On Japan and Asia's recovery
At Issue: The dire need to carefully watch economic recovery efforts in Japan and Asian tiger countries.
Our View: It’s a process that will take far longer than meets the eye, its residual effects so distant from these isles.
It takes more than a simplistic glimpse into good tidings of economic recovery in Japan and Asian to understand how these efforts have fared so far. Japan’s economic recovery efforts remain very weak, according to a rare statement from its Economic Planning Agency’s (EPA) recent report.
Recovery will remain slow, the EPA report said, particularly because the trend of streamlining is deterring increases in employment and consumption. The report stressed the importance of coupling policies with action to ensure an economic recovery, which is still in its early stages.
An Associated Press story says, “Japanese corporate bankruptcies swelled for the eighth straight month, …just days after a major Japanese retailer filed for protection from creditors”.
“Japanese corporate bankruptcies in June rose 21.2 percent to 1,560 cases, compared to 1,287 cases in June 1999, topping 1,500 for the fourth month in a row, Teikoku Databank said.
“The number of bankruptcies in June also grew by 2.1 percent from 1,528 the previous month, recording the first month-on-month rise in three months. The growing number of bankruptcies reflects the waning impact of government efforts to prop up weak companies with debt guarantees.
“Debts left behind by insolvent companies in June grew 1.8 percent to
$17.27 billion compared to $17.0 billion the year before. For the January-June period, the number of bankruptcies jumped by 32.2 percent
to 9,304 compared to 7,040 in the year-earlier period.
“Though Japan’s economy grew 0.5 percent in the fiscal year ending March 31 — following two straight years of contractions — Friday’s bankruptcy data show that conditions remain harsh for many companies. Osaka-based retailer Sogo Co. on Wednesday asked the Tokyo district court for protection from creditors after racking up debts totaling $17.27 billion.”
How true the advice of the local department of commerce that the CNMI must keep a critical watch at economic recovery efforts nearby.
What happens in Japan and Asia directly affects the local CNMI economy.
It behooves leadership to realistically open its eyes to these events as they unfold. How we deal with it is all in the palms of our hands. So far, we have failed to undertake anything of substance. Si Yuus Maase`!
