Consumer mood Japan falls sharply

May 16, 2011, update to the economy of the Japan 05: 38 GMT need deregulation to create new jobs, said Richard Jerram Macquarie SecuritiesThe of consumer sentiment in the Japan deteriorated further in Aprila survey has found, as the fallout from the devastating earthquake and tsunami continued to weigh on sentiment.

The consumer confidence index fell to 33.1, down 38.6 in March, according to the Cabinet Office.

A reading below 50 suggests the pessimism of consumers.

However, analysts say there are signs that confidence begins to recover.

Hopes "Bounce".

Even people in some parts of the Japan not affected by the earthquake of 11 March and the tsunami, as Tokyo and West of the Japan, were reducing expenditures.

"People refrained from spending money on go to amusement parks or drinking and eating to those living in disaster areas," said Masaki Kaano, Chief Economist at JP Morgan Securities.

However, analysts say the consumer confidence was on the rise at the end of April and retrieve next month.

"Continue reading the main history

If the Government does not manage the nuclear central issue well and if it is bad news from there, a popular sentiment can turn bad"

end quote Masaki Kaano JP Morgan Securities "there is no massive downward trend and there are signs of rebound" said Naomi Finkstrategist of the Japan to Jefferies in Tokyo.

"We will not see several consecutive courses of deterioration".

Spending very certainly bounce, as the concerns of consumers do are centered around step of employment security - as they were following the global economic crisis in 2008, said Mrs. Fink.

Squeeze energy

There are signs that consumer mood was already at the end of April, which coincided with the start of a week of vacation at the Japan known as Golden Week.

Another factor lifting the spirits since the end of the period of Buddhist mourning.

In Buddhism in the first seven weeks, or 49 days after death, families and friends should refrain from entertainment.

The 49th day after the disaster was on 28 April, which means that many people were just in the mood to pass later.

The 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 15,000 people, according to the national policy agency.

"Among consumers changed positively in the week of gold began, and this movement to increase remains unchanged in may," said Mr. Kaano.

But while analysts are optimistic, there are still a few potential risks on the horizon that can influence the likelihood of consumers to spend.

Companies were asked to cut consumption of electricity by 15% in the summer, when the energy is at its peak.

Tokyo business has experienced outages continuing the week following the earthquake

Worse still, the nuclear crisis continues to weigh on sentiment.

Work at the Fukushima Daiichi plant was hit by another setback last week after a water leak was found in one of the reactors.

Tokyo Electric Power, the utility that runs the power plant, said he hopes to stabilize the reactors in January.

Some experts believe that a delay in this annex is now probably.

"If the Government does not manage the issue of the nuclear power plant property and it is bad news from there, popular sentiment can turn bad,", said Mr. Kaano.