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Japan exports fall for 3rd straight month on waning external demand

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Trump policies are killing the Obama economic boom coming out of the last

Republican Bush Great Recession.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Wonder if it has to also do with Japanese companies being corrupt and falsifying data.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

The demand is there but it is the lack of money in the pockets of the people that is the problem!

11 ( +11 / -0 )

Japan's exports fell for a third straight month in February in a sign of growing strain on the trade-reliant economy from slowing external demand and a Sino-U.S. tariff war.

Well, gee, what about domestic demand / consumption??

Oh, right, after six decades, Japan's economy is still dependent on exports. Meanwhile, an increase in the consumption tax will do wonders for domestic demand.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

Trump policies are killing the Obama economic boom coming out of the last

Republican Bush Great Recession.

What an ill-informed comment.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

@zurcronium,

Trumps policies have nothing to do with the mess the Japanese Government has got itself into. The last 10 years in Japan have been maybe the worst 10 years for Japanese people.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

@Serrano; In an ideal world you are correct however Japan has the issue of an aging population, wage suppression (i.e. low spending power), and an impending sales tax increase to deal with.

Domestic consumption by tourists has increased but it has an upper ceiling. Anything associated with the Tokyo Olympics is a transient event.

I think Japan has always been (in its modern history) an exporting country and will always need to be (exportation of goods, machines, or services - including knowledge).

This has little to do with Trump (nor Obama) and as others have indicated this situation has been developing (festering) for decades.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

which have raised worries that a record run of postwar growth may come to an end

You mean the postwar 'growth' that was off the backs of a population obliged to volunteer themselves as slaves. 'Miracle' indeed... The inhumane approaches to economy were always going to catch up with them.

What's needed now is a complete re-think to social attitudes, and a complete removal of all the corruption and dead-wood that chokes up every corner of government and society. In other words, a revolution.

Because that will be too hard, it's easier for Japan to just slowly turn inwards on itself and watch the sun set. The future generations will be wiping the rears of those that put them in this mess.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

@tokyo-engr the money from the tax increase will just be used to inflate Japan's debt as they add more social programs and build more useless stuff. The problem is the spending; not the amount of rev they get from sales taxes. They won't use that tax for the pensioners. They just use that talking point to get the pensioners on their side. Even though they will be having to pay more for goods.

They need to cut all welfare programs and cut all money to every prefecture by at least 10 percent. The prefecture s always use that money to build useless buildings that no one asked for that require useless staff that are taken out of the real work force. Cutting these public jobs would also fix the labor shortage problem.

3rd would be to actually reduce the tax so people have more money to spend and than the government would get their inflation that they wanted for so long.

I don't understand why these politicians don't understand these concepts. Maybe because they live in a bubble.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

"Wonder if it has to also do with Japanese companies being corrupt and falsifying data."

No it does not, since SK, Taiwan and the rest of Asia's exports are also down as well as Germany's.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Monday's trade data showed exports to China, Japan's biggest trading partner, rose 5.5 percent year-on-year,

Really promising news. Why is the story not about the huge increasing demand in China for Japanese goods, instead of looking at things negatively? The world is in a huge economic slump, and Japan is wethering it real well compared to most.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

@GJ--"Why is this story not about the huge increasing demand in China"--because some other stats in the article tell a different story. The January-February period is down 6.3 % from a year earlier, wiping out the humongous hugeness of the 5.5 % rise in February-only data you cited. And "wethering" is not a word; an easy reminder is included in the phrase "weathering the storm."

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Japan exports fall for 3rd straight month on waning external demand

It's obvious the myriad of fraud scandals involving falsified safety and financial data and faulty products are finally catching up with Japanese industries. The international consumers have no faith in any Japanese products hence, the waning demand. They are trying to blame a trade war between China and the US. However, they only have themselves to blame for all the shoddy international deals they've been pulling off for decades. This is why Japan is focussing on the third world countries to increase their global manufacturing. These countries have not been ripped off by Japan, yet!

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Lots of Japanese cars are built in the U.S. and other more local areas where they are sold, so at least in terms of cars, I don't know if a drop in exports means gloom and doom. But make no mistake, if car sales drop, so will the J-economy in a big way. The Japanese can thank their affluence on the car-dependent culture of the U.S. There's a reason why Japan is the U.S.'s best buddy.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Oh but please. By all means. Raise the tax rate. Everything will turn out great!!!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Everyone in this comment section lives in a bubble. I read today an article about the Central Banks of developed Countries that explained how they can't live without an eternal quantitative easing anymore. Basically, the growth in the West is over. Japan has been only the first Country to know this problem, that is now becoming common to the rest of the West. We cannot grow anymore without printing money and create debt. The western model of development is in deep crisis.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Trump policies are killing the Obama economic boom

Har! Yeah, it'll be the Obama economic boom until it takes a downturn and then it'll be the Trump economy!

Japan should focus more on domestic growth instead of over relying on exports.

Basically, the growth in the West is over.

Watch the U.S. economy continue to grow.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

@Serrano: not according to serious economists. If the economy was that healthy, Trump wouldn't need protectionism and to engage in war trade with all the world. I wonder how people can be so oblivious. Plus, as usual, the US during moments like this rely on their war machine.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

So does this mean, Japan won't after all need more foreign workers ? Or will they push ahead and replace the locals with Cheap trainees anyway ?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yen is too strong at the moment in-order to stimulate growth. I'd not be surprised at a sudden decline pushing the yen back to the levels of past... though how to orchestrate such a decline without looking like you're manipulating your own currency .... ideas ?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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