Economic Collapse: Japan's Economy, Exports Rapidly Shrinking

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While investors are focused on the out of control eurozone crisis, Japan’s economy is showing signs of contraction as its GDP fell last quarter by 3.5%, the most since the earthquake and tsunami in early 2011, while exports and consumer spending slumped.

­The results fell below analysts’ expectations, which predicted Japan’s GDP to decline 3.4 % in the Q3, according to a Bloomberg News survey last week. It was expected to be the third technical recession since 2008.

“The GDP figures were grim," Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda told parliament after the data was released. Noda is preparing for an election and has pledged to speed up government efforts to boost the economy. Weaker results could undermine his efforts including a crucial plan to raise the national sales tax from 2014 to boost revenues. The proposed measure would be the first tax rise in more than a decade and is considered politically controversial.

“Today’s bad economic numbers deliver unpleasant news for Noda,” Hiroshi Shiraishi, senior economist at BNP Paribas SA in Tokyo, told Bloomberg. “It will take a while for Japan to get back to a sound recovery, considering a modest pick-up in the global economy at best and the country’s damaged relationship with China.”

Japan suffered the worst September trade result in more than 30 years amid the territorial row with China. The long running dispute re-emerged after the Noda administration’s bought a group of islands that China also claims. Exports to China – Japan’s biggest trading partner – sank 14% from a year earlier to 953.4 billion yen ($12.2 billion). Meanwhile the spreading crisis in Europe also hurt Japanese exports.

Weaker exports have hit Japanese corporate majors such as Sharp, Panasonic, and Nissan, which heavily rely on foreign trade. Panasonic  forecast a $9.5bln loss this year, 30 times bigger than analyst estimates, while Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. and Nissan Motor Co. cut their full- year profit forecasts and cosmetics major Shiseido Co. plans spending cuts.

At the end of October the Bank of Japan expanded its asset-purchase program by 11 trillion yen ($137bln) to 91 trillion yen for the second time in two months. With the new weak figures the BoJ is likely to continue its supporting policy under political pressure, experts believe.

High debt burden is another problem of the Japanese economy. Earlier this year the US-based Fitch rating agency cut Japan's Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'A+' from 'AA' and 'AA-' respectively. The move reflects “growing risks for Japan's sovereign credit profile as a result of high and rising public debt ratios,” according to Andrew Colquhoun, Head of Asia-Pacific Sovereigns at Fitch.

Japan's general government debt is expected to hit 239% of GDP by the end of 2012, compared to the average 39% for OECD economies and 8% for 'A' –rated economies. Even Greece has a debt of 178% of GDP. This debt ratio has risen by 61% since the global financial crisis broke out.

However, Fitch considers that broader private sector savings, official foreign reserves worth $1.3 trillion and the fact that the Japanese yen is a global reserve currency will help the country’s economy to stay firm.

(RT)

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Afraid of China: USZ, Japan Call Off joint Military Drill to "retake" disputed islands

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Japan and the United States of Zionism have decided to cancel a joint security drill to recapture a remote island in Okinawa Prefecture, according to sources. Tokyo and Washington were considering holding the drill on the uninhabited island of Irisuna as part of joint military exercise slated for November. Sources said that the drill could lead to a backlash from Beijing, which has reacted harshly to Japan's nationalization of the Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China and Taiwan.

According to the Japan Times, a government source said that the decision to skip the Irisuna recapturing drill 'reflects the opinion of the prime minister's office'. Another reason was opposition from residents on Okinawa Island, about 60 km away, where sentiment against US bases has flared up following allegations that a Japanese woman was raped by USZ sailors on Tuesday, the report said. According to the report, the sources said that in light of these factors, the Defense Ministry found it difficult to proceed with the exercise, although it is considering substitute drills.

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China Blasts Japan on "Stealing" Disputed Islands

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Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi says Japan “stole” from China a group of islands in the East China Sea, disputed by Beijing and Tokyo.

“China strongly urges Japan to immediately stop all activities that violate China’s territorial sovereignty, take concrete actions to correct its mistakes and return to the track of resolving the dispute through negotiation,” Yang said in an address to the 67th session of the UN General Assembly in New York City on Thursday.

“The moves taken by Japan are totally illegal and invalid. They can in no way change the historical fact that Japan stole Diaoyu and its affiliated islands from China and the fact that China has territorial sovereignty over them.”

On September 11, Tokyo signed a deal to buy three of the islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, from their private Japanese owner in line with plans to nationalize the archipelago.

The move has angered the Chinese government and led to several anti-Japan demonstrations in China.

Yang’s remarks came after Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Wednesday that Tokyo will not compromise on the territorial dispute with Beijing, adding that the islands “are an integral part of our territory in the light of history and of international law.”

Japan and China have long been in a dispute over the sovereignty of the uninhabited islands, which are located near a crucial shipping lane and would give the owner exclusive oil, mineral and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.

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Japan's economy stuttering ahead of China crisis

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Japan released yet more worrying figures Friday showing the world's third largest economy was already stuttering before a damaging territorial dispute erupted with its largest trading partner. Factory output in August shrank by a bigger-than-expected 1.3 percent from the previous month, the industry ministry said as it admitted production activity was weakening. The decline was much sharper than an average market forecast of a 0.4 percent drop.


Japan's export-driven economy is struggling to right itself following a series of problems, including the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster, the European debt crisis, slowing Chinese demand and the strong yen. "Industrial Production appears to be weakened," the ministry said in a statement, downgrading its overall assessment. It had said production "appears to be flat" when it announced July's preliminary data a month ago.

Japanese businesses are now worried about taking a hit from the effects of a flare-up in the row between Tokyo and Beijing over the ownership of islands in the East China Sea. Japan's nationalisation in September of three islands in the chain, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, triggered anti-Japan rallies across China. Major Japanese companies were forced to close factories briefly.

Auto giants Toyota and Nissan said Wednesday they would cut production in China because demand for Japanese cars has dropped, while airlines have been hit by cancellations of seats on China-bound flights. Mooted Chinese consumer boycotts of Japanese products are also feared, unsettling firms sending goods to China, Japan's number one export market.

The industry ministry, citing a survey of production forecasts by manufacturing companies, said factory output is expected to fall by a further 2.9 percent in September and to be flat in October. Mizuho Securities Research and Consulting senior economist Norio Miyagawa said the ministry's outlook survey suggested "output may lose steam even further.

"We are likely to see sluggish output at least until October, especially in the automobile sector," he told Dow Jones Newswires, noting the row with China was a downside risk for the economy. "If the current disputes with China become prolonged, that will damage Japan's output and the economy.

Kengo Suzuki, forex strategist at Mizuho Securities, said "a fall in foreign demand could further pressure the Japanese economy.” It could also raise expectations for further monetary easing in the long run, he added. The Bank of Japan followed its US and European counterparts last week, announcing $128-billion extra bond buying to take its total monetary easing effort past $1 trillion as it seeks to revitalise the economy.

Economists attributed the August fall to weakening domestic consumer spending and stocked-up inventories as well as China's corporate performance and the debt crisis in Europe. Data released by the internal affairs ministry Friday showed so sign of Japan's breaking out of years of deflation.

Core consumer prices in Japan, which excludes volatile prices of fresh food, fell for the fourth straight month in August, dropping 0.3 percent year-on-year, data showed. The ministry also said in a separate survey Friday that household spending rose a modest 1.8 percent in August from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the country's jobless rate fell slightly to 4.2 percent in August, down from 4.3 percent in July.

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Japan: Two blasts destroy chemical plant (VIDEO)

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A dramatic video shows the moment a massive explosion struck a chemical plant in south-west Japan. At least one person was killed and some 17 injured as two blasts hit the facility on Sunday. The blasts happened at Mitsui Chemicals in Yamaguchi prefecture after workers tried to shut down part of the plant following a problem in a different sector. The first explosion occurred at 2am local time killing a 22-year old worker and injuring 11 others. The second blast took place few hours later but did not hurt anyone.

The flames were brought under control about 15 hours after the second explosion. Hundreds of nearby homes were damaged and at least six people injured by glass fragments, NHK reports. Officials say there has been no toxic leak.

(RT)

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Typhoon Roke hits Japan, headed for crippled Fukushima Nuclear Plant

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A powerful typhoon struck Japan’s main island on Wednesday, stranding thousands of commuters in Tokyo and threatening to pour heavy rain on the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in the nation’s tsunami-ravaged northeast. Evacuation advisories went out to more than 1 million people across the main island of Honshu as torrential downpours caused flash floods in low-lying areas. As of Wednesday evening, five people had been found dead and four others were missing, according to Japan’s national broadcaster, N.H.K. The storm, called Typhoon Roke, directly hit greater Tokyo, briefly shutting down Japan’s commercial and political center. Strong winds and rains brought most subways and commuter trains to at least a temporary halt, stranding tens of thousands at stations. Bullet train and airline service was canceled.

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Japan: Damaged Nuclear Reactors being prepared for a cold shutdown

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The manager of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Friday began boosting the quantity of coolant being poured into the site's No. 1 reactor, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, May 5). The increased insertion of water is part of an ongoing effort to prevent additional radiation releases from four reactors at the six-reactor plant, which was severely damaged in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left more than 20,000 people dead or missing in Japan. Radiation releases on a level not seen since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster have already forced the evacuation of about 80,000 residents from a 12-mile ring around the facility. Tokyo Electric Power is now dumping 8 tons of water per hour into the No. 1 reactor's pressure vessel, up from a prior 6 tons per hour. Officials hope to inject enough liquid in the reactor's containment vessel to keep its nuclear fuel underwater for about 20 days, as they install and turn on a coolant system. The company intends over a three-month period to take a similar approach in reactors No. 1 to 4, Kyodo reported (Kyodo News/Japan Times, May 6).

Workers this week began readying ventilators to clear out radiation in the No. 1 reactor in advance of installation of the cooling system. Personnel had not been allowed inside the reactor since a hydrogen explosion that followed the natural disasters. "Things are moving forward steadily, one by one. Our final goal is to bring them (the reactors) to a cold shutdown. As a first step towards that, we were able to go inside the building and this is a major point", Tokyo Electric Power official Junichi Matsumoto said to reporters. In cold shutdown, nuclear fuel rods within reactors are submerged in water that is kept under 100 degrees Celsius, curbing additional overheating and releases of radiation. The company has ruled out further hydrogen explosions at the No. 1 reactor as more water is poured into the containment vessel, according to a report delivered to the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. The agency is keeping watch on increasing temperatures in reactor No. 3, which have hit 240 degrees Celsius, said NISA Deputy Director General Hidehiko Nishiyama.

"We do not need to be suddenly worried, but we need to be careful if it continues to rise," he said, noting that Tokyo Electric Power has also boosted its rate of water insertion into that reactor. Radiation levels in some ocean material outside the plant have been identified at 10,000 times above standard amounts, Nishiyama added. "The possibility of a new leak (into the sea) is not zero, but we do not have firm data", he said. Achieving cold shutdown is expected to require three to six months beyond the three-month cooling period in the reactors, Reuters reported. Obstacles such as additional earthquakes and loss of power could extend the period needed to stabilize the reactor fuel, according to some observers. The site would be permanently shuttered, but would probably remain unsafe for humans.

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Thousands take part in anti-government protests in Japan

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Several thousand angry Japanese have staged demonstrations against the Tokyo government over its weak domestic and regional policies. "Prime Minister Kan only worries about how China and North Korea are feeling and never think about his own people. That's what I cannot tolerate the most: I cannot forgive the ruling DPJ performing anti-Japan [actions]", said one of the speakers addressing a crowd of thousands on Saturday. There is growing discontent among the Japanese people for the Kan administration's foreign policy, particularly for its handling of diplomatic spats with China and Russia. A recent poll shows that the approval rating of Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan has fallen six points to 21 percent, which is the lowest level since he took office in June.

People shout slogans and hold national flags during a rally denouncing the Japanese government in Tokyo on December 18, 2010.

Protesters criticized Kan's recent foreign policy decisions, particularly what they regard as his slow response to the recent tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Relations have turned sour between the two countries since Japan arrested a Chinese boat captain near a chain of disputed islands in the East China Sea in September. The captain was released later. However, the territorial dispute has sparked several protests in both countries. The uninhabited islands, called the Senkaku Islands in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands in China, are close to key shipping lanes, have rich fishing grounds and are believed to contain oil deposits.

The protester also criticized Premier Kan and his predecessor Yukio Hatoyama for their failure to remove USZ-led military bases from the southern island of Okinawa. "Indecisive and Band-Aid fixes... that's exactly what Kan heard from Hatoyama, and that's the DNA of DPJ", the speaker said. Kan's predecessor Yukio Hatoyama had to resign after he failed to keep his campaign promise of removing the base off Okinawa. The American Futenma base is unpopular among local residents who associate it with crime and pollution. The base has provoked a wave of anger in the country, with the nation demanding a complete removal of the airbase off the island.


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Operation "Keen Sword" expanding - Japan and USZ launch biggest-ever joint war games

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Japan and the United States of Zionism have launched their biggest-ever joint military exercises off Japan's southern islands near South Korea amid growing tensions in the Korean Peninsula. The drills, named "Keen Sword", will continue until December 10. Washington has deployed more than 10,000 troops, 20 warships and 150 aircrafts to take part in the operation. Tokyo recently invited South Korean military officials to observe the exercises. The exercises come several days after an exchange of artillery fire between the two Koreas.

Operation "Keen Sword"

However, USZ and Japanese officials claim the drills were planned before the Korean clashes. The developments come days after Japanese on the southern Island of Okinawa re-elected incumbent governor Hirokazu Nakaima, who wants an end to the American military presence in the island. Nakaima, who wants the USZ Futenma airbase off Okinawa altogether, defeated his opponent who agreed to relocate the base to a less crowded area on the island.

Futenma hosts about half of the USZ troops in Japan as the row over the airbase has given new headaches to Japan's puppet Prime Minister Naoto Kan. Futenma has provoked a wave of angry protests in the country, with the nation demanding a complete removal of the airbase off Okinawa, which has been under the US command since the end of World War II.

Analysts and war specialists all over the globe look at these war games as USZ's last step towards its funeral, not only as a superpower, but also as a "united states". Economically crushed state is pushing itself to its limits only for keeping its ego as a superpower alive and to show the world that it still exists, but unfortunately, or fortunately, not for long now. Some also say that the globalists using American machinery for their globalist agenda deliberately leaked American documents using WikiLeaks just to warn the true American diplomacy that they own them, and if they try to hinder in their globalist plans, they can destroy American image worldwide and make it alone in the international community. They already own dollar and most probably the upcoming American currency as well.


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