Japan: Largest decline in exports since Earthquake

The decline in Japanese exports is not a Japan isolated issue. If the rest of the world is broke, they will not be buying from you. Instead of trying to weaken Yen again and again, perhaps Japan may be better served pushing EU and Spain/Greece to pick up the pace in their recovery.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda talks about Japan’s economy, implications of the yen’s strength and the diplomatic dispute with China over islands claimed by both nations. Noda spoke with Bloomberg’s Matt Winkler and Brian Fowler in Tokyo yesterday. (This report is a translation of Noda’s remarks in Japanese. Source: Bloomberg)

Shipments slid 10.3 percent in September from a year earlier, leaving a trade deficit of 558.6 billion yen ($7 billion), the Finance Ministry said in Tokyo today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts was for a 9.9 percent export decline. Imports rose 4.1 percent.

Economy Minister Seiji Maehara pressed the Bank of Japan for more action yesterday, saying the nation is “falling behind” in monetary stimulus and is at risk of another credit- rating downgrade. The BOJ today cut its view of eight out of nine regional economies while Taiwanese unemployment rose to a one-year high, underscoring weakness across Asia after China’s third-quarter growth was the slowest since 2009.

“There’s a high chance that Japan’s economy will have two consecutive quarters of contraction through December,” said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist at Itochu Corp. in Tokyo. “The slump in advanced nations is spreading to emerging economies.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.3 percent at 2:50 p.m. in Tokyo after a 2.3 percent gain last week. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average was 0.1 percent higher. The yen weakened 0.3 percent to 79.57 per dollar.

Via – Bloomberg

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