 2013.
Then, after months of euphoria, at the end of May, bond-market jitters about the radical easing plans helped to spark a sell-off in shares.
The first two arrows of radical easing by the central bank and increased government spending gave the anemic economy a quick shot in the arm, mainly by driving down the yen, which benefited electronics companies and other exporters by making their products less expensive abroad.
The Fed's decision to trim quantitative easing by $10 billion a month marks a radical change in monetary policy from the world's biggest economy.
Yet this daily struggle could soon be eased thanks to a radical new venture that promises to help people with chronic health problems manage their conditions at the workplace.
Stevens's plan talks of a "radical upgrade in prevention and public health" to ease the burden of disease.
