- The Nikkei Stock Average,which in 2003 reached
7,607 yen,the lowest level since the bursting of the economic
bubble,rapidly recovered toaround 16,000 yen by2006.Mean while,thew
ord ”recovery”hasbeen repeatedly used in the monthly econom ic
report (released by the C abinetO ffice)since January 2004.Thus,Japan’s
economy is steadily recovering.
- The economy ofthe Greater Nagoya Area(an area
encompassing Aichi, Gifu and Mie Prefectures)has recovered steadily,thanks
especially to the manufacturingindustry which has sustained a
strongperform -ance.Consumption has also rem ained strong, with
brisk sales atdepartm entstores and superm arkets. Dom estic and
overseas orders received by machine tool com panies in 2005 also
increased by 12.5%year-on-year due to strong dem and in Japan
and abroad.Exportsin the Nagoya Custom sjurisdiction arealso on
the rise as a whole,mainlybecause ofthe increase in exports to
other Asian countries.
- Production in the Greater Nagoya Area in the
Industrial Production Index has been recovering since 2002,show
ingahigherperform ancethan otherareas and the national average,thanksprim
arilytostrong exports.V iew edbyindustry,theperform anceoftransport
machinery including autom obiles has been strong backed by firm
exports,while the production of other machines has also been robust
thanks to active capital investment.
- In 2005,the number of bankruptcies in Nagoya
City with debts of over ten million yen was 357 (up 16.7% from
the previous year),while the total debt amount was189.3billion
yen (dow n37.1% from theprevious year).In 2006,both the number
of business failures and the total debt amount remainlow.
- The ratio of jobs to applicants atthe city’s
four Employment Service A gency offices was1.12 in 2003,1.64 in
2004,and 1.86 in 2005,higher than both the national average and
the prefectural average. Aichi Prefecture’s unemployment rate
in 2005 was3.4%,lower than the national average of 4.4%,and has
remained low at around 3% through the pastm onths of 2006.
- According to the Nagoya City business condition
survey(coveringsm allandm edium-sizedcom panies)for the first
half of 2006,the diffusion index of general activity stayed at-23,an
improvement from -27 in the second half of 2005.The business sentiment
among small and medium -sized companies of the city thus appears
to be improving steadily.
|