Japan in 'worst crisis' as GDP shrinks

Japan in 'worst crisis' as GDP shrinks

www.theaustralian.news.com.au

JAPAN faced "the worst economic crisis of the postwar period", Economy Minister Kaoru Yosano said yesterday after the national economy shrank 3.3 per cent in real terms in the final three months of last year.

The fourth-quarter slump, 12.7 per cent annualised, is the steepest since the first "oil shock" in March 1974, and raises fears of the world's second largest national economy falling into what by some measures looks more like depression than recession.

Mr Yosano yesterday flagged the Government would rush out a third stimulus package since September 1, with talk in the markets yesterday of another Y20 trillion (about $335 billion) of new expenditure.

"Doing nothing after we see these miserable economic numbers is tantamount to the negligence of our duty," he told reporters immediately after the release of the preliminary GDP estimates.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Signs of global depression are starting to manifest themselves in very apparent ways. Japan is talking Depression. Not recession. Their GDP is contracting at an extremely fast pace, as is that of the US and Europe. At this level of acceleration it is doubtful, at least to me, that we will be pulling ourselves out of this at any point in the near future. Things are starting to get very ugly.

www.theaustralian.news.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

So they'll be in depression levels in 2009, confirmed.

At least it's not Germany that's like that... because we know what happens when Germany is in trouble in terms of economy... Poland is usually invited for cake.

The USA is going to fall, Japan is one of the biggest buyer of US bonds... when they can't afford them anymore...

Mr Yosano yesterday flagged the Government would rush out a third stimulus package since September 1, with talk in the markets yesterday of another Y20 trillion (about $335 billion) of new expenditure.

This is what we're seeing and they are still going down the crapper. When are we going to look at this and realize that government interventionism will NOT WORK.

reply to post by projectvxn


I don't get it. They have already spent a few truck loads of money trying to "fix" the problem and it hasn't worked.

There bright idea, lets spend more money. Who ever is telling them that they have to spend money to get out of this crisis is a darn good salesman.

Didn't Japan learn the last time this happened to them.


edit - I forgot what else I wanted to add which was,

I guess them dumping truck loads of money when it isn't going to help anything makes them feel good about doing something. Even though it is making things worse.


[edit on 16-2-2009 by Hastobemoretolife]

And this policy, which the US is compounding on top of a destructive monetary policy, is where we are going to go. Every stimulus bill is another nail in the coffin.

reply to post by projectvxn


That it is.

We need sound money and do away with fractional reserve banking. When there is only so much money in circulation a rescission can only be so bad, the same with boom cycles they wouldn't be so prosperous, but our economy would be consistent.

Right now the only thing consistent is the money that gets printed. Of course we would all hurt in the transition but our kids and their kids would be way better off, and for that I'm willing to take the hit.

I half expected Japan's economy to take a hit.

Technology is a major export for Japan, with many of the worlds nations buying less in the way of luxury electronics, is it any wonder Japan is getting hit by it?

My worries are for the Japanese people. That's an incredibly tight packed nation of people heavily reliant on foreign trade of food to sustain themselves.

I hope it doesn't get bad enough that food supplies become strained.

Though, they're a very well educated and rather resourceful group of people, let's hope they can keep themselves afloat.