CHRONOLOGY

MARCH — APRIL 2009

MARCH

3 Ôkubo Takanori, chief secretary for opposition Democratic Party of Japan President Ozawa Ichirô, is arrested on suspicion of repeatedly accepting illegally channeled contributions for Ozawa from Nishimatsu Construction Co. On March 24 he is indicted, but Ozawa declares he will stay on as DPJ head, asserting both he and his secretary are innocent.

4 The Liberal Democratic Party and New Kômeitô use their two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives to enact a bill to finance the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2008. The bill includes funding for the controversial ¥2 trillion in cash handouts to households.

9 The Ministry of Finance releases balance of payments data for January, showing a ¥172.8 billion current account deficit. It is the first such deficit in 13 years and the largest recorded since comparable data began to be compiled in 1985.

10 The Nikkei average of share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closes at 7,054.98, its lowest level since October 1982.

11 Kim Hyon-hui, a former North Korean agent, meets with relatives of Taguchi Yaeko, a Japanese woman abducted by North Korea, in the South Korean city of Busan. Kim, who learned Japanese from Taguchi, says she believes the abductee is still alive despite claims to the contrary by Pyongyang.

The Bank of Japan reports that its preliminary domestic corporate goods price index for February fell 1.1% from a year earlier.

12 The Cabinet Office releases revised gross domestic product figures for the October–December quarter, showing a 3.2% drop in real terms from the previous quarter, or an annualized decline of 12.1%. This is the largest contraction since 1974.

13 The cabinet authorizes the emergency dispatch of Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers to combat piracy in the waters off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. The mission is to be carried out under Article 82 of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces Law, which allows the country to conduct maritime security operations. On the same day the government submits a bill to the National Diet to allow the MSDF more latitude in fighting pirates.

15 NASA’s space shuttle Discovery embarks on a 13-day mission. Among the crew is Japanese astronaut Wakata Kôichi, bound for a three-month stay aboard the international space station. Wakata will be the first Japanese to make an extended stay aboard the station.

16–21 Prime Minister Asô Tarô holds a series of advisory meetings on overcoming the economic crisis, gathering input from leading experts in a variety of fields.

17 The Bank of Japan announces its readiness to provide up to ¥1 trillion in loans to banks to shore up their capital and encourage lending.

23 The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism reports that average land prices for commercial and residential areas at the beginning of 2009 were down from a year earlier for the first time in three years. Average commercial land prices fell 4.7%, and residential land prices slipped 3.2%.

25 The Ministry of Finance releases preliminary trade statistics for February, showing that the value of Japan’s exports took a year-on-year plunge of 49.4% to ¥3.52 trillion. Imports declined 43% to ¥3.44 trillion, also a record-breaking drop. Japan registered a trade surplus of ¥82.4 billion in February, its first in five months.

27 After the government’s budget for fiscal 2009 (April 2009 to March 2010) is rejected in the opposition-controlled upper house of the Diet, it becomes law on the strength of its earlier approval by the lower house. The general account budget figure of ¥88.55 trillion is the largest ever.

30 Yoshida Taira, an opposition-backed candidate in the Chiba gubernatorial race, is defeated at the polls by Morita Kensaku, an independent candidate with substantial support from the LDP.

The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare reports that the ratio of job openings to job seekers for February was 0.59, a 0.08-point decline from January and the lowest level in six years. Job openings declined 6.7%, while the number of job seekers climbed 4.9%.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reports that unemployment in February rose 0.3 points from the previous month to 4.4%.

APRIL

1 The BOJ releases its quarterly tankan survey for March, showing the diffusion index of business sentiment for major manufacturers fell 34 points from the previous survey to minus 58. This is the largest decline on record and the lowest figure in the survey’s history.

1–2 World leaders meet in London for a Group of 20 financial summit, where they announce plans to undertake $5 trillion in concerted fiscal stimulus by the end of next year to combat the global economic crisis. Japan pledges an additional ¥22 billion for trade financing support and an additional $20 billion in official development assistance for Asia.

5 North Korea launches a ballistic missile purportedly carrying a satellite over Japan’s main island of Honshû. On April 10 Japan responds by extending its existing economic sanctions on North Korea by one year, and on April 13 the United Nations Security Council issues a statement condemning the launch.

6 Prime Minister Asô meets with Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez in Tokyo. The leaders agree to expand cooperation on energy issues and announce plans to form a working group to examine possibilities for developing Venezuela’s energy resources.

The Ministry of Finance releases preliminary balance of payments data for February, showing a surplus of ¥1.12 trillion in the current account balance, which registered a deficit in January. The reversal is largely credited to a record-breaking falloff in the value of Japan’s imports. At 50.4%, the year-on-year decline in the value of Japan’s exports is the largest since authorities began compiling figures in 1985. Exports of automobiles plunged 70.9%.

10 Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko mark their fiftieth wedding anniversary.

Prime Minister Asô unveils a proposed economic stimulus package of ¥15 trillion, equivalent to 3% of Japan’s GDP.

11 Prime Minister Asô holds summit meetings with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Thailand. Planned sessions with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are cancelled owing to antigovernment protests.

12 The results of an opinion poll conducted April 10–12 by the Mainichi Newspapers show that 72% of respondents think DPJ President Ozawa should resign in the wake of his secretary’s arrest on charges of accepting illegal political contributions.

13 The BOJ releases its domestic corporate goods price index for March, showing a year-on-year decline of 2.2%, the biggest dip in seven years.

14–20 International Olympic Committee Evaluation Commission members visit Japan to examine Tokyo’s potential for hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics.

17 Representatives of 49 countries and organizations attend the 2009 Pakistan Donors Conference in Tokyo. Participants pledge more than $5 billion in additional aid to Pakistan over the next two years, and Japan promises up to $1 billion.

20 The Cabinet Office issues its revised composite index of coincident economic indicators for February. The key index fell for the seventh straight month to 86.0 (2005 average = 100), its lowest level in seven years.

Prime Minister Asô meets in Tokyo with Nong Duc Manh, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The two leaders agree to begin holding annual reciprocal visits.

21 Sources at Toyota Motor Corp. forecast that the automaker’s domestic output is likely to fall below 3 million units in fiscal 2009, the lowest level in 31 years. According to Toyota, 3 million units is the minimum threshold for maintaining its current number of regular employees.

22 The Diet enacts a revised Law on Special Measures for Industrial Revitalization. A spokesman for Pioneer Corp. reveals that the electronics giant is joining Hitachi Ltd. and other companies in considering applying for state funding under the revised law.

The Ministry of Finance releases trade data for fiscal 2008, revealing a trade deficit of ¥725.39 billion, Japan’s first in 28 years. Trade statistics for March show that the value of Japan’s exports fell a year-on-year 45.6% to ¥4.18 trillion and that the country registered a trade surplus of ¥11 billion during this month.

26 The results of a public opinion survey conducted by Nikkei Inc. and TV Tokyo show that support for the Asô cabinet increased 7 points from March to 32%, while disapproval fell 8 points to 59%. Support for Asô’s LDP rose 3 points to 36% while approval ratings for the opposition DPJ slipped by 2 points to 28%.

27 The Ministry of Finance announces that Japan will increase its issuance of government bonds by ¥11 trillion in fiscal 2009, bringing total issues of new bonds for this period to a record ¥44.1 trillion.

The Cabinet Office downgrades its forecast for economic growth for fiscal 2009 from zero to minus 3.3% in the face of the worsening global economy.

Prime Minister Asô holds a ministerial meeting on measures in response to the outbreak of swine influenza in several countries around the globe. Among the government’s immediate responses will be to assist Japanese nationals abroad and work to prevent the virus from entering Japan.

29 Prime Minister Asô meets with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing for talks on a variety of shared concerns; the two leaders agree to cooperate in efforts to prevent the spread of swine influenza.

© 2009 Japan Echo Inc.