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Japan supermarket sales fell 1.2% in July

According to data released earlier today by the Japan Chain Stores Association, supermarket sales in Japan fell 1.2% to 1.05 trillion yen in July. Supermarket sales have now fallen for 20 consecutive months on a year-on-year comparison, though the rate of decline is slowing somewhat.

Here is a breakdown of July’s adjusted same-store figures (not including stores opened within the past twelve months): Read more

Japan convenience store sales up in July for the first time in 14 months

According to data released today by the Japan Franchise Association, convenience store sales rose 0.5% in July, showing an increase for the first time in 14 months.

The hot weather appears to have helped convenience store sales in July, as sales of cold drinks, ice cream and processed food increased 5.8%. Customer traffic was up 2.3% in July, and this is notable because it is the first increase above 2% since June 2009, when the TASPO card was introduced. 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

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

Japan’s foreign reserves up for first time in three months in April

According to data released by the Finance Ministry today, Japan’s foreign reserves rose by $4.16 billion at the end of April from the previous months to $1.047 trillion. The value of Japan’s foreign reserve assets has thus risen for the first time in three months, and the Finance Ministry said that this was due to appreciation in the value of dollar holdings.

$993 million of the $1.047 trillion in reserve assets is held in foreign currencies, with the remainder composed of IMF reserve positions, SDRs, gold and other assets.

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