Japan Upbeat on Economy, Employment
TOKYO -
Japan said the economic recovery that began in 2002 is still holding up, but warned the gap between the rich and poor may be widening, according to an annual report released Tuesday.
Separately, in a monthly report, Japan upgraded its assessment of employment for the first time since June 2005, increasing the chances that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates soon.
Japan's jobless rate stood at 3.7 percent in June, its lowest level since February 1998, while workers' average monthly income fell 1.1 percent on year during the same month, according to recent government data.
The annual "white paper" on the economy said restructuring efforts after the burst of the "bubble" in the early 1990s have put the economy in its longest period of growth since the end of World War II.
But the gap between the rich and the poor is starting to grow, as it did in the 1980s in the U.S., the Cabinet Office said.
The report on the economy for August said exports were up moderately, the first time the government was more upbeat about exports in 16 months.
It said imports were decreasing moderately as well, the first time in 11 months it has issued a lower appraisal on imports.
Consumer spending is picking up, the monthly report said, although the government also kept a cautious view on future consumer spending because of concerns about the "sluggish" growth in wages.
The corporate sector was healthy, it said.
Economy Minister Hiroko Ota said the world's second-largest economy remains on a recovery path, brushing off concerns about weakness in factory output.
"The latest data have backed that up," Ota told reporters about her view. "We have held on to the view that there's no change in the trend of the economy."
Japan said the economic recovery that began in 2002 is still holding up, but warned the gap between the rich and poor may be widening, according to an annual report released Tuesday.
Separately, in a monthly report, Japan upgraded its assessment of employment for the first time since June 2005, increasing the chances that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates soon.
Japan's jobless rate stood at 3.7 percent in June, its lowest level since February 1998, while workers' average monthly income fell 1.1 percent on year during the same month, according to recent government data.
The annual "white paper" on the economy said restructuring efforts after the burst of the "bubble" in the early 1990s have put the economy in its longest period of growth since the end of World War II.
But the gap between the rich and the poor is starting to grow, as it did in the 1980s in the U.S., the Cabinet Office said.
The report on the economy for August said exports were up moderately, the first time the government was more upbeat about exports in 16 months.
It said imports were decreasing moderately as well, the first time in 11 months it has issued a lower appraisal on imports.
Consumer spending is picking up, the monthly report said, although the government also kept a cautious view on future consumer spending because of concerns about the "sluggish" growth in wages.
The corporate sector was healthy, it said.
Economy Minister Hiroko Ota said the world's second-largest economy remains on a recovery path, brushing off concerns about weakness in factory output.
"The latest data have backed that up," Ota told reporters about her view. "We have held on to the view that there's no change in the trend of the economy."
Labels: employment, Japan
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