PM Aso has drawn up an effective economic package. It will not be long before we see the rate rises when the business stimulus measures built in the FY 2008 second supplementary budget, the FY 2009 budget and related bills are implemented.
Labor and management will mainly discuss job security this year because the issue needs the joint effort. Work-Sharing is not one and only approach to preserve jobs in each company. Every company has his own situation. There are various ways to choose. It is up to labor-management negotiations of individual companies. A very small number of companies seem to be able to decide their "Base Up" or monthly base raise because almost all the businesses are decreasing sales and profit.
Several US factors dropped Japanese stock prices today. NYSE fell sharply yesterday. The latest US unemployment rate and concerns about American companies' performance was the trigger. With the U.S. economy in bad condition, the dollar is getting weaker and the yen is getting stronger alone against the dollar. This is not good for the Japanese economy.
If this situation continues for a long time, joint intervention in foreign currency markets needs to be used.
The international community must say no to protectionism amid the world economic downturn. East Asia has the potential to further contribute to development of the global economy. The Japanese and Korean governments need to take the initiative in concluding the WTO Doha Round and building East Asia EPA network and economic integration like ASEAN plus 6.