nt rate is currently at 4.9%, which is a postwar high for the country. This is due in part to the number of workers losing their jobs. Another big part of the increase in unemployment is due to the increase in the labor force. Traditionally, Japanese women stay at home to take care of the house in order to give their husbands full opportunity to excel at their jobs. It was a position known as shegyo shufu, which was honored by the government with tax breaks and free pensions. But now that many working men are receiving decreases in pay; they cannot support their families. This forces more women to enter the workforce. If Japanese banks forced firms to payback on their delinquent loans, this would cause the firms to go under, and many more people to be laid off. Japan would be facing a catastrophe. All of this instability in the economy discourages foreign investment. Foreigners find that investing in Japan is much too risky right now. They also see that there is a very low rate of return on investments there. So Japan will get no help from foreign investors. The one way foreigners might help is to purchase Japanese products. Right now the exchange rate for the yen is very low (about .008). This means that one U.S. dollar will trade for approximately 120 yen. And with the recent fall in the prices, Japan can expect to experience high volumes of exports. Policy makers are working around the clock to find a solution for the economic problems in Japan. Japan is looking to Masaru Hayami once again to take some kind of course of action to turn the banks around, and with them, the economy. ...
