[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Output soars as jobs, spending, prices slide
(Compiled from AP, Kyodo) Japan's industrial production jumped at the fastest pace in 56 years in April, with predictions for further gains in May and June — a sign that manufacturers are recovering from the steepest recession since World War II.
But the pain is only getting worse for workers, families and the thousands of nonmanufacturers who employ 70 percent of the country. The jobless rate climbed to 5 percent — the highest in nearly six years — while household spending and consumer prices declined, the government said Friday.
Industrial output jumped 5.2 percent in April from the previous month, up for the second straight time. Makers of electric parts, chemicals and transport equipment posted particularly strong gains.
The result beat the 3.2 percent forecast in a Kyodo News survey and marked the biggest jump since March 1953, when it rose 7.9 percent.
Hit by an unprecedented slowdown in global demand late last year, manufacturers responded aggressively by slashing output and jobs to cut costs and trim stockpiles. Inventory levels fell 2.7 percent in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
The outlook is bullish. Manufacturers expect production to soar 8.8 percent in May and 2.7 percent in June on brightening prospects for a recovery in global demand.
But the unemployment stats were miserable. The number of jobless rose by a record of 710,000, or 25.8 percent, to 3.46 million from the previous year. Some 1.14 million were laid off, marking a year-on-year surge of 530,000 — the largest jump ever, METI said.
This was reflected in the April job offers to job seekers ratio, which sank to a seasonally adjusted 0.46 from 0.52 the previous month, tying the record low from May-June 1999.
The number means there were only 46 jobs for every 100 people looking. The ratio was lower than the average of 0.49 projected by economists surveyed by Kyodo News and the 11th consecutive monthly drop.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Former stable master gets six years for young wrestler's hazing death
前親方、若い力士暴行致死で懲役七年の求刑
NAGOYA (Kyodo) The Nagoya District Court sentenced a former sumo stable master Friday to six years in prison for telling wrestlers at his stable to haze and beat a 17-year-old wrestler who died in the 2007 assault.
Presiding Judge Masaharu Ashizawa said that Junichi Yamamoto, 59, with his "immeasurable power" as stable master, ordered the two days of physical abuse that "grossly disrespected the victim's human dignity."
Yamamoto immediately appealed the ruling.
Three senior wrestlers at his stable who abused Takashi Saito, who went by the ring name Tokitaizan, received suspended prison terms and were dismissed by the Japan Sumo Association after their guilty verdicts were finalized.
The high-profile case has put the spotlight on questionable traditions in the sumo world, including the way new wrestlers are trained, prompting a rethink about its customs and traditions.
Prosecutors had sought a seven-year prison term for Yamamoto, who was also dismissed by the association, in October 2007.
The court accepted the prosecutors' contention that Yamamoto ordered the three wrestlers to attack Saito to punish him for trying to run away from the stable.
The judge also said a sparring bout that took place on the second day of the abuse "obviously deviated from the realm of normal practice."
Yamamoto's defense counsel tried to get a suspended term, claiming the senior wrestlers attacked Saito on their own initiative and that the sparring was a regular practice.
According to the ruling, Yamamoto hit Saito with a beer bottle during dinner on June 25, 2007, and told the three wrestlers to beat him with a wooden stick afterward.
Saito was smashed onto the ring and beaten with a metal bat by the wrestlers in a 30-minute sparring session the next day and died from shock from multiple trauma at a hospital.
Yamamoto, who was released from detention on bail of 8 million in March, about 13 months after his arrest, apologized to Saito's family during the trial but denied he ordered the assault.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Parts suppliers may get aid if GM fails, Nikai says
(The Associated Press) The government will consider helping out parts suppliers if they are seriously hurt by General Motors Corp.'s likely bankruptcy, trade minister Toshihiro Nikai said Friday.
Nikai is closely monitoring how domestic manufacturers may be affected if GM collapses and said the government "must consider measures" if there are any signs of serious trouble, according to a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official.
A person familiar with GM's plans has said it was "probable" that the Detroit-based automaker would seek bankruptcy protection on Monday. The person didn't want to be identified because the plans were still being discussed by the U.S. and Canadian governments.
GM's woes have been closely scrutinized in Japan, where it has business ties with more than 100 suppliers, many of them small companies vulnerable to cash shortages.
The recent news about GM has been received with relative calm even as executives acknowledge the possibility of a ripple effect hitting the industry and U.S. consumer sentiment.
Still, worries are simmering about some of the nation's smaller manufacturers, who may not be able to ride out the loss of GM business or handle their bad debts.
Some companies, including Aisin Seiki, have applied for a part of the U.S. Treasury Department's $5 billion support program for suppliers, but it's unclear whether they will receive any funds.
Nikai's comments appear aimed at allaying such fears by assuring the government will step in and help any cash-strapped manufacturers.
In the long run, a weakened GM is expected to be a growth opportunity for the country's automakers, which are strong at building smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles.
The Treasury has already loaned $19.4 billion to GM, which lost a whopping $6 billion in the first quarter, and will receive 72.5 percent of the new company's stock. In bankruptcy protection, GM is expected to close factories and cut jobs.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Unpaid postal insurance claims may total 400,000
(Kyodo News) There are likely about 400,000 cases of benefits not being paid to postal life insurance customers before postal privatization began in October 2007, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama said Friday.
The total is estimated at "between 300,000 and 400,000," Hatoyama told reporters after Japan Post Insurance Co. presented a report on the matter to the ministry.
Japan Post Insurance is examining some 13.01 million cases in which payouts should have been made by Japan Post, the state-run postal company that existed before privatization split it into four entities. Japan Post operated between April 2003 and September 2007.
Japan Post Insurance, one of the four entities, has so far found that 223,000 customers may have been short-changed, if payments related to claims made under policy riders are included, the report says.
The investigation is expected to find more failures before it is completed.
In addition, the amount of unpaid postal insurance benefits for reasons such as the absence of claims from policyholders totaled 292.1 billion as of the end of March.
Japan Post Insurance will start informing the policyholders concerned in July.
Life insurers in red
Earnings at the nation's top 10 life insurers plummeted in fiscal 2008 on losses caused by the global financial crisis, sending four of them into the red, earnings reports issued through Friday show.
Total losses linked to the global financial turmoil collectively amounted to 2.64 trillion, according to the reports.
The insurers that reported losses in 2008 were Mitsui Life Insurance Co., Daido Life Insurance Co., Taiyo Life Insurance Co. and Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Five others, including top insurer Nippon Life Insurance Co., reported net profits, but only because they tapped internal reserves to compensate for the losses.
Others that evaded losses in that manner were Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co., Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co., Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. and Sony Life Insurance Co.
The only insurer that effectively secured a profit was Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co.
On the basis of core operating profit — a key gauge of an insurer's profitability — Mitsui and Daido had losses and seven others suffered sharp profit declines. Sony Life was the only one that saw core operating profit rise.
Given the deterioration in earnings, Asahi and Mitsui will cancel dividend payments to policyholders for the first time in four years. Dai-ichi and Fukoku will reduce dividends.
Most of the 10 insurers saw their solvency margin ratios, a key indicator of their ability to pay out on policyholders' claims, fall from the previous year. But they still maintained solvency margin ratios well above the 200 percent line, suggesting they are financially sound.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Output soars as jobs, spending, prices slide
(Compiled from AP, Kyodo) Japan's industrial production jumped at the fastest pace in 56 years in April, with predictions for further gains in May and June — a sign that manufacturers are recovering from the steepest recession since World War II.
But the pain is only getting worse for workers, families and the thousands of nonmanufacturers who employ 70 percent of the country. The jobless rate climbed to 5 percent — the highest in nearly six years — while household spending and consumer prices declined, the government said Friday.
Industrial output jumped 5.2 percent in April from the previous month, up for the second straight time. Makers of electric parts, chemicals and transport equipment posted particularly strong gains.
The result beat the 3.2 percent forecast in a Kyodo News survey and marked the biggest jump since March 1953, when it rose 7.9 percent.
Hit by an unprecedented slowdown in global demand late last year, manufacturers responded aggressively by slashing output and jobs to cut costs and trim stockpiles. Inventory levels fell 2.7 percent in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
The outlook is bullish. Manufacturers expect production to soar 8.8 percent in May and 2.7 percent in June on brightening prospects for a recovery in global demand.
But the unemployment stats were miserable. The number of jobless rose by a record of 710,000, or 25.8 percent, to 3.46 million from the previous year. Some 1.14 million were laid off, marking a year-on-year surge of 530,000 — the largest jump ever, METI said.
This was reflected in the April job offers to job seekers ratio, which sank to a seasonally adjusted 0.46 from 0.52 the previous month, tying the record low from May-June 1999.
The number means there were only 46 jobs for every 100 people looking. The ratio was lower than the average of 0.49 projected by economists surveyed by Kyodo News and the 11th consecutive monthly drop.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Former stable master gets six years for young wrestler's hazing death
前親方、若い力士暴行致死で懲役七年の求刑
NAGOYA (Kyodo) The Nagoya District Court sentenced a former sumo stable master Friday to six years in prison for telling wrestlers at his stable to haze and beat a 17-year-old wrestler who died in the 2007 assault.
Presiding Judge Masaharu Ashizawa said that Junichi Yamamoto, 59, with his "immeasurable power" as stable master, ordered the two days of physical abuse that "grossly disrespected the victim's human dignity."
Yamamoto immediately appealed the ruling.
Three senior wrestlers at his stable who abused Takashi Saito, who went by the ring name Tokitaizan, received suspended prison terms and were dismissed by the Japan Sumo Association after their guilty verdicts were finalized.
The high-profile case has put the spotlight on questionable traditions in the sumo world, including the way new wrestlers are trained, prompting a rethink about its customs and traditions.
Prosecutors had sought a seven-year prison term for Yamamoto, who was also dismissed by the association, in October 2007.
The court accepted the prosecutors' contention that Yamamoto ordered the three wrestlers to attack Saito to punish him for trying to run away from the stable.
The judge also said a sparring bout that took place on the second day of the abuse "obviously deviated from the realm of normal practice."
Yamamoto's defense counsel tried to get a suspended term, claiming the senior wrestlers attacked Saito on their own initiative and that the sparring was a regular practice.
According to the ruling, Yamamoto hit Saito with a beer bottle during dinner on June 25, 2007, and told the three wrestlers to beat him with a wooden stick afterward.
Saito was smashed onto the ring and beaten with a metal bat by the wrestlers in a 30-minute sparring session the next day and died from shock from multiple trauma at a hospital.
Yamamoto, who was released from detention on bail of 8 million in March, about 13 months after his arrest, apologized to Saito's family during the trial but denied he ordered the assault.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Parts suppliers may get aid if GM fails, Nikai says
(The Associated Press) The government will consider helping out parts suppliers if they are seriously hurt by General Motors Corp.'s likely bankruptcy, trade minister Toshihiro Nikai said Friday.
Nikai is closely monitoring how domestic manufacturers may be affected if GM collapses and said the government "must consider measures" if there are any signs of serious trouble, according to a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official.
A person familiar with GM's plans has said it was "probable" that the Detroit-based automaker would seek bankruptcy protection on Monday. The person didn't want to be identified because the plans were still being discussed by the U.S. and Canadian governments.
GM's woes have been closely scrutinized in Japan, where it has business ties with more than 100 suppliers, many of them small companies vulnerable to cash shortages.
The recent news about GM has been received with relative calm even as executives acknowledge the possibility of a ripple effect hitting the industry and U.S. consumer sentiment.
Still, worries are simmering about some of the nation's smaller manufacturers, who may not be able to ride out the loss of GM business or handle their bad debts.
Some companies, including Aisin Seiki, have applied for a part of the U.S. Treasury Department's $5 billion support program for suppliers, but it's unclear whether they will receive any funds.
Nikai's comments appear aimed at allaying such fears by assuring the government will step in and help any cash-strapped manufacturers.
In the long run, a weakened GM is expected to be a growth opportunity for the country's automakers, which are strong at building smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles.
The Treasury has already loaned $19.4 billion to GM, which lost a whopping $6 billion in the first quarter, and will receive 72.5 percent of the new company's stock. In bankruptcy protection, GM is expected to close factories and cut jobs.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Unpaid postal insurance claims may total 400,000
(Kyodo News) There are likely about 400,000 cases of benefits not being paid to postal life insurance customers before postal privatization began in October 2007, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama said Friday.
The total is estimated at "between 300,000 and 400,000," Hatoyama told reporters after Japan Post Insurance Co. presented a report on the matter to the ministry.
Japan Post Insurance is examining some 13.01 million cases in which payouts should have been made by Japan Post, the state-run postal company that existed before privatization split it into four entities. Japan Post operated between April 2003 and September 2007.
Japan Post Insurance, one of the four entities, has so far found that 223,000 customers may have been short-changed, if payments related to claims made under policy riders are included, the report says.
The investigation is expected to find more failures before it is completed.
In addition, the amount of unpaid postal insurance benefits for reasons such as the absence of claims from policyholders totaled 292.1 billion as of the end of March.
Japan Post Insurance will start informing the policyholders concerned in July.
Life insurers in red
Earnings at the nation's top 10 life insurers plummeted in fiscal 2008 on losses caused by the global financial crisis, sending four of them into the red, earnings reports issued through Friday show.
Total losses linked to the global financial turmoil collectively amounted to 2.64 trillion, according to the reports.
The insurers that reported losses in 2008 were Mitsui Life Insurance Co., Daido Life Insurance Co., Taiyo Life Insurance Co. and Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Five others, including top insurer Nippon Life Insurance Co., reported net profits, but only because they tapped internal reserves to compensate for the losses.
Others that evaded losses in that manner were Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co., Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co., Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. and Sony Life Insurance Co.
The only insurer that effectively secured a profit was Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co.
On the basis of core operating profit — a key gauge of an insurer's profitability — Mitsui and Daido had losses and seven others suffered sharp profit declines. Sony Life was the only one that saw core operating profit rise.
Given the deterioration in earnings, Asahi and Mitsui will cancel dividend payments to policyholders for the first time in four years. Dai-ichi and Fukoku will reduce dividends.
Most of the 10 insurers saw their solvency margin ratios, a key indicator of their ability to pay out on policyholders' claims, fall from the previous year. But they still maintained solvency margin ratios well above the 200 percent line, suggesting they are financially sound.
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