Blog
Japan’s Dangerous Downturn
22nd March 2009
The export-dependent Japanese economy looks to be in free-fall at the moment. The IMF is forecasting a 6 per cent decline in real GDP this year and exports have collapsed - down 50 per cent on the same time last year. Japan is used to recessions - the lost decade slashed their trend growth rate to one per cent or less. But the pressures on Japanese industry are almost unprecedented.
This short BBC video clip by correspondent Matt Frei looks at attempts by some Japanese industrial firms to reinvent themselves - including a steel firm that is trying to produce super-fresh lettuce.
Update (25 March)
Japanese exports have halved compared to the same time last year
The FT reports on a sizeable £11bn fiscal stimulus targeted at the labour market - unemployment in Japan is not that high by international standards but it is set to jump much higher over the coming months as the downturn in output hits jobs. The extra government spending will include finance for workers undergoing training, payments for people who are laid off without unemployment insurance, and subsidies for companies that retain surplus staff.
What price that the UK government is forced to announce some special employment packages in the April budget?
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.