Japan Archives - Page 17 of 21

Japan Spent Quarter Of Tsunami Relief Budget On Unrelated Projects: Report

Japanese authorities have spent nearly a quarter of the funds set aside to reconstruct disaster-hit areas, from the earthquake and tsunami last year, into numerous unrelated projects such as subsidies for a contact lens factory and hiring protection for Japanese whalers, claimed a recent independent audit commissioned by the government, with nearly half of the budget also still to be spent amid delays over rebuilding strategies.

The Missing Link in Japan’s Lost Decades

The Japanese economy crashed in the late 1980s and annual growth has since averaged 0.8 percent – despite the Bank of Japan’s zero interest rate strategy. For two decades, the Japanese economy was characterised by meagre growth, unemployment and persistent deflation, forcing businesses in Japan to slash costs and add value to their production. Comparisons have been made, increasingly, between America’s stagnant economic growth and Japan’s lost decade, and in this light, it is worthwhile revisiting the lessons from Japan.

Japan’s Exports to China Fall amid Territorial Dispute

Japanese exports have tumbled at their sharpest pace since the aftermath of last year’s earthquake and tsunami. More worryingly, exports to China have fallen to fresh lows amid a worsening territorial spat.

Data released today by Japan’s Finance Ministry showed that shipments slid by 10.3 percent in September from a year earlier, leaving a deficit of 558.6 billion yen ($7 billion), its biggest since May last year when the country was rebuilding supply chains wrecked in the March earthquake and tsunami.

Japan Threatens To Scale Back Economic Ties With Korea After Territorial Spat

Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi has hinted that his government may renege on a deal to purchase bonds from their South Korean counterparts, reported the Wall Street Journal on Friday, after bilateral tensions erupted earlier this month following South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s visit to a group of islands claimed by Japan.

Japan Poised To Become World’s Second Largest Solar Market

Japan will overtake Germany and Italy to become the world’s second largest market for solar electricity, reported Bloomberg News on Monday, with the government set to introduce a new premium tariff on solar energy.

Japan Retains Status as World’s Top Creditor Nation

Japan has retained its position as the world’s top creditor nation in 2011, a title it has held on to for the past 21 years. According to data released by the Ministry of Finance, Japan held a net 253 trillion yen ($3.19 trilion) in foreign assets at the end of 2011, a 2 trillion yen increase from the previous year.

The data may help ease worries in Japan that China might soon surpass it as the world’s largest creditor nation, further eclipsing Tokyo’s presence in the global economy.

Japanese Elderly Spent $1.4 Trillion Last Year

Companies in Japan are rushing to introduce more products geared towards the elderly, said Bloomberg News on Wednesday, as the country continues to face a rapidly aging population.

According to a study by the Japanese Health Ministry, the number of Japanese over the age of 65 hit a record 23.3 percent of the population (29.8 million) last October, with this percentage expected to grow to 40 percent by 2055.

Nuclear-Free Japan Ponders Gas Pipeline From Russia

Japan’s government has discussed the possibility of building an underwater gas pipeline from Russia, said former Japanese foreign minister Seiji Maehara, with the country preparing for a nuclear-free future following the shutdown of its last working nuclear power plant late Saturday.

Tokyo Residents Donate $1 Million To Buy Disputed Islands

Tokyo’s city government has raised nearly $1 million from its citizens in order to buy a small chain of islands in the East China Sea, which have been at the centre of a territorial dispute between the Japanese and Chinese government.

The Senkaku Islands – also known as Diaoyutai in China – is a group of uninhabited islands located about 140km away from the east of Pengjia Islet in China, and about 170km north of Ishigaki Island, Japan. Since 1971, ownership of the islands have been a hotly contested dispute between Japan, China and Taiwan.

OECD Urges Japan to Restart Nuclear Plants

Despite widespread public opposition, the head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has called on Japan to restart its nuclear plants, provided they are deemed safe to ensure a stable power supply.

Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria urged Japan to resume nuclear electricity generation, given that nuclear power supplied almost a third of the country’s electricity needs before last year’s atomic disaster.