Bright spots in the news for Japan’s economy

March 11, 2007
By Ken Worsley

Amid a recent deluge of negative news coverage on Japan in general, there are a few bright spots worth considering, especially with regards to the economy and international trade:

First, we have a report that Japan and India are set to establish an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) during the next year. Katsuhito Asano, Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, visited India on March 8 and 9 and took part in the “Symposium on Japan and India,” where Rakesh Mohan, a deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India, said that deeper and more intensive policy work is needed to establish economic linkages between India and Japan towards greater regional integration in Asia.

On March 10, Mr Asano headed over to Vietnam, where the day before his arrival, Vietnam’s Petroleum Services and Tourism Company and Japan’s Itochu Cooperation announced plans to set up a joint venture to build Vietnam’s first bio-ethanol plant.

Masayoshi Hamada, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, was busy as well. Hamada headed to Switzerland on March 11, just in time for the announcement that the Swiss government approved a mandate for negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership and free trade agreement (FTA) between Switzerland and Japan. The statement revealed that such an agreement could be finalized by next year. If enacted, it will become be Japan’s first FTA with a European country.

Finally, the town of Yubari in Hokkaido may be bankrupt, but Niseko is having opposite fortunes. The small town of 15,800 has seen a boom in ski tourism over the past few years, especially from Australians. Neil Riley, who runs WeLoveSnow, a company promoting skiing in the central Japanese resort town of Yuzawa in Niigata, had this to say: “Lots of people have been to the Alps or Colorado. But there’s now a lot of bragging rights to say you’ve been skiing in Japan.“

I suppose I should start bragging.

Filed Under Business, Economics