Japan's exports slump as coronavirus hits U.S., Chinese demand

Very sad, hopefully it recovers later this year.

There's nothing exceptional about the data as it relates to the worsening Japanese economic outlook.

Frankly, I'm surprised that the Japanese numbers are not worse, particularly amidst what will likely turn out to be a deep global recession.

Q2 data won't be any fun to look at; no country or region will be spared.

TomToday  01:27 pm JST

And the Yen should follow suit.

Even if it should.....it won't. So doubt it'll happen when every other nation will also be in an economic slump.

Japan will be using the coronavirus as the excuse for all of their poor economic and business decisions for the next 20 years. Like other folks have noted, Japanese people in 2020 are still blaming Lehman shock for their financial problems!

Japan will be using the coronavirus as the excuse for all of their poor economic and business decisions for the next 20 years. Like other folks have noted, Japanese people in 2020 are still blaming Lehman shock for their financial problems.

@TARA TAN KITAOKA

The Japanese economy is not export-driven. Most goods and services are produced and consumed within its soil. Lowering yen could be considered as currency manipulation. A cheaper yen only benefits some export firms at the expense of majority consumers and locally operated businesses (especially who import materials from overseas).

to

noriahojanenApr. 20 09:27 pm JST

120,000,000 people consume everything Japanese made ???. Are U trying to destory japanese producers ???.

Japan have to down the yen, it is the only way to save exports. A strong yen or kaput, pls take yr pick.

Most of what Japan exports would be considered non-essential things. Do people need to renew cars, game console, phones etc...every 2-3 years? Most likely not, especially in times like this. Perhaps Japanese government could focus more on supporting and stoking local agriculture and producing enough grain, cattle, pigs, poultry to feed its people. Food shortage would be the next likely fallout from this pandemic.

exports is the only way to survive for MADE IN JAPAN.

Yet again the palpably false narrative of export reliance is enlisted to justify depreciating the yen and inflicting even more hardship on the multitudes. At only around 16%, Japan’s exports to GDP ratio ranks 4th lowest behind the US, India, and Belgium as the LEAST export reliant economies among the top 25 globally.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_exports

The yen will continue to strengthen so long as the country refuses to reconsider its one track mind obsession with a massive and unsustainable surplus trade imbalance that is largely a product of the closed nature of it’s markets. Its natural level is somewhere in the range 70-80 yen to the $US and stronger against many other currencies. Conversely, a verifiably more open market will help the yen stabilise, probably between 80-100.

Japan deludes itself if it thinks that the rest of the world will idly permit it to export unemployment through currency depreciation. Currency appreciation, on the other hand, especially if Japan took the lead, would demonstate to the world its bona fides as a good global citizen and whilst it would make it that much harder to maintain the charade that the paucity of foreign products is not engineered, the common people would have cause for rejoicing.

This Coronavirus outbreak is not gonna end well for a lots of people ,some will lose their and fortune and lives at the same time, especially those who are defiant about the virus,all you one that post negative here against others, that is sign of defiant

Lower the yen right now. No time for delay. Never forget that U are an island with 120,000,000 people, exports is the only way to survive for MADE IN JAPAN. Are yr monetary bodies trying to destory yrselves ???.

Japanese had 3 month to get it house in order, with the Diamond Princess fiasco, cannot say much about our incompetent response to the virus in the US

And the Yen should follow suit.

A huge wake up call to “business is war” Japan (and it’s mercantilist imitators) that the economic model that has served them so well has reached its use by date. The deeply rooted ambivalence towards the idea of paying anything more than lip service to global norms and an unashamed belief in the necessity of stymying true reciprocity; cynically claiming to be open while in reality forever building walls that rarely apply anywhere else has to change.