Japan Cuts Its Economic Assessment as Earthquake Damage Mounts

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) The Japanese government cut its assessment of the economy for the first time in six months after the March 11 earthquake killed more than 12,000 and led to the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

“Although the Japanese economy was picking up, it has shown weakness” since the temblor, the Cabinet Office said in a report today in Tokyo. A power shortage that resulted from a crippled nuclear facility, delays in resolving supply chain disruptions and rising oil prices threaten to depress growth further, it said.

Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano said yesterday the disaster’s effect on the economy has been larger than previously thought, an indication reconstruction plans may exceed the government’s projections. The Bank of Japan last week established an emergency lending facility to help affected businesses and warned that the event will exert “strong downward pressure” on the world’s third-largest economy.

“There’s so much uncertainty surrounding the outlook,” analysts at Mizuho Research Institute wrote in a note this week. “We still don’t know the full extent of the damage from the earthquake and it’s increasingly looking like the nuclear problem will be prolonged.” ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-13/japan-cuts-its-economic-assessment-as-earthquake-damage-mounts.html

[msongs]

1. difficult to believe only 12000 died after watching those tsunami videos t

[AsahinaKimi]

2. Take a look..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x875163