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El Banco de Japón aprueba un programa de 33.000 millones de dólares para estimular los préstamos corporativos - Cotizalia.com

El Banco de Japón ofrecerá hasta 3.000 millones de yenes (33.000 millones de dólares) en préstamos a cuatro años con el fin de intentar fortalecer la recuperación de la economía. Éstos créditos se canalizarán a través de los bancos comerciales y será en banco central el encargado de aceptar las solicitudes que le lleguen de estos hasta marzo de 2012.

Gov't growth strategy aims to create 5 million jobs in four main fields

The government's new economic growth strategy, approved at a Cabinet meeting on June 18, aims to create a 123 trillion yen market and 5 million jobs in four main fields over the next decade.

The strategy details specific measures the government will take to achieve the "strong economy" that Prime Minister Naoto Kan has declared his administration will pursue.

The strategy calls for the implementation of 330 specific measures primarily in the fields of environment and energy, health care, Asian economy and tourism, but also in three other fields in efforts to achieve an average 3 percent nominal and 2 percent real-term annual economic growth by fiscal 2020. The measures are also aimed at lowering the unemployment rate to 3 percent.

Another goal is turning consumer prices upward within fiscal 2011 to put an end to ongoing deflation.

Of the 330 measures, 21 key measures, including a reduction in the corporate tax rate from the current 40 percent to 25 percent -- the same level as those in major countries -- are designated as national strategy projects.

The government has set clear goals and deadlines for these key projects in order to ensure their targets will be achieved, according to a senior official of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry.

The government will also offer tax privileges from fiscal 2011 to encourage foreign businesses to invest in Japan, with the aim of making Japan the hub of Asia and doubling the number of jobs by 2020.

A national strategy project committee to be headed by the prime minister will be set up to promote exports of infrastructure -- such as nuclear power plants, Shinkansen bullet train systems and water works -- to Asian and other countries, thereby aiming to establish a 19.7 trillion yen market overseas by 2020.

The immigration authorities will issue medical treatment visas for foreigners who wish to undergo advanced medical treatment in Japan, in a bid to bolster Japan's position as the most advanced Asian country in terms of medical services by 2020.

Furthermore, the government aims to integrate kindergartens and nursery schools by 2017 in an effort to accommodate all children on a waiting list for nursery schools.

In the financial sector, the government will aim to make Japan a major financial powerhouse in Asia by removing barriers between securities and other financial exchanges, allowing a single comprehensive financial marketplace.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Japan's population structure
The population pyramid is inverted:



Population growth is zero:



Japan's population is projected to shrink by approximately 32 million persons, or 25%, over the next forty years:



Source: Statistical Handbook of Japan 2009

Assuming an average household size of two persons, this would mean that about 12.5 million housing units would become excess during this time frame. That would be a significant drag on residential real estate values.

At the same time this would imply reduction of commercial real estate values, as fewer consumers would mean less need for retail space; while reduction in employment would mean less need for office/work space.

It seems that domestic sectors will be a drag on economic growth for Japan for the foreseeable future. At the same time, as export markets are stagnant or in recession it is difficult to forecast much growth for Japan's export sector.
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Japan sets new debt targets

Japan set ambitious targets to rein in its debt today but admitted they would not be met even under its rosiest growth scenario, increasing the likelihood of politically contentious tax hikes to fill deep fiscal gaps.

In a sharp turnaround from his predecessor, new prime minister Naoto Kan has made fiscal reform a top priority ahead of a July 11 upper house election, vowing to consider doubling the 5 per cent sales tax, although not for at least two or three years.

Credit ratings agency Moody's welcomed the plan as a step in the right direction to fiscal health, but analysts said the long-mooted rise in the consumption tax was vital for the targets to be met.

Investors will be watching to see how the tax reform debate progresses after the upper house election, which Mr Kan's Democratic Party needs to win to smooth policymaking.

Today's plan did not factor in any tax hikes but said the government should reach an early conclusion on overhauling the sales tax and other taxes.

The fiscal programme supported government bond prices, with the benchmark 10-year futures prices edging near a two-year high hit earlier this month.

Ratings agencies have threatened to cut Japan's sovereign debt rating unless it shows a credible plan to rein in its debt.

Economists say the government needs to commit to raising the sales tax to 15 percent or even 20 percent over the next 10 to 15 years to pay for rising social welfare costs and a commitment to hike tax is needed to make its fiscal plans look credible.

But many also worry tax hikes could hurt growth.

The plan lacked specific ideas of how to meet its long-term aim of achieving budget balance targets and reducing its debt-to-GDP ratio -- now estimated at nearly twice the size of GDP, the worst in the developed world.

Mr Kan has put a debate on a consumption tax hike at the heart of the Democratic Party's campaign for the upper house poll, which the party needs to win to ensure smooth policymaking.

Coalition dynamics could complicate the push for fiscal reform if the Democrats fall short of a majority in the upper house, which can delay bills, although analysts say a future sales tax rise is inevitable.

Japan's 5 per cent consumption tax rate is among the lowest in major economies. It compares with 17.5 per cent in Britain, 19 per cent in Germany and Greece, 10 per cent in South Korea as of January 2010. New York City imposes a 8.875 per cent sales tax, according to the Cabinet Office.

The government pledged to do its utmost to keep new debt issuance in the year to next March at or below about the 44 trillion yen ($483 billion) that has been earmarked for this year, while aiming to steadily reduce bond issuance thereafter.

The government still has a massive pool of bank deposits to fund its deficits in the near term. But fears that this could change in the long term as an ageing population starts drawing on savings have led to a rise in demand for protection against the risk of default in Japanese government bonds in the credit default swaps market.

To ease such concerns, the plan calls for Japan to bring its primary budget balance into the black within a decade -- a goal it has not met since the bursting of an asset bubble early in the 1990s. The primary budget balance, which excludes revenue from bond sales and debt-servicing costs, is estimated at 30.8 trillion yen, or 6.4 percent of GDP in the current fiscal year.

From fiscal 2021/22 the government will aim to stably lower the debt-to-GDP ratio.

But the Cabinet Office estimated that neither the budget balance goals nor the debt-GDP ratio goals could be met under the government's growth strategy, which aims for an average 2 per cent real growth by fiscal 2020/21.

Reuters

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Tsk tsk que Kichijoji no es tan pijo, mi primi es gente humilde de comprar en el Don Quijote eh... ;-)

Las casas en barrios "trabajadores" (odio la expresion, pero en seguida todo el mundo sabe de que hablo) no han estado en Pucela a menos de 30,000 leuros en la vida (5 minolles hoygan)

Japan consumer prices fall for 15th month in May

TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese consumer prices fell for the 15th straight month in May as deflation kept its grip on the world's second biggest economy.

The core consumer price index, which excludes fresh food, fell 1.2 percent from a year earlier, the government said Friday.

The result beat Kyodo news agency's average market forecast for a 1.3 percent decline. It also represents an improvement from April's 1.5 percent fall, suggesting price declines may be moderating as Japan's economy benefits from a jump in exports.

Data Thursday showed that exports expanded 32.1 percent in May thanks to brisk global demand for cars and high-tech products. That is gradually leading to improvements in jobs, wages and prices in Japan.

Earlier this month, the Bank of Japan's predicted that the decline in CPI is expected to slow in the months ahead.

The government's new high school tuition breaks weighed heavily on prices in May, dragging education costs down 13 percent during the month. Falling prices for furniture, household goods and clothes also dragged the index south.

Lower prices may boost individual purchasing power, but deflation is generally bad for an economy. It plagued Japan during its "Lost Decade" in the 1990s, hampering growth by depressing company profits, sparking wage cuts and causing consumers to postpone purchases. It also can increase debt burdens.

Core CPI for Tokyo fell 1.3 percent in June. The reading is considered a barometer of price trends nationwide, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

(Mainichi Japan) June 25, 2010

Mega-China Changing Japan-China relations / A piste of the action: Chinese take to skiing and shops
The Yomiuri Shimbun May. 25, 2010, Courtesy of Peach
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/T100524003379.htm

China’s rapid rise is causing ever-widening repercussions in its relationship with Japan. This is the second installment in a series of articles examining new currents in bilateral relations.

At 9 a.m. most days, the majority of shops are yet to open in Akihabara, Tokyo’s electronics shopping district.

Yet two sightseeing buses are parked in front of bulk electrical appliance chain Laox Co.’s flagship store. Emerging from the buses, about 100 Chinese stream into the shop. Laox is open for business.

The electrical cooking appliance section on the fourth floor proves particularly popular. A Laox employee, a Chinese national flag sticker worn on his chest, begins explaining the products on display. Sun Renmei, 61, of Shanghai, points at a stack of boxes containing rice cookers. She buys four: for herself, her children and a friend.

“I’ve been looking forward to buying high-tech Japanese rice cookers,” she says with a smile before hurriedly boarding one of the buses.

At the height of its prosperity, Laox boasted 149 outlets nationwide. In summer last year, however, following years of poor performance amid intensified domestic competition, Laox was bought out by Suning Appliance Co., the owner of China’s largest bulk home electrical appliance chain.

Its president now a Chinese, Laox has repositioned its customer base as international, an extension of previous measures taken to improve the company’s ability to deal with customers in foreign languages.

The flagship store has been renovated as a duty-free mecca that sells not only electrical appliances but also daily goods and souvenirs from Japan. Information about each product is provided in three languages–Japanese, English and Chinese. Twenty-three languages are spoken in the duty-free shop, including Tagalog.

While it usually opens at 10 a.m., management displays flexibility and moves forward opening hours on behalf of group tours, if their timetables so require.

Today, overseas visitors account for 60 percent to 70 percent of the flagship duty-free store’s customer base, a 10 percent increase since the Suning Appliance capital tie-up. Proceeds from sales to foreign customers have increased 70 percent.

In June, Laox is scheduled to open a variety store in Shanghai selling Japan-related products and services. This will be followed by an ambitious plan to increase the international Laox outlets to 100 over a three-year period.

Once a rarity, Chinese-owned shops serving Chinese customers in Japan–or overseas–are increasingly common nowadays.

China has also replaced Australia as the main foreign player in tourism and investment in and around Niseko, a southwestern Hokkaido town recently popular among foreign visitors as a ski resort.

“Australia was once the chief player in tourism and investment here. Since the [global] financial crisis, however, there has been an increase in the number of Chinese companies [conducting such activities],” Tomokazu Aoki, a senior official of Niseko Promotion Board Co.’s secretariat, said.

Founded in 1897, Niseko’s Yamada Onsen Hotel is renowned as the first resort to be built in the area. However, sold to a Chinese corporation this year, the hotel will reportedly be rebuilt as a villa-***** accomodation.

A relative newcomer, the Hanazono ski resort has also been acquired by a foreign buyer, a Hong Kong-based communications company.

All this means progress and the go-ahead for further resort development in Niseko.

In April, The Times, a British newspaper, carried an article that read: “Chinese visitors to Niseko used to take a simple view of apres-ski: head to the nearest izakaya and scoff as much Hokkaido crab as possible. Nowadays, after the last run of the day, they scramble for the nearest real estate agent…The Chinese who come to this resort generally have money, are hungry for luxury and find a Japan that, increasingly, is for sale at knockdown prices.”

A local real estate agent said, “Most villas here are priced between 50 million yen and 100 million yen. Few Japanese can purchase such property, but there are Chinese paying cash to buy them.”

The business-savvy Chinese view the resorts as moneymaking assets and rent the villas out to tourists except when they themselves wish to stay there. This can earn them annual profits equivalent to about 5 percent of the villas’ original purchase price.

It is a trend that is set to continue. Teikoku Databank Ltd. estimates more than 300 Japanese corporations are currently funded by Chinese capital. Honma Golf Co., a major golf equipment manufacturer, is one of the latest–it became a Chinese subsidiary this year.

Japan's tourism industry gearing up for more Chinese visitors after visa change

Hotels, retailers, and the financial industry in Japan are gearing up for an influx of Chinese visitors as eased rules for granting visas to individual Chinese travelers come into effect.

On July 1, Japan eased its conditions for granting visas to individual travelers from China, making it easier for China's middle class to visit Japan. In a ceremony in the Chinese city of Shenyang the same day with members of China's travel industry, Hiroshi Mizohata, commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), stated: "I want many Chinese people to visit Japan."

Figures from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) and other bodies show that about 350,000 Chinese tourists visited Japan in 2000. Last year the figure rose to 1.01 million -- an increase from the previous year -- despite a decline in the overall number of foreign visitors.

In 2013, the JTA hopes to see 3.9 Chinese visitors, and has set a goal of welcoming 6 million in 2016.

During their stay in Japan, Chinese visitors spend an average of 200,000 to 300,000 yen each, meaning the overall market stands at about 200 billion to 300 billion yen a year. Even if the average income level of Chinese visitors to Japan falls as a result of the eased restrictions, with 6 million visitors a year it is possible the total contributed to the Japanese economy could rise to 1 trillion yen.

As individual spending has gone flat, Japanese companies are turning their eyes toward this expanding market. In the department store industry, where nationwide sales marked year-on-year declines for 27 straight months up until May, officials say Chinese visitors are willing to open their wallets.

"Many Chinese tourists come to buy things, and the eased visa restrictions will become a business opportunity," said Seichi Iioka, an executive director of the Japan Department Stores Association.

The Association is calling for popular perfumes to be exempted from consumption tax, and is pushing ahead with various measures to attract customers.

Meanwhile, the Prince Hotel chain has introduced measures at four hotels in Shinagawa, Tokyo -- having Chinese-speaking staff wear badges, and making Chinese-language television broadcasts available in guest rooms. At the entrances of restaurants, photographs of staff who can speak Chinese are also displayed, and the company plans to boost Chinese services in the future.

On July 1, Fuji Kyuko Co., which runs Fuji-Q Highland, an amusement park close to Mount Fuji popular among Chinese, opened its first overseas office in Shanghai, preparing to make a full-scale effort to attract Chinese visitors.

In the credit card industry, meanwhile, Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos Co. has tied up with Chinese credit card brand UnionPay, and from July 1 began soliciting stores in Japan willing to accept the UnionPay cards. Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos is aiming to secure 30,000 member stores over a period of three years, and will receive income from handling fees.

Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. will start full-scale sales of overseas travel insurance aimed at Chinese travelers as early as this year, as it expects increasing demanding from visitors to Japan. It is also considering medical insurance targeting Chinese travelers.

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Japan's tourism industry gearing up for more Chinese visitors after visa change - The Mainichi Daily News