Orders for machine tools have declined in Japan, reflecting the global slowdown as well as the domestic slump that recent reports have alluded to. New orders fell 20.7% from last year as companies red...

The Japanese Eco-Watchers survey slipped to a seven year low of 28.0 from 28.3 in August as the economy teeters on the brink of a recession. Increased financial concerns paired with the slowdown in th...

The leading index for Japan fell to a six year low of 89.3 from 91.4 in July, indicating that economic activity has deteriorated considerable since the first half of the year. Furthermore, the coincid...

The quarterly business survey compiled by the Bank of Japan broadly classifies six categories of firms: big, medium, and small manufacturers and non-manufacturers. Respondents are asked if conditions ...

The Q3 Tankan business survey released overnight by Bank of Japan (BoJ) was overall slightly weaker than expected. According to the survey business conditions in Q3 have deteriorated more than enterpr...

The Japanese Tankan survey revealed that business sentiment has turned negative for the first time in five years. The large scale posted a reading of negative 3 which is the lowest reading since June ...

Japan releases a bunch of data on the final session of each month, and all of it so far has been weaker than expected. The Nikkei slumped 4.7% in the morning trading session to show a drop of slightly...

The Japanese manufacturing PMI came in at the lowest reading since the start of 2007 at 44.3 seasonally adjusted. This is a six year low for the index. A reading below 50 generally indicates a contrac...

Japans unemployment came in at 4.2 percent which was higher than analysts’ expectations of 4.1 percent. The job to applicant ratio was 0.86 which is below the previous months 0.89. This has caused hou...

Industrial production for August decreased 3.5 percent. Production, Shipments and inventory all decreased while the inventory ratio increased, although, production is expected to increase in September...

The average amount of monthly Japanese household spending for households of two or more fell 1.6 percent in nominal terms and is down 4.0 percent in real terms from one year ago. For workers household...

Retail sales in Japan have slowed in the year to August as higher prices of everyday items have forced consumers to curb spending. The Japanese economy is facing the fastest rate of inflation in the p...

The development in inflation in August was broadly in line with expectations. CPI inflation in August declined to 2.1% y/y (consensus: 2.1% y/y) from 2.3% y/y in July. The decline in inflation was mos...

Japans consumer price index has exceeded 2 percent for the second month in a row as companies pass on the higher costs to the consumer. Core prices climbed 2.4 percent in August from one year earlier....

After some signs of stabilisation in recent months, export growth slowed again in August. The overall picture for export growth is that Japanese exports in Q3 will not perform as poorly as in Q2 but n...

The corporate services price index was up 1.4 percent on the year to August. This was higher than the 1.2 percent that analysts had been expecting for annual expansion in the index. This was also the ...

Japans exports have declined in August which was led by a slowdown in the shipment of vehicles to the U.S. as consumers curb spending in the face of the financial crisis. This increases the likelihood...

The Japanese all industry activity index came in at 0.8 percent for the month of July when compared to the previous month. This is in line with what analysts were expecting from this release. The cons...

The Bank of Japan revealed the statistical analysis that was available at the time of the interest rate decision, announced Tuesday night. The Japanese economy was described as 'sluggish', and private...

Japans tertiary industry activity index increase to 1.2 percent for July. Industries that contributed for the increases were, wholesale and retail trade, electricity, gas, heat supply, and water. As w...

The final revision of Japan's second-quarter Gross Domestic Product confirmed that the world's second-largest economy shrank -0.7% in the second quarter. The economy lost -0.6% in the first three mont...

Japan's Industrial Production rose 1.3% in July. The market expected a 0.9% read. Compared with one year ago, industrial production rose, despite the hard period the Japanese economy has faced....

The Japanese economy contracted more than the government initially stated last quarter as businesses cut their spending. The gross domestic product shrank an annualized 3 percent in the 3 months to Ju...

The Japanese economy contracted more than the government initially stated last quarter as businesses cut their spending. The gross domestic product shrank an annualized 3 percent in the 3 months to Ju...

Japanese machinery orders were down a seasonally adjusted 3.9 percent in July. This is slightly better than analyst’s initial estimates which were looking for a 4.0 percent decrease. Manufacturers are...

The Japanese Leading index rose to 91.6%, in July, less than market expectations, of 91.8%. The leading indicator is based on 12 reports, from which most are made public before this release. In the la...

Japans current account has risen from the previous month to 1.56T. The current account measures trade in goods, services, tourism, and investments displays the difference between Japans income from fo...

Producer prices rose by 7.2 percent from the previous year in July. Wholesale inflation is expected to slow to reflect the lower crude oil prices seen recently, although it is likely to remain high fo...

Machinery orders declined in Japan, reflecting the domestic slump and the global incertitude. The release shows companies are reducing new equipment investment, something that has a negative effect on...

The Economy Watchers Index shows the sentiment regarding the Japanese economy is getting worse from one month to the next. The main reasons cited by the responded are the decline in job offers and the...

Capital spending was down 6.5 percent for the quarter in Japan, marking the fifth consecutive quarterly decline. Data released showed that corporate profits eased 5.2 percent on the year while sales f...

Japans retail sales grew to 1.9 percent, beating analyst’s projects of 1.3 percent for the month of July. This marked the twelfth month of increases for the report. Sales at large scale retail stores ...

Industrial Production in July increased 0.9% from the previous month, showing an increase for the first time in two months. Industries that greatly contributed to the increase were transport equipment...

Japans unemployment stayed near record highs as job prospects worsened. The jobless rate fell to 4 percent for July, while economists were expecting a reading of 4.1 percent. The Bank of Japan stated ...

Household spending fell 0.5 percent from the previous year. This is the fifth monthly decline as households budgets are tightened in the face of a recession....

The Japanese core consumer price index rose to 2.4 percent on the year. This is the first time in more than a decade that Japans inflation rate exceeded 2 percent. Companies have been passing on highe...

The July trade figures were overall positive as they showed some improvement in volume exports following the very sharp decline during Q2 (see chart 2). In July real exports increased 2.2% m/m seasona...

Shipments from Japan rebounded in July. Exports to China picked up as demand from the U.S. waned. This is the first time that China has surpassed the United States. Even so, the Bank of Japan has gone...

The Japanese all industry activity index came in at a negative 0.9 percent this month but overall is still in positive territory for the quarter with a reading of 0.5 percent. This is below levels tha...

Governor Masaaki Shirakawa, head of the Bank of Japan, said growth is sluggish while the surrounding risks remain to the downside. At the same time, the recovery date has been further delayed, having ...

The Japanese tertiary industry activity index fell to a negative 0.8 percent for June. The main industries that saw a slowdown were; wholesale and retail, transportation, information and communication...

Today's GDP numbers confirmed that the Japanese economy deteriorated sharply in Q2 as the export engine switched off and private consumption weakened significantly. The weakness was broadly based, wit...

The current account of Japan has fallen by 67.4% in June compared with the previous year. Rising energy costs and raw materials are once again taking a toll on the world economies. Takehiro Sato of Mo...

The scheduled release of Japans preliminary GDP came in at a -0.6% as economists estimated, this is the first decline since Q2 of 2007. However this was sharply lower than the revised 0.8 quarterly ex...

The price seen in corporate goods in Japan jumped 7.1% on the year, which is growing at its fastest rate since 1981, said the Bank of Japan. Analysts had been expecting a 5.7% increase which was also ...

Orders for machines tools have further declined in Japan, reflecting the global slowdown as well as the domestic slump that recent reports have alluded to. New orders fell 8.9% from last year as compa...

This report measures the total value of new orders placed with machine manufacturers. It excludes orders for items with a volatile sales cycle. Rising trends tend to have a positive effect on a nation...

This report is supplied by the Bank of Japan. The Monetary Base includes all banknotes and coins in circulation plus all currency held as deposits by the Bank of Japan. As an official measure of the J...

June trade figures released overnight confirmed that Japanese export engine has been turned off as export growth has slowed sharply in Q2 08. Net foreign trade has been a substantial drag on growth in...

June's Japanese Merchandise Trade Balance dealt a crushing blow to the idea that countries will be able to decouple the US slowdown by replacing American demand with that from emerging markets. The me...