In its latest monthly economic report released on Aug. 28, the government downgraded its assessment of the economy for the first time since October 2011 when the effects of the European sovereign debt crisis and the strong yen broadsided the economy.
Japan's exports are slowing against the backdrop of worsening economic outlooks for the United States, Europe, China and the rest of Asia with the exception of India. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 60 percent of Japan's gross domestic product, is running out of steam.
Instead of taking steps to enliven economic activities, the government has started restraining execution of the fiscal 2012 budget. This is because the Diet has failed to enact a bill to float bonds to cover about 42 percent of the funds for the budget in the midst of confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties. It is deplorable that this situation has been created primarily by the self-centered behavior of the government and the ruling Democratic Party of Japan in the Diet. Both the ruling and opposition camps should act quickly to end this unusual restriction of the budget execution because it could cause people to suffer.