| Feb 15 | Japan just ahead of China as number two economy in 2009 (tradingroom.com.au) |
| Japan retained its title as the world's number two economy in 2009, ahead of China, extending a recovery from a brutal recession with a robust fourth-quarter performance, data showed on Monday. But China, which grew a blistering 8.7 per cent last year, came close to unseating its neighbour from the position it has held for more than 40 years. Japan's economy grew 1.1 per cent in October-December from the previous quarter, for an annualised pace of 4.6 per cent, the government reported. For the whole of 2009, Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 5.0 per cent as exports and factory output collapsed during the global economic downturn, the data showed. |
| Feb 15 | Frustration with Japan's data runs deep (FT.com) |
| Frustration with the inconsistency of Japan's growth data runs so deep that Masamichi Adachi, a JP Morgan economist, is only half joking when he compares a recent "unbelievably large" revision of estimated GDP with the notorious numbers produced by a certain Mediterranean nation. "This kind of revision reminds me of what's happening in Greece with the fiscal data," Mr Adachi says. Such comparisons may be overly cruel on Tokyo's honest and hard-working state statisticians, but there is no doubt that the slicing of a full 3.5 percentage points from the annualised growth rate they first reported for the third quarter of 2009 has highlighted the failings of the world's second-largest economy's most-watched indicator. |
| Feb 14 | China's economic rise has silver lining for Japan (AsiaOne) |
| China is on the verge of unseating Japan as the world's number two economy, but student Shi Minfei is one reason why Beijing's rapid growth is not all bad news for its deflation-hit neighbour. With Japan's consumers keeping a tight hold on their purse strings, leaving the country as reliant as ever on exports, Chinese tourists like Shi are a rare example of good news for the country's long-suffering retailers. |
| Feb 14 | Bill likely to lift ceiling on postal bank deposits (Yomiuri) |
| The government is making final arrangements to abolish the 10 million yen limit on the amount of postal savings that can be held by each depositor, through a postal reform bill it will submit to the current Diet session. The government's plan is to lift the ceiling three years from now. As a provisional measure until it is removed, the government intends to raise the limit to 30 million yen, government sources said. |
| Feb 12 | Japan's Kamei: Japan Post could buy more US bonds (Reuters) |
| Japanese Banking Minister Shizuka Kamei said on Friday that Japan Post, the huge government-owned postal and financial conglomerate, could buy more U.S. Treasuries as one way to reduce its current heavy focus on domestic government debt. Japan Post is the largest holder of Japanese government bonds and a big move to diversify by its two financial units -- Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance -- could rattle the government bond market at a time when the national debt is nearing 200 percent of the country's gross domestic product. |
| Feb 12 | Japan Economy Probably Grew Most in Almost Two Years (BusinessWeek) |
| Japan's economy probably grew at the fastest pace since the first quarter of 2008 as a global trade revival fueled demand for the nation's exports. Nissan Motor Co. and Canon Inc. are among companies benefiting from stronger global demand as countries poured more than $2 trillion into their economies to spur growth. Those gains have failed to reach consumers at home, where wages are tumbling and household outlays have been propped up by government incentives that are starting to wear off. |
| Feb 11 | Japan Inc woes mirror nation's economic malaise (AFP) |
 Japan's corporate titans once seemed unstoppable, but now Toyota is in crisis, Japan Airlines is bankrupt and a host of other companies are in trouble, adding to the nation's long economic malaise.
Its top two automakers, Toyota and Honda, are both reeling from massive safety recalls and another Japanese manufacturer has admitted to faking safety data for 150,000 aircraft seats.
The myriad problems have prompted observers to question just what happened to Japan's technological prowess.
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| Feb 10 | Japan's deflation pledges lose currency (Asia Times) |
| Japanese Finance Minister Naota Kan and Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa pledged on Tuesday to reverse the country's deflation, for years the scourge of the economy, with Kan setting a goal of "two to three years" for "signs of being out" of the era of declining prices. That is a long wait for the crowd of job seekers that gathers daily at the "Hello Work" employment service agency in the Ota-ku district of Tokyo, one of its 545 outlets around Japan. |
| Feb 10 | Japan's 2009 core machinery orders drop sharpest ever 26.9% (AP) |
| Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell by a sharpest ever seasonally adjusted 26.9 percent in 2009 from the previous year, adding to signs of weakness in corporate capital spending amid the global economic downturn, government data showed Wednesday. The core orders, which exclude volatile ones such as those for ships and from electric utilities, stood at 8.48 trillion yen for the 12 months through December, the lowest among comparable data available since 1988. |
| Feb 10 | Open up to Asia or be shut out of Asian growth (Asahi) |
| In Japanese business circles, one often hears the phrase, "to incorporate Asian growth." It is used to imply that the Japanese economy and businesses need to strengthen their presence in the expanding Asian market if they want to bolster their own growth. The government's new growth strategy also touches on that need, and accordingly, many companies are expanding their business in Asia. That's probably the right choice, as the potential for domestic growth inevitably weakens as the population shrinks. |
| Feb 10 | Japan seeks bigger say on global accounting rules (moneycontrol.com) |
| Tokyo will likely drop its insistence on using its own accounting rules and instead adopt international standards, but it wants more say in writing the rules so they reflect Japanese business practices. Now asserting itself on rule-making, over which the European Union and the United States have long held sway, Japan is also aiming to build a coalition among Asian-Pacific countries, an industry official said. Japanese companies can voluntarily use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) - followed in over 100 countries including the European Union, but not the United States - from this year. |
| Feb 09 | Japan's debt woes are overstated (FT.com) |
| Is Japan, mired in debt and deflation, the next Greece? Even its financial services minister has suggested that Japan Post, the giant bank his ministry oversees, should diversify out of Japanese government bonds. Instead, he suggested it could buy corporate bonds and - of all things - US Treasuries. Those incendiary comments came just as Standard & Poor's, alarmed at escalating debt levels and sluggish growth, warned that it might lower Japan's credit rating. But talk of a massive JGB bubble - let alone default - is farfetched. Certainly, Japan is not in the rudest of fiscal health. |
| Feb 08 | Japanese bank lending declines most in four years (BusinessWeek) |
| Japanese bank lending fell by the most in more than four years in January as some companies deferred capital investments and others turned to bond markets to raise funds. Lending, excluding loans by credit associations, dropped 1.7 percent last month from a year earlier, the largest decline since September 2005, the Bank of Japan said today. The drop, amid a five-year low in demand for loans, compares with a 1.2 percent contraction in December. |
| Feb 08 | 2009 current account surplus down 18%, 2nd straight yearly fall (AP) |
| Japan's current account surplus shrank 18.9 percent in 2009 from the previous year to 13.28 trillion yen for the second straight year of contraction as surplus in the income account declined on lower interest rates around the world, the Finance Ministry said Monday. The surplus in the income account, which covers such items as returns from Japanese investments in overseas securities, contracted 22.2 percent in the 12 months through December to 12.32 trillion yen, the ministry said in a preliminary report. |
| Feb 06 | Forex reserves rose in January (Japan Times) |
| Foreign-exchange reserves at the end of January rose $ 3.67 billion from a month earlier to $ 1.053 trillion, up for the first time in two months to hit the third-highest level on record, the government said Friday. The Finance Ministry said the reserves increased due to gains in the value of its holdings in U.S. Treasury bonds as stock markets weakened globally and led to a flow of funds into the bond market, although euro-denominated assets declined as the European currency fell against the dollar. |
| Feb 05 | Japan's key economic index up for 9th straight month in December (AP) |
| Japan's key economic gauge rose 1.6 points in December from the previous month for the ninth straight month of growth on improvement in labor and industrial production-related readings, the government said Friday. The composite index of coincident economic indicators stood at 97.6 against the 2005 base of 100, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary report. |
| Feb 04 | Economic crisis looms for Japan amid financial and manufacturing problems (Washington Post) |
| It's been a humbling few days for Japan. Toyota, the nation's largest company, announced vehicle recalls on three continents and shut down five assembly plants in the United States, and its president told the world, "We're extremely sorry." Standard & Poor's threatened to downgrade the Japanese government's credit rating because Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is moving too slowly to reduce the debt. |
| Feb 02 | Sluggish economy leaves many Japanese in the cold (Reuters) |
| The global economy may be on the mend, but times are still tough for the masses of homeless, jobless people in Tokyo, where the only meal of the day is often a bowl of rice handed out by charities. Although Japan's export-driven economy is back on track, largely due to rising demand from Asia, the United Nations said its recovery was slower than other countries, and predicted only 0.9 percent growth in 2010 compared to 8.8 percent for China and 2.1 percent for the United States. This sluggish growth, combined with troubles at giant corporations in the world's second-biggest economy, has made earning a living very difficult for scores of Japanese. |
| Feb 01 | Think tanks estimate Japan's GDP grew annualized 3.7% in Oct.-Dec. (AP) |
| The Japanese economy in the October-December period is estimated to have grown 0.9 percent from the previous quarter, or an annualized 3.7 percent, marking a fourth consecutive quarterly expansion, according to the average of forecasts released by eight major private-sector economic research institutes by Monday. The average projection for real gross domestic product growth is much larger than the quarter-to-quarter expansion of 0.3 percent, equivalent to an annualized 1.3 percent, posted in the July-September quarter of 2009. |
| Feb 01 | Japan, Mexico to work toward success of climate talks, revamp FTA (AP) |
| Japan and Mexico agreed Monday to work toward the success of the next key U.N. climate conference to be held in the Latin American country later this year and revamp their bilateral free trade agreement to further promote trade and investment. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and visiting Mexican President Felipe Calderon said in a joint statement that the two countries support the Copenhagen Accord, which was agreed upon during the last U.N. climate meeting in the Danish capital, and call on other countries to work for swift implementation of the pact. |
| Feb 01 | Corporate pension age 'to rise to 65' (Yomiuri) |
| The government will raise the eligibility age for a corporate, defined contribution pension plan from the current 60 to 65, chiefly in response to an increase in the number of employees working past the standard retirement age of 60, sources said. Should the eligibility age be raised for the plan--a Japanese version of the U.S. 401K corporate pension plan--the accumulation period for financial contributions would be extended, thereby increasing the amount that pensioners could receive during retirement. |
| Jan 30 | On menu in Japan: Beef bowl with side of deflation (New York Times) |
 The broiled meat is tender and the rice is silky-smooth at beef bowl restaurants. But as Japan's economic recovery falters, beef bowls have come to symbolize one of its most pressing woes: deflation. Japan's big three beef bowl restaurant chains, the country's answer to hamburger giants like McDonald's, are locked in a high-stakes price war. It is a sign, many people say, of the dire state of Japan's economy that even dirt-cheap beef bowl restaurants must slash their already low prices to keep customers.
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| Jan 30 | Fewer migrated to big cities in '09 (Yomiuri) |
| The recession apparently contributed to stagnation in the growth of population moving into Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka in 2009, according to an Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry report released Friday. In total, 104,369 more people moved into the nation's major urban regions of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and their adjacent areas than who moved out in 2009. But the figure was down 49,709 from the previous year, with only the Tokyo region actually marking an increase in population through migration. |
| Jan 29 | Tackling deflation in Japan (The Economist) |
| THE situation has "completely changed," says an ebullient Keisuke Tsumura, an elected official in the newish government's Cabinet Office. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) "has redefined its understanding of price stability. Some market participants now regard it as de facto inflation-targeting." That would be something to get excited about. Since the start of Japan's deflationary era in 1999, the BoJ has stoutly resisted calls to set an inflation target against which it can be judged - and by which it can be embarrassed if it misses. Its inflation objective is defined in the loosest terms, as a rate between zero and 2%, with no time-frame to achieve it and no penalty for failure. |
| Jan 29 | Japan's jobless rate down, but prices keep falling (AP) |
| Japan's government says unemployment declined slightly and prices fell further in December. The unemployment rate eased to 5.1 percent from 5.2 percent in November. The number of jobless rose more than 17 percent from a year earlier to 3.2 million, while the number of employed people declined 1.7 percent to 62.2 million. |
| Jan 27 | Japan's exports rebound on strong Chinese demand (AFP) |
 Japan's exports rose year-on-year for the first time in 15 months in December, helped by strong demand from booming China, which has become the biggest buyer of Japanese goods, data showed Wednesday.
Japan posted a trade surplus for an 11th straight month, calming worries that its economic recovery from the worst recession in decades is faltering due to renewed deflation and weak domestic demand.
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| Jan 27 | Japan's temps may get new deal, of sorts (Asia Times) |
| The haken issue has aroused strong passions about the future direction of Japanese labor practices and the shape of society in general. Firms claim they need flexible employment to survive and prosper. Advocates for workers argue that without respect and stability, the workforce cannot survive humanely or afford to raise families. The treatment of haken workers is the visible tip of a much larger iceberg of unstable, non-regular employment. |
| Jan 27 | Japan's debt at risk. Is U.S. next? (CNN) |
| Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's raised the prospect of a downgrade in Japan's sovereign debt rating Tuesday. That's reigniting fears that the U.S. could be next. The agency said it is concerned about large deficits and a sluggish growth outlook in Japan -- which currently ranks as the world's No. 2 economy. S&P lowered its outlook on Japan's debt to negative from stable. The reduced outlook signals the risk of an actual downgrade in its debt in the future. S&P's rating on Japan's debt is AA, one step below its best possible rating. |
| Jan 27 | Jobs may outweigh raises in wage talks (Japan Times) |
| Annual wage talks started Tuesday with the focus on whether to maintain periodic pay hikes or prioritize job security amid the prolonged slump. In the "shunto" spring labor talks, in which representatives of employers and employees negotiate wages and other labor conditions for the forthcoming fiscal year, Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), said, "The survival and success of businesses and employment security should be top priority." |
| Jan 26 | Japan's debt rating could be cut (CNN) |
 Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's raised the prospect of a downgrade in Japan's sovereign debt rating Tuesday.
The agency said it is concerned about large deficits and a sluggish growth outlook for what has been the world's No. 2 economy. S&P lowered its outlook on Japan's debt to negative from stable. The reduced outlook signals the risk of an actual downgrade in its debt in the future. S&P's rating on Japan's debt is AA, one step below its best possible rating.
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| Jan 26 | Japan registers 25% emissions cut goal under Copenhagen Accord (AP) |
| Japan on Tuesday registered with the United Nations its goal of slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 on the condition that all major emitters commit to ambitious targets. Tokyo notified the secretariat of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change of its target under the Copenhagen Accord, which was agreed upon during the U.N. climate summit last month in the Danish capital, ahead of the end-of-January deadline. |
| Jan 26 | Bank of Japan holds interest rate at 0.1 percent (AFP) |
Japan's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.1 percent at a meeting Tuesday, saying it was crucial for the world's second largest economy to overcome deflation.
At the same time, the Bank of Japan upgraded its growth forecasts slightly, predicting that the economy would shrink 2.5 percent in this financial year to March before rebounding 1.3 percent next year.
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| Jan 25 | Japan's public debt projected to surpass 973 tril. yen in FY 2010 (AP) |
| Japan's central government is projected to owe at least 973.16 trillion yen in debt at the end of fiscal 2010, an amount that translates into roughly 7.63 million yen per capita, due to increased debt issues, budgetary documents presented by the government to the Diet showed Monday. The central government debt refers to the outstanding balance of long- term bonds, borrowing and financial bills, a short-term debt instrument. The balance is expected to top the 900 trillion yen threshold for the first time at the end of fiscal 2009, to hit 900.14 trillion yen. |
| Jan 25 | Don't write Japan off. The giant is stirring (Times Online) |
| When a car full of boy-racers overtakes an older, sputtering jalopy, onlookers give the slower vehicle barely a glance, though the racers themselves might offer it a finger-related gesture. Given that today's boy-racers happen to be China, and that their super-charged economy has defied the global recession and is about to surpass Japan as the world's second-biggest, the focus on the overtakers may be understandable. But it is regrettable. Japan merits more than a glance, and certainly not a rude gesture. |
| Jan 25 | Poverty in Japan (Japan Times) |
| Japan's relative poverty rate as of 2007 stood at 15.7 percent, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced last October. This marks the first time the government has officially released its own data on the subject. Past rates were known only through surveys conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The public announcement of this data is a welcome end to the willful denial of previous administrations, but one demanding a response and action. |
| Jan 22 | Japanese gov't submits record-high budget for FY 2010 to Diet (AP) |
| The Japanese government on Friday submitted a record-high 92.30 trillion yen general account budget for fiscal 2010 to the Diet, with the opposition camp poised to criticize the budget for failing to fund some of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's policy promises. The budget for the year starting April 1 limits outlays for DPJ policy promises to around 3.1 trillion yen while depending heavily on record new debt issuance of 44.3 trillion yen and 10.6 trillion yen in nontax revenues including transfers from special accounts. |
| Jan 22 | Supermarket sales mark 21-year low in 2009 (AP) |
| Supermarket sales in Japan in 2009 dropped to a 21-year low of 12.83 trillion yen amid the anemic economy, the Japan Chain Stores Association said Friday. Sales for the January-December period, down 4.3 percent on a same- store basis, sank below the 13 trillion yen threshold for the first time since 1988, the association said. The number represented the 13th consecutive year-on-year drop on a same-store basis. |
| Jan 22 | Japan-U.S. trade friction persists (Yomiuri) |
| Although Japan effectively eased conditions for its eco car subsidy program to include vehicles from U.S. automakers, the incentive program remains a source of trade friction between the two countries. Before the change, no U.S. cars were covered by the Japanese subsidy program. The U.S. House of Representatives will soon open hearings on trade barriers in the Japanese and South Korean auto markets. With U.S. sentiment toward protectionism growing and November's mid-term elections on the horizon, it is still unclear whether the Japanese government's decision to include U.S. vehicles will resolve the issue. |
| Jan 21 | Land prices in Tokyo decline at slower pace in Oct.-Dec. (AP) |
| Land prices in residential areas of the Tokyo metropolitan region dropped at a slower pace in the October-December period of 2009 amid emerging signs that the economy is bottoming out, a leading real estate company said Thursday. Land prices fell 0.3 percent on average from the preceding quarter, which witnessed a decline of 0.7 percent, Mitsui Real Estate Sales Co. said. |
| Jan 21 | Booming Chinese economy snaps at Japan's heels (AFP) |
| China appears to be on the brink of overtaking beleaguered Japan as the world's second-biggest economy after another blistering performance in 2009, analysts said Thursday. Asia's two biggest economies look to have ended 2009 in a tight race but China, which grew 8.7 percent last year, is soon expected to unseat its neighbour from the position it has held for more than 40 years. |
| Jan 21 | Japanese housewives' 'secret savings' fall 20% (Bloomberg) |
| Japanese housewives' "secret savings" fell about 20 percent last year as many were forced to tap these reserves to cover living costs after family income dropped, a Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. survey found. Women traditionally handle family finances in Japan, collecting their husbands' paychecks and handing back pocket-money to cover the cost of lunches, coffee and drinking sessions with colleagues. The portion of winter bonuses returned to husbands as allowances dropped 34 percent to 73,000 yen |
| Jan 21 | Japan: An Inflationary Spiral Ahead? (jutiagroup.com) |
| During the past few years you have most likely read about Japan's so-called lost decade or its so-called deflationary malaise. And you may have heard warnings that the Japanese experience might be the dire blueprint for what's to come in the U.S. Since there are some striking similarities between Japan of the early 1990s and the U.S. today, it's definitely worth the effort to have a closer look at what is going on in Japan - and what is probably going to happen in the U.S. |
| Jan 21 | Guys, gals hooking up is sexy idea to trim debt (Bloomberg) |
| Music shops in Tokyo would be wise to stock up on their Barry White. That may be among the more intriguing side effects of Finance Minister Naoto Kan this week asking his staff to work shorter days so they have more time for dates. He's making good on his pledge to rein in the bureaucrats who run the economy. OK, so it sounds a bit creepy. Governments such as Singapore's have created dating programs that drummed up more ridicule than long-term hooks-ups. Yet there are three reasons to applaud Kan's racy suggestion. |
| Jan 21 | IMF warns of danger of excessive capital inflow in Asian economies (AP) |
| The head of the International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday against excessive capital inflow in some Asian countries although he said the IMF sees no imminent threat of asset price bubbles. IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on the sidelines of the two-day Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong that the reverse flow of "hot money" could cause trouble to the recovering economies. |
| Jan 20 | Playing Politics With Japan's Money Supply (Wall Street Journal) |
| With deflation again threatening the Japanese economy, policy making appears as dysfunctional as ever. Politicians and the Ministry of Finance say falling prices are a monetary problem that must be solved by the central bank, while the Bank of Japan claims the fiscal authorities should reflate the economy. The BOJ is wrong. It has chosen yet another inappropriate moment and manner to demonstrate its independence from the government. |
| Jan 18 | Japan's recovery still fragile: finance minister (AFP) |
| The world's second-largest economy is recovering but Japan still faces tough challenges, led by the twin threats of deflation and unemployment, the country's finance minister said on Monday. "The economic situation is still severe, falling short of a self-sustained recovery, even though it is beginning to pick up," newly-appointed Naoto Kan said at the start of a 150-day parliament session. |
| Jan 18 | More trade 'noodles' (Japan Times) |
| Little noticed at the beginning of the year was the introduction of several more strands into the "noodle bowl" of Asia-Pacific trade agreements. On Jan. 1, several new free trade agreements went into effect. These trade deals are by no means perfect. In fact, they represent distinctly second- or even third-best options given their limits and their trade diversion effects. Nevertheless, they also could have profound political consequences. |
| Jan 17 | 22 governors oppose public works expenditure cuts in FY 2010 budget (AP) |
| The governors of 22 of Japan's 47 prefectures are opposed to cuts in public works expenditures in the government's budget for fiscal 2010 starting April, a Kyodo News poll showed Sunday. None of the governors supported the cuts in the fiscal 2010 state budget amounting to an 18.3 percent reduction from the initial budget in the previous year, according to the poll. |
| Jan 17 | At age 50, US-Japan bond hits growing pains (AsiaOne) |
| Fifty years after signing a landmark security pact, the United States and Japan are renewing their vows but also confronting some of the biggest questions yet on how to shape their alliance. The World War II adversaries on January 19, 1960 inked a treaty in Washington in which the United States pledged to defend Japan - which was stripped of its right to a military - with a permanent troop presence. |
| Jan 16 | BOJ May See More Pressure as Kan Battles Deflation (Bloomberg) |
| Japan's central bank may see escalating political pressure to act against deflation as the government seeks to remove the threat of a recession relapse before a parliamentary election in July. Among the bank's options: Expand the credit program, increase its monthly purchases of government bonds, or specify a timeframe for keeping the benchmark interest rate near zero, economists said. The spark for action may be another surge in the yen that could undermine the export-led recovery. |