Abenomics is in poor health after Nikkei slide -- and it may be terminal

The intention was for a weak yen to push up corporate earnings and help generate inflation by raising import prices; instead, companies are now cutting earnings forecasts as speculation mounts that Japan will again intervene to rein in the yen's surge.

In recent weeks, slumping oil costs and soft consumer spending -- the driving force behind 60% of Japan's economic activity -- have brought inflation to a halt. Official data released last month showed that Japan's inflation rate came in at 0.5% in 2015, way below the Bank of Japan's 2% target, as the government struggled to convince cautious firms to usher in big wage rises to stir spending and drive up prices.

In response, the Bank of Japan extended the deadline for achieving its 2% inflation target to the first half of the fiscal year 2017, from its previous estimate of the second half of fiscal 2016.