[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Focus on fiscal health, IMF tells Japan
6% GDP fall forecast; stimuli leave deficit in lurch
（ＩＭＦ見通し：日本のＧＤＰマイナス６％超；経済対策窮地に）
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The International Monetary Fund urged Japan Wednesday to focus on its fiscal health, as fiscal stimulus steps expand the nation's deficit to an increasingly precarious level.
In its biannual World Economic Outlook report, the Washington-based lender also said the U.S. economy — the epicenter of the global financial crisis — will probably start recovering by the middle of 2010, if appropriate policy responses remain in place.
"In Japan, the government announced a substantial new stimulus package in early April, which should support activity in 2009 and 2010," it said, noting that this and past stimulus measures have almost exhausted Tokyo's room for additional stimulus steps.
"Attention should shift now to putting in place an ambitious medium-term plan to secure fiscal sustainability," it said, alluding to the need for a hike in the 5 percent consumption tax.
The IMF trimmed Japan's growth projection in terms of real gross domestic product to minus 6.2 percent for 2009, down 0.4 percentage point from its prior forecast released in mid-March, and marking the worst projection among major industrialized nations.
"In Japan, the downturn is exceptionally severe, and is being driven largely by trade, which has been hit hard because of the economy's heavy reliance on manufacturing exports, and by spillovers to domestic investment," it said.
"The yen's strength and tighter credit conditions more generally have added to the problems of the export sector. Mild deflation is expected to persist at least through 2010."
Japan's future monetary policy will be a challenge in light of the current rock-bottom interest rates, the IMF said, questioning if Tokyo can "implement further easing by expanding and broadening the range of instruments that support credit to address tightening financial conditions."
2010 growth is forecast to recover to 0.5 percent, against a previously forecast decline of 0.2 percent, factoring in the effects of the stimulus packages, including one adopted earlier this month with 15.4 trillion in actual spending.
As for the U.S., whose subprime mortgage meltdown triggered the global crisis, the institution projected its growth to contract 2.8 percent in 2009 and to recover to zero percent in 2010, both down 0.2 point.
"The biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression has pushed the United States into a severe recession," it said. "Progress toward normalization of financial conditions has been much slower than envisaged a few months ago."
But the IMF said that contingent on the current fiscal and monetary policy responses continuing, "the economy is projected to start recovering by the middle of 2010."
It also cited the need to restore the health of the core U.S. financial institutions, stimulate private demand, lower the downside risk of asset price overshooting and reduce uncertainty facing households, firms and financial markets.
"Crucially, policies must address the problems at the core of the financial system: the growing burden of problem assets and uncertainty about banks' solvency," the IMF said.
"Balance sheets need to be restored, both by removing bad assets and by injecting new capital in a transparent manner, so as to convince markets of these institutions' return to solvency," it said.
In other parts of the report, the IMF estimated its global economic forecasts at minus 1.3 percent for 2009 and plus 1.9 percent for 2010. They compare with the earlier outlooks of a fall of 0.5 percent to 1.0 percent for 2009 and an expansion of 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent for 2010.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, April 23, 2009
¥725 billion trade deficit first red ink in 28 years
（７２５６億円：’０８度の貿易収支２８年ぶり赤字）
(Kyodo News) Japan's trade balance plunged into a deficit of 725.32 billion in the year through March, the first red ink for a fiscal year in 28 years, hurt by earlier rises in commodity prices and slower exports to the United States and other economies, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
Exports dropped a record 16.4 percent in fiscal 2008 from the previous year to 71.14 trillion, the first decline in seven years, the ministry said in a preliminary report. Imports fell 4.1 percent to 71.87 trillion, also the first fall in seven years.
It was the first deficit for a business year since fiscal 1980, when Japan suffered from soaring crude oil prices after the second oil crisis. Analysts point to the difficulty the economy faces in attempting to export its way out of a recession.
The latest result came as sharp hikes in oil and other commodity prices in the first half of fiscal 2008 boosted the value of imports, while the global economic downturn in the second half increasingly hurt exports to such destinations as the United States, the European Union and China.
Exports shrank significantly in cars destined for the United States and Europe as well as in semiconductors and other electronics products exported to other parts of Asia.
Imports of coal and liquefied natural gas from the Asia-Pacific region in particular grew. Crude oil imports were down 0.4 percent during the year as average oil prices rose 18.8 percent to $92.60 per barrel.
"The Japanese people, lawmakers and government must take the results seriously," Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said, adding it is necessary to "check whether Japan-made products and services are losing their international competitive edge."
Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., said the data added to pressure on the government to address a "challenging" issue.
Adachi suggested the country's export-dependent economy is no longer working. "It will be very important how (the government) works out measures to stimulate domestic demand" amid the recession, he said.
Japan's trade surplus with the United States fell 43 percent, the sharpest fall on record, to 4.71 trillion, down for the second straight year.
Exports to the world's largest economy declined a record 27.2 percent to 12.09 trillion. Imports from the United States fell 11.5 percent to 7.38 trillion.
Japan's trade surplus with the European Union decreased for the first time in seven years, down 39.7 percent — also the steepest decline ever — to 2.96 trillion .
Exports to the 27-nation bloc fell 23 percent to 9.71 trillion and imports from the region tumbled 12.3 percent to 6.74 trillion .
Japan's surplus with the rest of Asia fell 34.7 percent, the first loss in three years, to 6.05 trillion, with exports down 13.4 percent to 35.57 trillion and imports down 7.3 percent to 29.52 trillion.
With China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau, Japan's trade deficit expanded 13 percent, the first increase in three years, to 2.19 trillion. Exports to China declined 9.8 percent to 11.76 trillion and imports were down 6.9 percent to 13.95 trillion.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Random sumo drug tests held
（日本相撲協会：抜き打ち薬物検査）
JSA seeks to improve sport's tarnished image
(Kyodo News) The Japan Sumo Association carried out its first random drug tests on wrestlers Wednesday, following a series of marijuana busts that have tarnished the ancient national sport's image.
Urine tests were conducted on wrestlers belonging to several stables, including the Musashigawa stable. Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu of the Takasago stable was also tested.
The tests were undertaken by Mitsubishi Chemical Medience Corp., Japan's only institution certified by world antidoping agency WADA. The results will be disclosed at a later date.
JSA chief Musashigawa recently visited education minister Ryu Shionoya to apologize for the recent spate of drug scandals and promised to aggressively implement random urine tests to curb drug use.
New antidoping rules were set by the JSA in late February so that all of the association's members could be tested without warning.
At the end of January, second-division wrestler Wakakirin, 25, was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana, becoming the first Japanese wrestler to be arrested in a pot case and the latest grappler to be thrown out of the sumo world. His arrest came after three Russians were dismissed over cannabis charges.
Separately on Wednesday, the Kawasaki branch of the Yokohama District Court sentenced Wakakirin, whose real name is Shinichi Suzuki, to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years.
Suzuki was found in possession of marijuana on Jan. 30 at an office of a CD sales company in the Roppongi district of Minato Ward, Tokyo.
When his trial opened, Suzuki pleaded guilty, saying he obtained the marijuana while relaxing after the year's first tournament in January.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Focus on fiscal health, IMF tells Japan
6% GDP fall forecast; stimuli leave deficit in lurch
（ＩＭＦ見通し：日本のＧＤＰマイナス６％超；経済対策窮地に）
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The International Monetary Fund urged Japan Wednesday to focus on its fiscal health, as fiscal stimulus steps expand the nation's deficit to an increasingly precarious level.
In its biannual World Economic Outlook report, the Washington-based lender also said the U.S. economy — the epicenter of the global financial crisis — will probably start recovering by the middle of 2010, if appropriate policy responses remain in place.
"In Japan, the government announced a substantial new stimulus package in early April, which should support activity in 2009 and 2010," it said, noting that this and past stimulus measures have almost exhausted Tokyo's room for additional stimulus steps.
"Attention should shift now to putting in place an ambitious medium-term plan to secure fiscal sustainability," it said, alluding to the need for a hike in the 5 percent consumption tax.
The IMF trimmed Japan's growth projection in terms of real gross domestic product to minus 6.2 percent for 2009, down 0.4 percentage point from its prior forecast released in mid-March, and marking the worst projection among major industrialized nations.
"In Japan, the downturn is exceptionally severe, and is being driven largely by trade, which has been hit hard because of the economy's heavy reliance on manufacturing exports, and by spillovers to domestic investment," it said.
"The yen's strength and tighter credit conditions more generally have added to the problems of the export sector. Mild deflation is expected to persist at least through 2010."
Japan's future monetary policy will be a challenge in light of the current rock-bottom interest rates, the IMF said, questioning if Tokyo can "implement further easing by expanding and broadening the range of instruments that support credit to address tightening financial conditions."
2010 growth is forecast to recover to 0.5 percent, against a previously forecast decline of 0.2 percent, factoring in the effects of the stimulus packages, including one adopted earlier this month with 15.4 trillion in actual spending.
As for the U.S., whose subprime mortgage meltdown triggered the global crisis, the institution projected its growth to contract 2.8 percent in 2009 and to recover to zero percent in 2010, both down 0.2 point.
"The biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression has pushed the United States into a severe recession," it said. "Progress toward normalization of financial conditions has been much slower than envisaged a few months ago."
But the IMF said that contingent on the current fiscal and monetary policy responses continuing, "the economy is projected to start recovering by the middle of 2010."
It also cited the need to restore the health of the core U.S. financial institutions, stimulate private demand, lower the downside risk of asset price overshooting and reduce uncertainty facing households, firms and financial markets.
"Crucially, policies must address the problems at the core of the financial system: the growing burden of problem assets and uncertainty about banks' solvency," the IMF said.
"Balance sheets need to be restored, both by removing bad assets and by injecting new capital in a transparent manner, so as to convince markets of these institutions' return to solvency," it said.
In other parts of the report, the IMF estimated its global economic forecasts at minus 1.3 percent for 2009 and plus 1.9 percent for 2010. They compare with the earlier outlooks of a fall of 0.5 percent to 1.0 percent for 2009 and an expansion of 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent for 2010.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Thursday, April 23, 2009
¥725 billion trade deficit first red ink in 28 years
（７２５６億円：’０８度の貿易収支２８年ぶり赤字）
(Kyodo News) Japan's trade balance plunged into a deficit of 725.32 billion in the year through March, the first red ink for a fiscal year in 28 years, hurt by earlier rises in commodity prices and slower exports to the United States and other economies, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
Exports dropped a record 16.4 percent in fiscal 2008 from the previous year to 71.14 trillion, the first decline in seven years, the ministry said in a preliminary report. Imports fell 4.1 percent to 71.87 trillion, also the first fall in seven years.
It was the first deficit for a business year since fiscal 1980, when Japan suffered from soaring crude oil prices after the second oil crisis. Analysts point to the difficulty the economy faces in attempting to export its way out of a recession.
The latest result came as sharp hikes in oil and other commodity prices in the first half of fiscal 2008 boosted the value of imports, while the global economic downturn in the second half increasingly hurt exports to such destinations as the United States, the European Union and China.
Exports shrank significantly in cars destined for the United States and Europe as well as in semiconductors and other electronics products exported to other parts of Asia.
Imports of coal and liquefied natural gas from the Asia-Pacific region in particular grew. Crude oil imports were down 0.4 percent during the year as average oil prices rose 18.8 percent to $92.60 per barrel.
"The Japanese people, lawmakers and government must take the results seriously," Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said, adding it is necessary to "check whether Japan-made products and services are losing their international competitive edge."
Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., said the data added to pressure on the government to address a "challenging" issue.
Adachi suggested the country's export-dependent economy is no longer working. "It will be very important how (the government) works out measures to stimulate domestic demand" amid the recession, he said.
Japan's trade surplus with the United States fell 43 percent, the sharpest fall on record, to 4.71 trillion, down for the second straight year.
Exports to the world's largest economy declined a record 27.2 percent to 12.09 trillion. Imports from the United States fell 11.5 percent to 7.38 trillion.
Japan's trade surplus with the European Union decreased for the first time in seven years, down 39.7 percent — also the steepest decline ever — to 2.96 trillion .
Exports to the 27-nation bloc fell 23 percent to 9.71 trillion and imports from the region tumbled 12.3 percent to 6.74 trillion .
Japan's surplus with the rest of Asia fell 34.7 percent, the first loss in three years, to 6.05 trillion, with exports down 13.4 percent to 35.57 trillion and imports down 7.3 percent to 29.52 trillion.
With China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau, Japan's trade deficit expanded 13 percent, the first increase in three years, to 2.19 trillion. Exports to China declined 9.8 percent to 11.76 trillion and imports were down 6.9 percent to 13.95 trillion.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Random sumo drug tests held
（日本相撲協会：抜き打ち薬物検査）
JSA seeks to improve sport's tarnished image
(Kyodo News) The Japan Sumo Association carried out its first random drug tests on wrestlers Wednesday, following a series of marijuana busts that have tarnished the ancient national sport's image.
Urine tests were conducted on wrestlers belonging to several stables, including the Musashigawa stable. Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu of the Takasago stable was also tested.
The tests were undertaken by Mitsubishi Chemical Medience Corp., Japan's only institution certified by world antidoping agency WADA. The results will be disclosed at a later date.
JSA chief Musashigawa recently visited education minister Ryu Shionoya to apologize for the recent spate of drug scandals and promised to aggressively implement random urine tests to curb drug use.
New antidoping rules were set by the JSA in late February so that all of the association's members could be tested without warning.
At the end of January, second-division wrestler Wakakirin, 25, was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana, becoming the first Japanese wrestler to be arrested in a pot case and the latest grappler to be thrown out of the sumo world. His arrest came after three Russians were dismissed over cannabis charges.
Separately on Wednesday, the Kawasaki branch of the Yokohama District Court sentenced Wakakirin, whose real name is Shinichi Suzuki, to 10 months in prison, suspended for three years.
Suzuki was found in possession of marijuana on Jan. 30 at an office of a CD sales company in the Roppongi district of Minato Ward, Tokyo.
When his trial opened, Suzuki pleaded guilty, saying he obtained the marijuana while relaxing after the year's first tournament in January.
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