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Resilient Japanese producers vow to rebuild (via ABC)
Resilient producers inside Japan’s nuclear fallout zone are fighting on in the face of devastating conditions to rebuild their centuries-old businesses.
Ex-BOJ Muto calls for QE expansion to weaken yen (via Reuters)
The Bank of Japan should consider boosting asset purchases further to weaken the yen as currency intervention has only a temporary effect in stemming yen rises, former BOJ Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto said.
Japan’s politics offer sober economic policy lessons (via Reuters)
U.S. and euro zone governments drowning in debt should look no further than Japan to learn what happens when political deadlock stifles decisive policy-making.
Four Seasons Plans to Open Hotel in Okinawa, Japan as Early as 2014 (via Bloomberg)
Four Seasons Hotels Inc., which manages 85 hotels globally, said it plans to open a new property in Okinawa, Japan, as early as 2014 to expand its hotels under management globally.
Japanese Firms Go Shopping (via The Wall Street Journal)
Unicharm Corp. on Thursday did what hundreds of Japanese firms have done this year. It bought a company overseas. And like the others, the medium-size supplier of sanitary goods didn’t wait for a $50 billion government fund to conceive and close out its purchase of Diana Joint Stock Co., a Vietnamese diaper maker, for an undisclosed sum.
Will China repeat Japan’s “lost decade?” (via People’s Daily Online)
In the context of economics, the “lost decade” refers to the Japanese economy’s stagnation throughout the 1990s after rapid growth in the 1970s and 1980s. Technically speaking, Japan has experienced two “lost decades.” Certain scholars and media outlets recently made bold predictions that China could face a Japanese-style lost decade. Prominent U.S. economist Nouriel Roubini, nicknamed Dr. Doom for his critical economic views, made a more specific prediction when he said that China’s economy will suffer a hard landing in 2013.
Putting the Japan to U.S. Economic Comparison to Rest (via Wall Street Pit)
One of the most common questions I hear these days: “Is the U.S. headed in the same direction of the Japan economy of 1990s?” The big fear is that we are headed to 10 years of deflation, as Japan experienced in its “lost decade.”
Japan-China Trade Sets Record in First Half of 2011, While Earthquake Slows Growth in Exports (via JCN Network)
According to a report released on August 16th by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan’s total trade with China rose 17.9% year-on-year to 163.2 billion USD in the first half of 2011, setting a new record on a first half-year basis. This figure was the second highest on a half-year basis after the 163.5 billion USD registered in the second half of 2010. Japan’s exports to China rose 14.3% to 78.2 billion USD while its imports from China rose 21.4 % to 84.9 billion USD. The increase in imports surpassed that of exports which was affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Japan’s trade with China posted a 6.7 billion USD deficit, up 4.3 times year-on-year.
Fast Retailing, Mitsui Fudosan Tie Up For Store Openings In Asia (via Fox Business)
Fast Retailing Co. (9983.TO) said Wednesday it has signed a basic accord with a real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan Co. (8801.TO) to team up to open stores in Asian nations to speed up its growth strategy outside Japan.
In Japan, Biden sees recovery and disarray (via The Washington Post)
Visiting Japan to show solidarity with one of the United States’ oldest allies, Vice President Biden got a glimpse Tuesday of the rapid disaster recovery taking place in the northeast as well as the political disarray in Tokyo that threatens to hold it back.
Mistaken Monetary Policy Lessons from Japan? (via Global Economic Intersection)
The global crisis of 2008-2009 has refocused attention on the lessons of Japan’s lost decade, with many suggesting that Europe and the US are heading the same direction. This makes a thorough understanding of the Japanese case an urgent matter. But this column argues that pushing the analogies too far is a mistake that could prolong the economic pain.
Goodman plans rebranding for expansion in Japan (via The Australian)
Goodman Group is expected to announce today its plan for an $800 million expansion into Japan, beginning with a project in Osaka. It is understood that the initial project will have a completed value of about $300m. Goodman plans to raise the value of projects to about $800m in six to seven months.
Utility Scale Solar Gains Momentum in Japan (via Green Tech Media)
Mitsui and Toshiba have announced that they will collaborate to build a 50-megawatt solar plant in Japan, a deal that could become part of a wave of utility-scale projects in that country.
