Japan Archives - Page 14 of 21

How long can Japan sustain its Mount Fuji of debt?

The Japanese economy continues to defy gravity despite a Mount Fuji of debt that has no parallel in Western countries, and the worst problem of demographics among all the world’s rich nations. Japan’s net debt-to-GDP ratio is about 135%, even higher than the Southern European nations when they plunged into crisis. Meanwhile, the World Bank’s figures show one of the world’s lowest fertility rates of 1.39 births per woman, leading to rapid population decline.

A Drop in the Wages of Japanese Workers Puts a Drag on the Economy

Due to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s growth strategy, known as Abenomics, Japan’s stockmarket is up by three-fifths since he came into office. However, despite the progress made by Abe and his allies, Japan’s economy likely shrank for the first time in nearly two years during the second quarter. The reason for the economic decline appears to be due to the weaker than expected consumer spending. Although the recent sales tax hike definitely helped weaken consumer spending, it appears that a decline in the wages of Japanese workers is putting a real drag on the economy.

Number Of Children In Japan Drops For 33rd Consecutive Year

Japan’s population remains on a rapidly aging path, with the number of children (aged under 15) having fallen to a record low of just 16.33 million, according to government statistics on Sunday.

This was the 33rd straight annual decline for the number of children, said Japan’s internal affairs and communications ministry; and was the nation’s lowest level since records began in 1950.

Will Japanese Politics Undermine The Reform Agenda?

Abe’s reform plan, now in its critical phase, will be derailed if tensions persist, both at home and abroad.

After two “lost decades”, Japan began its bold but risky reforms a year ago. The new governor of the Bank of Japan, Haruhiko Kuroda, pledged to do “whatever it takes” to achieve the 2 percent inflation target, seeking to double the monetary base by the end of this year.

That was the first tenet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic reform agenda. It was followed by a major fiscal stimulus focused mainly on infrastructure spending.

UN Court Orders Japan To End Whaling In Antarctic

The United Nations’ highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has banned Japan from hunting for whales off Antarctica, ruling that the nation’s annual hunt was not for scientific research as Tokyo had claimed, reported the Associated Press.

Japan Offers To Build Part Of New High-Speed Train System In US For Free

In a bid to promote a new high-speed train system, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has offered to fully pay for the first phase of construction of a possible rail route in the u.S., linking Washington to New York in just one hour.

Japan To Investigate Nation’s Largest Banks For Yakuza Links

Japan’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), is set to investigate the nation’s three largest banks for transactions with the Yakuza, according to Reuters on Tuesday.

The probe is part of a wider investigation into banks’ involvements in Yakuza-related financial transactions; and comes after Mizuho Financial, the nation’s second largest bank, admitted to lending 200 million yen ($2 million) to criminal gangs.

Japanese Government Urges Boycott Of Google Maps Over Disputed Islands

The Japanese government has called on local authorities and state-run universities to stop using Google Maps on their websites, after it took issue with the fact that Google had used the non-Japanese names to refer to islands still contested by Japan and their neighbouring countries.

Japan Shuts Off Last Working Nuclear Reactor – For Now

Japan has temporarily switched off its final working nuclear reactor in the western prefecture of Fukui for safety checks, marking only the second time in 40 years that the country will not have access to any nuclear power supply.

According to The BBC, Reactor 4 at the Ohi power plant in the western prefecture of Fukui was shut down in the early hours of Monday morning, as renewed concerns grew over the safety of nuclear power plants – arising from radioactive water leaks at Fukushima.

Japan Growth Misses Expectations In Second Quarter

Japan’s economy expanded at a slower pace than most analysts expected in the second quarter, raising questions about whether Tokyo will push ahead with a sales tax hike to bring its rapidly-increasing debt under control.

Gross domestic product expanded at an annualised rate of 2.6 percent, a preliminary government estimate showed on Monday, continuing a third straight quarter of expansion in Asia’s second largest economy.