Japan economy shrank less than thought after quake

Japan's economy shrank less than expected in the April-June quarter, data showed Monday, fuelling hopes that its recovery from the March 11 quake and tsunami disasters is on track.

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Asia's second-biggest economy looks likely to grow again in the July-September quarter, although he warned of the risk posed by the strong yen, which hurts Japan's exporters.

The Cabinet Office said Japan's economy shrank an annualised 1.3 per cent in the first full quarter since the nation's worst post-war disaster -- beating bleak market expectations of a 2.7 per cent contraction.

The figures highlight that Japan's economy has started to bounce back from the calamity, which killed more than 20,000 people, wiped out entire towns along the Pacific coast and sparked a nuclear emergency.

"It was negative growth, but not bad data," said Mitsumaru Kumagai, chief economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research. "Our basic expectation now is to see gradual growth on the back of reconstruction demand."

On-quarter, Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 0.3 per cent in April-June, after a 0.9 per cent contraction in the January-March period and shrinkage of 0.6 per cent in the previous quarter.

Exports plunged by an annualised 18.1 per cent in the second quarter, when tsunami damage to factories in Japan's northeast still hobbled supply chains, especially in the crucial auto and electronics sectors.

As the scale of the disaster weighed on the nation, private consumer spending, nearly two-thirds of Japan's GDP, fell 0.1 per cent on-quarter.

However, rebuilding efforts also stimulated the economy. Government consumption rose 0.5 per cent and public investment increased 3.0 per cent due to relief and reconstruction projects for the quake-hit areas.

Corporate investment grew by 0.2 per cent, said the data, which follows recent figures showing increases in industrial production and machinery orders, a key indicator of capital spending.

Kumagai said that "despite the damage done to supply chains, consumption of durable goods, such as televisions and air-conditioners, did not fall," he said. "Exports did fall, but not as sharply as expected.

"For July-September, it is reasonable to assume a return to growth."

Finance Minister Noda also said: "There is a strong possibility the economy will return to growth in the July-September period.

"But there are factors posing downside risks to the economy, such as the yen's strength," he added at a news conference.

Recent global market turmoil sparked by the eurozone debt crisis and the uncertain US economic outlook has prompted investors to flock to the yen, which is considered a safe-haven currency.

The heavy buying has sent the yen soaring to near its post-war high of 76.25 to the dollar -- a trend that hits Japan's export sector by making its goods less competitive abroad and eroding repatriated overseas profits.

Japan's government intervened in the forex market earlier this month in a bid to tame the yen's rise, and has signalled it is ready to do so again, as businesses have threatened to move factories abroad.

Japanese electronics companies record large losses

Four of Japan's leading electronics companies lost more than $1.5 billion in the first quarter of the 2011 fiscal year, which ended June 30.

The companies partly blamed the losses on the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that hit Japan in March.

Electronics giant Sony, who reported losing $191 million, said in its financial report that the losses were "due mainly to the negative impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake as well as the deterioration of the electronics business environment."

Panasonic reported $390 million in losses for the first quarter. Sharp reported a loss of $630 million. Nintendo reported a loss of $327 million.

The governor of the region where many of these manufacturers are based blamed the losses on a weak dollar.
"With a strong yen below 80 and a weak dollar, times are very hard for manufacturers in Japan," Aichi Gov.
Hideaki Oomura said. "And if manufacturers in Aichi are having trouble, then the whole Japanese economy is in trouble."

But not all companies were down.

Softbank reported $1.21 billion in profits, attributed to the company's work with products like the iPhone. Toshiba also reported $6 million in profits.

-cnn

Struggling to Fix Fukushima Plant

Four months after Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami, operators at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are still grappling with the crisis the disaster unleashed but say they are making slow progress.

The March 11 quake led to meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi's three operating reactors when the tsunami knocked out their coolant systems, causing the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Though nearly 100,000 tons of highly contaminated water remain in the flooded basements and service tunnels around the damaged reactors, the Tokyo Electric Power Company reported Sunday that water levels in the Unit 2 complex have dropped by about 20 centimeters (8 inches). The company began pumping water from the Unit 3 turbine plant to a waste treatment facility Sunday afternoon, while levels at Unit 1 remained unchanged.

And despite periodic setbacks -- including a water leak that shut down operations for several hours Sunday -- the company has managed to set up a decontamination system that filters radioactive material from the water. Some of the treated water is now being circulated back through the reactors, a key step toward keeping the reactors' melted nuclear cores cool on a permanent basis.

But more than 100,000 people have been displaced by the disaster, forced to leave towns around the plant after it spewed massive volumes of radioactive particles -- and it could be January before they know when they will be allowed to return.

In April, Tokyo Electric set a two-stage, six- to nine-month timetable for bringing the damaged reactors to heel. The first phase of that plan is set to be completed by July 17.

Goshi Hosono, the government's newly ordained minister in charge of managing the disaster response, said over the weekend that Tokyo Electric was on track to finish the first stage of its plan soon. But after meeting with displaced residents in the city of Fukushima on Sunday, he acknowledged that the road ahead would be "long and hard."

The disaster has led to the threat of power shortages in Tokyo during the summer and forced Japan to rethink its commitment to nuclear power. And the long-term cleanup of the plant is likely to take many years, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Saturday.

"We expect three, five, 10 years or even decades to finally clean up the accident of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant," Kan said at a meeting of his ruling Democratic Party of Japan. "We need to hold a national debate about drastic reform of nuclear energy policy as well as overall energy policy."

-cnn

Japan Salmon Teriyaki

Serves : 4

Japan Salmon Teriyaki

Preparation time : 15 minutes
Cooking time : 10 minutes

Ingredients :

500g fresh salmon fillet, quartered
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
2 teaspoons sake
1 tablespoon oil
90g daikon, peeled and grated

Method :

Place salmon fillets in large baking pan. Combine soy sauce, mirin, and sake in a small bowl and pour over salmon pieces to marinate for 10 minutes. Drain salmon, reserving marinade.

Heat the broiler and brush rack lightly with oil. Place fish on rack, skin side up, and brush pieces lightly with marinade. Grill until skin is lightly browned and crispy, about 4 minutes.

Turn salmon pieces and brush again lightly with the marinade. Grill until the salmon is just cooked through and the flesh flakes easily with a fork, about 4 minutes.

Remove fish to serving plates and spoon remaining marinade over top. Serve immediately with grated daikon and rice.

Strong Earthquake Hits Northeastern Japan

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 hit Japan's northeastern coast on Sunday, prompting a tsunami warning for the area still recovering from a devastating quake and killer wave four months ago.

Residents in coastal areas were warned to evacuate, but there were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake hit at 9:57 local time (0057 GMT), and a warning of a tsunami was issued for most of the northeastern coastline. The epicenter of the quake was in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan's main island, Honshu, at a depth of about 6 miles (10 kilometers).

Japanese officials predicted the quake could generate tsunami of up to 20 inches (50 centimeters), but the initial waves were only about 4 inches (10 centimeters).

Japan's northeastern coastline was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11 that left nearly 23,000 dead or missing and touched off a nuclear crisis at a badly damaged facility in Fukushima.

Officials said there were no reports of abnormalities at the Fukushima plant caused by Sunday's quake. Airports in the area were also functioning normally.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. Dozens of strong aftershocks have been felt since the March 11 disaster, which measured a 9.0 magnitude and was the strongest in Japanese history.

Sunday's quake registered 4 on the Japanese scale of 7, meaning it was felt as moderately strong. Because of the damage from the March quake and tsunami, however, many buildings in the area are structurally weak and seawalls have been destroyed, making the region more vulnerable to relatively weaker quakes.