Japan's economy grows at slower pace, raises stakes for Abenomics

[ChineseTiger1986]

Why do you talk italy down, explain me please. And why do you call me Spaghettifresser? What do you think you achieve with such insults?

Italy is one of most loved, beautiful countries worldwide with best food, art, high living standards and happy people, I'm proud for that.

This topic is about Japan, next time don't stick your nose into China's business.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

China will never bomb japan. I find it pathetic that you wish death on other people you dont even know.

Do you have any constructive and positive ideas at all or just this war bullshit? What are your plans for cooperation with Japan for example?

A country bathed with nuclear radiation, yet they want to build the nukes.

Even the US has asked them to STFU.

U.S. General Tells Japan, Philippines to Cool China Rhetoric - Bloomberg

Speaking like you know the situation more than a hawkish US General.

 

[visom]

LOL Do you know how GDP per capita is calculated? Please tell me how you get the GDP per capita number.

I repeat again, GDP Capital PPP is a better indication of individual well being as far as their ability to spend.


Because German and us have one thing in common and that is export-striven economy. But we are slowly moving away from export to domestic. You are a joke. Russia and us always hand in hand when dealing with international matter. Yes, you can't do shit about it, Italiano. I hope the Indian have the ball execute your criminal navy servicemen. If this is us, we would have execute your navy servicemen already. LOL

GDP per capita = GDP/population

I repeat again. BOTH GDP per capital (PPP and nominal) are important. I did not say nominal is more important.

 

[shuttler]

Japan's Abe faces challenge to broaden recovery
By ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Business Writer
Updated 11:27 am, Tuesday, February 18, 2014

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abehas ticked off the easy items on his to-do list for economic revival.

Flashy indicators show that factories are churning out more cars and electronics. Corporate profits are up. Stock prices have surged 30 percent in the past year.

Despite his brash declaration that "Japan is back" in a speech last September to the New York Stock Exchange, Abe faces a thornier challenge in ensuring that his "Abenomics" recovery spreads beyond boardrooms to the Japanese people.

Over the past two decades Japan's system of salaried jobs with full benefits has crumbled as companies struggled to stay afloat in cut-throat global markets, shifting much of their manufacturing overseas. Steady jobs in manufacturing and finance that moved abroad or became obsolete were replaced by low-paying service jobs such as clerking in convenience stores and delivery work, especially for workers under 40.

About 40 percent of Japan's workers, or triple the figure of just 30 years ago, are employed under part-time or non-regular contracts that pay far less than "salaryman" type jobs of the past. That hollowing out is undercutting the domestic demand that powers nearly three-quarters of business activity within Japan, compounding the effects of a shrinking and aging population.

"Up to now, it's all been a minus," said retiree Takeshi Onodera, when asked about Abenomics. "I don't see any signs it's made a difference."

"Really, it hasn't reached us."

Economic growth picked up modestly last year to 1.6 percent but fell short of expectations in the fourth quarter, prompting the Bank of Japan to Tuesday top up its already plentiful stimulus.

Onodera's pessimism is shared by some experts. They say the social and economic forces at play in Japan for more than a generation, are too powerful to be overcome by Abe's prescription of big government spending, lavish monetary easing, a weak yen and dismantling barriers to competition.

Japan's median household income of 3.8 million yen ($38,700) in 2012 was down from 4.5 million yen in 1997. Today's workers are worse off than their parents and their incomes continued to fall in 2013 even as the initial successes of Abe's policies rolled in.

On top of that, living costs are rising as Abe's weak yen policy that favors Japan's exporters pushes up the cost of imported fuel and other goods.

Employers are reluctant to raise wages, a measure vital for an enduring recovery. Japanese consumers will take another hit in April when sales tax is raised to 8 percent from 5 percent to help bridge the government's yawning budget deficit.

"Our parents just saved money in the bank without really thinking about it. For us, it's really difficult to save money," said Hideo Sone, a 40-year-old machinery factory worker.

"We want to buy a house but it looks like repaying the money before retirement might be difficult," said his wife, Natsuko.

Many younger workers stuck in part-time or temporary jobs, with no benefits, only manage by living with their parents, said Seiichi Inagaki, a visiting professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. "It is unavoidable for them that the poverty rate will rise," said Inagaki, a former welfare ministry official.

Speaking in parliament this month, Abe acknowledged that rising company profits haven't gone into wages but insisted increases are inevitable as the economy picks up.

Flat or declining incomes were bearable until recently because the stagnation that followed the bursting of Japan's bubble economy in the early 1990s was characterized by falling prices, or deflation. Now, costs are rising, with consumer prices up last year for the first time in half a decade.

Many companies are balking at Abe's calls for higher wages, which they can ill afford. Some that have profited from the weaker yen are promising modest wage hikes for upcoming spring labor talks, but many other businesses, especially the smaller ones that employ a majority of Japanese, are being squeezed by higher costs for imported components and energy.

"Business and political circles do want to revive our economy, but without giving labor a bigger share of the economic pie obviously it won't happen," said Kenji Utsunomiya, a two-time candidate for Tokyo governor.

As Abe's government weighs corporate and broader public interests, industry appears to have the upper hand.

Despite the famed efficiency of its automakers and other manufacturers, Japan ranks 20th out of 20 among the world's richest economies in terms of how productive its workers are. So the government plans to designate some areas of the country as "special zones" for reforming labor laws and restrictions that Abe says are hindering innovation and competition.

But proposals to make it easier to fire permanent employees and for exempting companies from giving white-collar workers overtime pay worry labor advocates.

"I'm especially concerned about the idea of special economic zones. They seem to be aiming for a situation in which companies can fire and hire people with really very little constraint," said Noriko Hama, a professor at Kyoto's Doshisha University.

With government finances strained by Japan's record-busting national debt, the country's already Spartan social safety net is being cut further.

Japan's unemployment rate is low compared with Europe and the U.S., but welfare rolls have risen to record levels as single parents and growing numbers of seniors lacking enough pension income seek help. To counter rising costs, monthly payments were cut by up to 10 percent last August, and further reductions are planned.

Toshio Hirota, 72, is feeling the squeeze as government cuts support payments for his wife and two young stepchildren.

Plans to cut corporate taxes to encourage companies to raise wages, step up innovation and boost investments don't sit well with him.

"The money is just going to the big companies, and they're just moving the jobs overseas," said Hirota. "We are not feeling any benefit from this."

Japan's Abe faces challenge to broaden recovery - NewsTimes

 

[senheiser]

The thread is not about politics or war, its about economy.

GDP per Capita is a good indicator to show if a economy is good or bad, for exsample India has a much higher GDP than Switzerland but who has a better economy?

so what? China has Hongkong and Russia has Moscow, both cities are like switzerland in gdp per capita and population.

 

[visom]

It's all about the comprehensive industrial strength. They are all machines. The superior Italians got advantages here, why we can't have other achievements?

It is sometimes but it is an unfair comparison when you're looking at an industry that focuses all its R&D into transportation while the other focuses on aerospace.

The US is the undisputed leader in military technology while our cars quality and technology are still behind Germany and Japan's.

You are talking about the WASP being a dominant group in the last 200 years, but the Spaghetti Italy was always a third rate nation. Just look at their performance in the WWII, even the Nazi Germany thought they were a laughing stock.

Italy's performance during WWII was still better than some countries.

 

[xenon54 out]

so what? China has Hongkong and Russia has Moscow, both cities are like switzerland in gdp per capita and population.

I like Hong Kong a great city, but what do you want to say with this?

 

[shuttler]

• January 30, 2014, 8:05 PM

Japan Sees Trouble Ahead as Trade Pact Stalls
By MITSURU OBE

Harry Reidmade clear his opposition to granting the Obama administration power to clinch trade deals with other countries, dashing hopes for an early TPP deal and leaving negotiations on hold at least until the U.S. mid-term elections are over in November.

• Few issues are as emotionally charged in Japan as the TPP, mainly because of the U.S. demand for opening up Japan’s highly protected rice industry.
• 
  
• Some economists, such as Daiwa Institute of Research Masamichi Hasebe, point to a recent government estimate that economic benefits of the TPP would be about 0.66% of Japan’s gross domestic product–a sizable amount but not big enough to make it vital for Japan’s economSeey. But government officials say that its potential benefits stretched far beyond the economic boost.
  
  First, without market-opening pressure from the U.S. under the TPP talks, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic reform program could slacken.
  
  While Mr. Abe insists that reforms would proceed with or without the TPP,negotiations have served as a key driving force behind the reform programs.
  
  One senior government official wondered Thursday how the government would motivate farmers to action without a TPP-imposed deadline for tariff elimination. Japanese farmers have been long pressured to implement cost-saving measures, such as collaborating with each other and sharing equipment, but with tariff protection and generous government support remaining in place, farmers may lack incentives to do anything, the official said.
  
  Furthermore, the stalling of the TPP is likely to slow down other free trade negotiations Japan is engaged in, such as with the European Union, Australia, China, Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
  
  Many countries, such as China, felt the need to enter free trade negotiations with Japan after seeing it join in the TPP talks as US and China compete for influence in the region.
  
  Now that the TPP is up in the air, other trade talks that could promise to bring much bigger economic benefits than the TPP could also lose steam.
  
  “Failure to bring about the TPP and an FTA with the EU at the same time would be a big blow to Japan,” one official said, pointing to the potential benefit of removing EU’s much higher tariff barriers than U.S.’s.
  
  And most importantly, a failure to clinch a TPP deal could leave Asia without much needed reforms for further economic growth.
  
  The TPP would mandate overhauls of state-owned enterprises, for instance. Breaking up the government control could free up economic forces in countries like China, and unleash higher economic growth, something vital for a country like Japan that counts on Asian markets for economic growth.
  
  Still, few government officials expect Mr. Abe to make unilateral concessions just to keep the TPP negotiations alive.
  
  “The TPP is an important tool for Mr. Abe, but it’s still just a tool. He won’t let it dictate his policy, which is to produce positive outcomes that would strengthen his political power,” one official said.
  
  The official stressed that there’s nothing unusual about the trade talks getting bogged down temporarily. “What’s important is the Obama administration making a commitment to wrapping up the negotiations after the mid-term election.”
  
  Japan Sees Trouble Ahead as Trade Pact Stalls - Japan Real Time - WSJ
  

 

[senheiser]

I like Hong Kong a great city, but what do you want to say with this?

that china is a big countries where places exist that are like switzerland too

List of countries by GDP (PPP) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

in fact hongkong has now a bigger economy than switzerland

Report for Selected Countries and Subjects

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

I dont care a damn shit about what the false flagged trolls said
China and Italy, as well as others like Germany are on good terms with one another
As I said the cheerleaders are trying to drag China into a hole which looks like everyone is against us while their own country of origin is in deep shit of some diplomatic rows

True, we should now focus to bring down the Japs first.

 

[Edison Chen]

You are talking about the WASP being a dominant group in the last 200 years, but the Spaghetti Italy was always a third rate nation. Just look at their performance in the WWII, even the Nazi Germany thought they were a laughing stock.

Yes, that's what I want to mention earlier, they are totally a joke when in WW2....So coward.....They are a burden of Germany.

It is sometimes but it is an unfair comparison when you're looking at an industry that focuses all its R&D into transportation while the other focuses on aerospace.

The US is the undisputed leader in military technology while our cars quality and technology are still behind Germany and Japan's.



Italy's performance during WWII was still better than some countries.

Agreed, and that's why each country has her own specialization. Veichle is just one side, in pharmacy industry and many other fields, USA beat Europeans I think. China initiated industrialization much later than NA and Europe, we've already lost so many opportunities to lead technology breakthroughs, you western countries already dominated this field and controlled the high-tech transfer, we are just making up our lost chances that we wasted, it's not easy. So, generally speaking it's a fair competition.

 

[shuttler]

True, we should now focus to bring down the Japs first.

absolutely
just focus on the issue with Japan
other countries which are against us in false flags are peripherals

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

absolutely
just focus on the issue with Japan
other countries which are against us in false flags are peripherals

Japs now are pursuing the independence of Taiwan, it looks like they are really itched to get bombed by PLA.

 

[xenon54 out]

that china is a big countries where places exist that are like switzerland too

List of countries by GDP (PPP) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

No doubt about it but then again this shows the imbalance in Chinese Economic growth.

in fact hongkong has now a bigger economy than switzerland

Report for Selected Countries and Subjects

Its about the same, good that booth have such a good economy, nobody is denying it.

 

[shuttler]

Japs now are pursuing the independence of Taiwan, it looks like they are really itched to get bombed by PLA.

They are trying to make it official of a closer tie with Taiwan in response to 连战's mainland visit and his meeting with President Xi.

I saw on TV that our spokesperson from Dept of Foreign Affairs has reprimanded that immediately