Tuesday morning headlines: Food producers moving into China, TV sales and the Aso Cabinet

June 16, 2009
By Ken Worsley

The Nikkei’s Tuesday morning edition is reporting more moves by Japanese food producers into the Chinese market. First, Maruha Nichiro intends to begin farming trout in the Philippines later this year and shipping the fish live to China. The firm is hoping for sales of around 1 billion yen within a few years. On the beer front, Kirin is now selling its brew to watering holes in Shanghai, and is hoping to sell 150,000 cases of 12 500ml bottles this year. Finally, House Foods and Ichibanya aim to increase the number of their joint-owned curry shops in China from the current 13 to to 41 by the end of March 2012.

The Nikkei is also reporting that in the first month of the government’s new eco-point program, sales of flat-panel televisions have jumped 32% from last year. Of course, sales had been low while customers waited for the eco-points program to start, so it will take some time to see just how much better flat-panel TV sales do over the year as a whole - not to mention whether next year’s figures will suffer as a result.

Two new polls are out covering the support rating of the Aso Cabinet. First, Kyodo reports support for the Aso Cabinet down 8.7% to 17.5%, while support for the LDP was at 19.8% - the lowest for the LDP on record. Support for the opposition Democratic Party of Japan was at 38.5%. When asked which party they would vote for in the upcoming House of Representatives election’s proportional representation blocs, 47.8% indicated support for the DPJ while 18.7% named the LDP.

In the Nikkei’s poll, support for the Aso Cabinet fell 5% to 25%. The Nikkei also reported that the Cabinet’s disapproval rating had climbed 3% to 65%. 62% of respondents felt the Cabinet suffered from a lack of leadership - up a whopping 18% from last month, while 46% cited “bad policies.” According to the Nikkei, “Of those who voiced support, 49% said they did so because the cabinet is led by the Liberal Democratic Party, while 22% noted its international outlook.”

Filed Under Agriculture, Business, Politics, Retail

Social Bookmarks:

Related Posts:
Kyodo poll: 75.9% of Japanese say they will no longer use Chinese food
China passes Japan as the world’s #2 automobile market
Japanese automakers dominant in China
Japanese firms in China hoping to retain talent better in 2008
Japan not eager to diversify its foreign reserves: Ministry of Finance