Despite the dark clouds of another Moody's downgrade hovering above it, and maybe just because of that and the need for Koizumi to reverse his own poll standings, a Japanese report today suggested the Japanese economy was "bottoming out".

Written in typical conservative Japanese style, the report for the first time for several years seems (relatively) up beat.

Marketers however may have to wait a while longer while others become convinced, and the consumer buying strike ceases. Unemployment and salary decreases have reduced consumer disposable income, and discount store traffic have been a rare exception to the generally miserable state of local Japanese consumer demand, especially in the retail sector.

See also the New York Times report - Tokyo Sees End of Recession, but Others Are Not so Sure

"...Japan's government signaled today that it believed that the country's third recession in the last decade had ended, joining a growing band of optimistic forecasters in the private sector. But many experts suspect that the government's outlook is born more of political pragmatism than economic analysis..."

"... Many economists expect more contraction later this year after a bit of growth in the first-quarter gross domestic product report, due June 6..."