• Home
• About/Contact
• Economic Reports
• Research
• Advertising

• Business
• Economics
• Reports
• Finance
• Marketing
• Politics
• Real Estate
• Services
• Retail
• Tech

Subscribe

Subway opening shops in karaoke parlors

According to Friday’s Nikkei, Subway Japan opened up a small outlet inside a karaoke parlor in Ehime on Friday. Apparently the firm intends to sell sandwiches to takeaway customers as well as deliver them to rooms in the karaoke facility. Read more

Japan consumer prices fell 1.2% in April

On Friday, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced that Japan’s consumer price index had fallen 1.2% in April, while core consumer prices (excluding fresh food) tumbled 1.5%.

As Japan includes energy prices as part of its core CPI, it’s always helpful to look at what the CPI looks like with energy stripped out. Here is a breakdown of CPI categories for April:
Read more

Cabinet Office: January-March GDP up 4.9% annualized

On Thursday, the Cabinet Office announced that Japan’s GDP had risen an annualized 4.9% in the January-March quarter. This result was lower than the 5.5% gain forecasted by a Bloomberg survey and the 5.9% forecasted by a Dow Jones survey. Real GDP has now risen in each of the past four quarters.

Nominal GDP grew 1.2% on the quarterly basis, the largest increase seen in a decade, on the back of export gains. According to data released by the Ministry of Finance, exports to Asia rose 12.3% in January-March from the previous quarter in seasonally adjusted terms and those to the European Union rose 5.6%, while shipments to the U.S. declined 1.4%. Read more

Japan slips in global competitiveness rankings

For the first time in 17 years, the United States is no longer the most competitive economy in the world, according to IMD’s annual competitiveness survey. The US dropped to third place, as Singapore and Hong Kong surged ahead in the rankings. Read more

Department store sales down for 26th consecutive month in April

According to data released today by the Japan Department Store Association, sales at department stores nationwide fell 3.7% to 484.6 billion yen in April, marking the 26th consecutive month of decline. The survey covered sales at 92 department store operators with 267 shops.

Here is the breakdown of sales by individual categories: Read more

Labour Ministry: Wages fell 3.3% in FY2009

According to a report released today by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, wages in Japan fell 3.3% to 315,311 yen per month in fiscal 2009. This is the strongest drop seen since the ministry began issuing data in 1991, while 2009 was the third consecutive year in which average wages fell in Japan according to the ministry’s data.

Basic compensation fell 1.1% to 245,278 yen while bonuses slumped 10.8% to 53,046 yen per month. Other payments such as overtime fell 7.9% to 16,987 yen. Read more

Jesper Koll at TEDxTokyo

Jesper Koll, Managing Director of Research at JP Morgan, spoke at the TEDxTokyo event this past weekend. The presentation focused on the difference between the collapse of the Japanese bubble and the current economic crisis.

Japan’s monetary supply up again in April

On Thursday, the Bank of Japan released its preliminary figures for April monetary supply. The results show a 2.2% rise in M3 from April of last year, to 1.075 quadrillion yen. M3 includes currency in circulation, as well as money in deposit accounts, time deposits and certificates of deposit.

The M2 figure jumped 2.9% year-on-year, to 775.8 trillion yen. M2 excludes money held in deposits at Japan Post Savings and other financial institutions.

Economy Watchers Survey up 2.4 points in April

On Thursday, the Cabinet Office released the results of its monthly Economy Watchers Survey for April, and the results showed a 2.4 point increase over March to 42.4 points.

The Economy Watchers survey is measured as an index with a score above 50 indicating a positive view of the economy and a score below 50 representing a pessimistic overall view. The survey measures sentiment amongst taxi drivers, restaurant staff, barbers, and other service industry workers sensitive to frontline economic conditions. Read more

IMF: Japan’s national debt to hit 250% of GDP in 2015

A report released today by the International Monetary Fund asserts that Japan’s government debt will reach 250% of GDP in 2015. The IMF suggests that Japan increase its consumption tax by 5% as a step towards reducing its public debt. Read more

Next Page »

Copyright © 2006-2010 Japan Economy News

Privacy Policy | Disclaimer