As Japanese companies can no longer absorb the entire negative impact of rising basic material prices with revenue growth, corporate profit trend will slow down further going forward.
New vehicle demand in the US is poised to peak out sooner rather than later, which may weigh on demand for Japanese (automobiles).
Overseas demand for autos, IT goods and construction machinery which had long supported the overall economic activity in Japan, is now set to slow down, while input cost for Japanese companies is rising.
A deficit because of the Lunar Year holiday is a blip and isn't a concern for the economy. While strong domestic demand is fueling import growth, which partly led to the deficit, it's a good thing because it signals resilient demand.
New vehicle demand in the US is bound to peak out this year, which may slow output for Japanese (automobile) makers, although to a much lesser extent than US makers.
The trade surplus will continue to shrink because of higher oil prices and sluggish exports. The direct effect of high oil prices on Japan is negligible and domestic capital spending is strong which is also causing imports to rise.
Because male spending is really the slowest to pick up, a recovery there is a strong sign that the overall economy is doing very well.
Exports have maintained a relatively high level of growth because the decline in exports of information technology products has bottomed out -- the key factor which had sent the Japanese economy into a lull.
There is uncertainty over the trend of imports of IT (information technology) goods in the US, where IT investment is running at a historically high level.
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